1. Macromedia Flash CS4

2. What is Flash CS4? –Animation and interactive authoring program –Tools for complex animation, as well as excellent drawing tools Using Flash CS4

3. What can Flash CS4 be used for? –Web sites –Web-based applications –CD-Rom and interactive applications –Video Using Flash

4. Optimized for the Web Vector images, which reduce the size of graphic files –Vectors are scalable Flash provides streaming content over the internet –instead of waiting for the entire contents of a web page to load

5. The Development Environment You can customize your workspace Flash works on a movie metaphor –Create Scenes on a Stage –Scenes run in frames on a timeline –You create a movie by arranging objects on the stage –You can play the movie on the stage using DVD-like controls

6. Playback of Flash content Movies are viewable through a browser Macromedia Flash Player is required (free download available on Macromedia’s Web site) Movies can be played through the browser, the player, or as a stand- alone “movie”

7. How Flash Starts up Three parts to the Development Environment –Stage –Timeline –Workspace You can display other parts of the program –The toolbox –The properties panel

9. The Stage Contains all objects that are seen by the viewer in the final movie Draw objects or import objects to the stage

10. The Timeline Organize and control the movie’s content by specifying when each object appears on the stage Images are contained within frames, which are units of the timeline The timeline has separate layers The timeline has a playback head

11. The Toolbox Contains a set of tools used to draw and edit graphics and text Divided into four sections: Tools, View, Colors, Option Panels, such as the Properties Panel are used to organize and modify objects and features in a movie

12. Previewing a movie Flash movies can be previewed in the development environment Control menu commands: –Play, rewind, step forward, step backward. The Controller acts similar to a DVD Controller

13. Testing a movie When previewing a movie, some interactive functions do not work unless the movie is played using the Flash Player. Use Control > Test Movie to test using the Flash player

14. Creating a Macromedia Flash Movie Movies are created by placing objects on the stage, editing these objects, animating them and adding interactivity You can create graphics in Flash, or import them from another program such as Fireworks or Photoshop

15. Creating a Macromedia Flash Movie Objects placed on the stage are automatically placed in a layer, and in the currently selected frame of the timeline A keyframe represents a frame which contains an object –Always the first frame of every animation

16. An object in a keyframe Object on the stage Keyframe representing object

17. Creating an animation A basic animation requires two keyframes –First keyframe sets the starting position –Second keyframe sets the ending position The number of frames between two keyframes determines the length of the animation –(24fps in CS4 is default)

18. Motion animation Motion Guide shows there is motion and can be changed to move how you want. Dots represent different frames

19. Adding an Effect to an Object Animate an objects’ appearance –Shape –Color –Brightness –Transparency –Rotation

20. Understanding the Timeline Playhead Frames Frame View Icon Status Bar Layers Understanding how to read the timeline can help you determine what’s happening in your movie frame by frame

21. Layers Like transparent sheets of content stacked on top of one another Adding a layer causes it to be placed on top of the other layers Can be re-ordered by dragging up or down

22. Using Frames The timeline Made up of individual units called frames Content is displayed in frames as the playhead moves over them when the movie plays The status bar indicates current frame the playhead is on

23. Using the Playhead Playhead indicates which frame is playing Can be dragged left or right Dragging back and forth allows you to check some animations in Flash without exporting to swf

24. Adjusting the Timeline view Makes the frames appear larger/smaller based on preference

25. Modifying the frame rate Change movie dimensions Adjust the frame rate Adjust the Background color