1. 1 Flash Basics by Dr SC Li

2. 2 Ordinary Movie vs. Flash Movie AnimationVector GraphicsInteractivity MPEG MovieFlash Movie

3. 3 Metaphor of Flash Movie Stage Timeline (Sequencing) Symbols (actors) Flash Movie Actionscripts Frames Layers Instance objects Defining frame action and interaction between objects or between object and user Graphics, Movie Clip, buttons, Components

4. 4 Flash Working Environment Stage Library: Store symbols Tool Box: Create shapes and colours Timeline

5. 5 The Stage Stage 1.Showing movie scenes 2.Show symbols 3.Edit graphics

6. 6 Setting the Stage  Use the Movie Properties dialog box to specify settings that affect the entire movie, such as  the frames per second (fps),  playback rate,  the stage size, and  background color, etc. The Stage

7. 7 Modify the default movie properties  Place the cursor on the Stage  Right-click and choose “ Property ”  On the pop-up “ Property ” panel, choose “ Size ” as shown above.

8. 8 The Stage  In the Movie Properties dialog box, verify that 12 is the number in the Frame Rate text box. The movie will play at 12 frames per second, an optimal frame rate for playing animations on the Web.

9. 9 The Stage

10. 10 The Timeline Motion guide Layer folder

11. 11  Animations are assembled or created with the Timeline.  The Timeline consists of Layers.  Each Layer contains of a number of frames, the amount of which is determined by the movie you create.  Picture each Layer as a strip of transparent film (like the acetate placed on overhead projectors). The Timeline

12. 12  You animate individual Instances on each strip of film.  Multiple Layers are created, with each Layer containing only one Instance.  Because each Layer is effectively transparent, the content of each Layer, when viewed on the Stage create a composite image. The Timeline

13. 13  let you create and modify shapes for the artwork in your movies.  contains a collection of tools for creating, selecting, and manipulating content in the Timeline and on the Stage.  is divided into four parts: Tools, View, Colors, and Options. The Toolbox

14. 14 The Toolbox Fill Transform ToolFree Transform Tool

15. 15 Symbols and Instances symbol  A symbol is a graphic, button, or movie clip that you create once and then can reuse throughout your movie or in other movies. Any symbol you create automatically becomes part of the library.

16. 16 Symbols and Instances instance  An instance is a copy of a symbol located on the Stage or nested inside another symbol. An instance can be very different from its symbol in color, size, and function. Editing the symbol updates all of its instances. But editing an instance of a symbol updates only that instance.

17. 17 Symbols and Instances  Using symbols in your movies dramatically reduces file size  saving several instances of a symbol requires less storage space than saving a complete description of the element for each occurrence  Using symbols can also speed movie playback, because a symbol needs to be downloaded to a browser only once

18. 18 Creating Instances  After creating an instance of a symbol, use the Instance panel:  Windows > Panels > Instance  to specify color effects, assign actions, set the graphic display mode, or change the behavior of the instance. The behavior of the instance is the same as the symbol behavior, unless you specify otherwise.  Any changes you make affect only the instance and not the symbol.

19. 19 Creating Instances

20. 20 Animations  There are three methods for creating an animation sequence in Flash:  tweened animation  frame-by-frame animation and  Motion guide

21. 21 Animations  In frame-by-frame animation:  you create the image in every frame.  In tweened animation:  you create starting and ending (key) frames and let Flash create the frames in between. Flash varies the object's size, rotation, color, or other attributes evenly between the starting and ending frames to create the appearance of movement.

22. 22 Tweening and Keyframes Key Frames Key frame Copies of the previous key frames

23. 23 Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

24. 24 Start > Program > Macromedia > Flash MX  Open Flash MX working environment: Start > Program > Macromedia > Flash MX  Open the file “ flashmx-basic1-template.fla ”  Close all the ‘ unnecessary ’ windows except for that of the Toolbox, Stage and the Library. Window > Tools  To re-open the Toolbox: click Window > Tools Window > Library  To re-open the Library: click Window > Library Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

25. 25 Modify the default movie properties  Place the cursor on the Stage  Right-click and choose “ Property ”  On the pop-up “ Property ” panel, choose “ Size ” as shown above. Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

26. 26  In the Movie Properties dialog box, verify that 12 is the number in the Frame Rate text box. The movie will play at 12 frames per second, an optimal frame rate for playing animations on the Web. Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

27. 27 Creating a text symbol Insert > New Symbol  Choose Insert > New Symbol “ intro- text ” Graphic  Name the symbol as “ intro- text ” and choose the behaviour as “ Graphic ” Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

28. 28 “ A ”  Click on “ A ” on the toolbox panel  On the Stage, drag a rectangle of appropriate for typing in the required text text > fonttext > size text > style  You can change the font type, font size and font style by clicking text > font, text > size and text > style respectively. Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

29. 29  When you finish the text editing, you should click the “ black arrow ” on the toolbox panel. Window > Library  The text symbol that you have just create will store in the library. To view it, click Window > Library. Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

30. 30 Creating instances “ Scene 1 ”  Switch the stage back to Scene 1 by clicking “ Scene 1 ”  Then drag the intro-text symbol onto the stage.  To insert more frames, click Insert > Timeline> Frame  Then drag the rectangle to Frame 80. Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

31. 31  You can change the properties of each instance by highlighting the instance and then choose Modify > Transform > Free Transform to change the corresponding properties. Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

32. 32  You can change the instance ’ s texture by right-click it and choose “ property ”  Select Color: “ Alpha ” 100% to 0%  Select Color: “ Alpha ” and change the alpha value from 100% to 0% Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

33. 33 Tweening between two key frames rectangle at Frame 80 and insert a key frame there by clicking Insert > Timeline Keyframe Select the small rectangle at Frame 80 and insert a key frame there by clicking Insert > Timeline Keyframe To create tweening motion, select the frame with a “ rectangle ” sign, click Insert > Timeline > Create Motion Tween To create tweening motion, select the frame with a “ rectangle ” sign, click Insert > Timeline > Create Motion Tween Highlight the end KeyFrame and drag the text to your desired position. By varying the positions (properties) of the instance at the two key frames, Flash will then simulate the motion in between them. Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

34. 34 File > Preview > HTML  You can preview the flash movie by clicking File > Preview > HTML File > Save As flashmx-basics1-template.fla  You can save the flash movie by clicking File > Save As and save the file as flashmx-basics1-template.fla  You may publish you.fla file as a flash movie (.swf) and an executable file (.exe) by selecting the appropriate Publish Setting. Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

35. 35 File > Publish Settings  To change the publish setting, click File > Publish Settings File > Publish  To publish, click File > Publish Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

36. 36  In general, Flash generates 3 types of files:  ???.fla  Flash ’ s working file  ???.swf  Flash movie file ( usually linked with an HTML file); can be viewed by Flash supported browsers  ???.exe  Flash standalone executable file Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

37. 37 Exploration: Exploration: (Tweening with other properties) To create an animated text by tweening not only the position of the instance but other properties such as alpha value, size, rotate, transform, etc Save the file as flashmx-basics1-template.fla File > Publish Preview Preview the flash movie by choosing File > Publish Preview Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

38. 38 Exploration: Exploration: (Animated by multiple key frames) To create an animated text with a curved trajectory. Save the file as flashmx-basics1-template.fla File > Publish Preview Preview the flash movie by choosing File > Publish Preview Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

39. 39 Adding background sound effect Insert > Timeline > layer Insert a new layer by clicking Insert > Timeline > layer Name this layer as “ intro-music ” Name this layer as “ intro-music ” From the Library, drag the audio clip “ Sound- technoloop ” onto the stage Save the file as flashmx-basics1-template.fla File > Publish Preview Preview the flash movie by choosing File > Publish Preview Exercise 1 (Creating animated text)

40. 40 Open the file flashmx-basics2-template.fla flower Insert a new layer and name it as “ flower ” Insert > Timeline > Blank Frame Insert a blank key frame for this layer at Frame 97 by clicking Insert > Timeline > Blank Frame shift Select all the images: flowerFr00 to flowerFr16 from the flower folder of the Library by pressing “ shift ” while clicking the images. Exercise 2 (Fm-by-Fm animation)

41. 41 Frame 97 Select Frame 97 of the flower layer, drag all the images onto the stage. Select the images and resize them by clicking Modify > Transform > Free Transform if necessary “ Frame 96 ” On “ Frame 96 ”, Click Insert > Blank Frame Frame 97 ”“ Frame 96 ” Copy “ Frame 97 ” and paste it onto “ Frame 96 ” Select and delete the “ topmost ” image. THREE Repeat the above THREE steps for Frame 95 and so on till you reach Frame 81. Exercise 2 (Fm-by-Fm animation)

42. 42 File > Publish Preview >Flash  You can preview the flash movie by clicking File > Publish Preview >Flash File > Save Asflashmx- basics2-template.fla  Save the flash movie by clicking File > Save As and save the file as flashmx- basics2-template.fla  You may publish you.fla file as a flash movie (.swf) and an executable file (.exe) Exercise 2 (Fm-by-Fm animation)

43. 43 A Buzzing Honey Bee: A Buzzing Honey Bee: Open the file flashmx-basics3-template.fla “ bee ” Insert a new layer and name it as “ bee ” Insert a key frame for this layer at Frame 97 “ bee Extend the timeline for the “ bee ” layer to Frame 109 Insert a key frame for this layer at Frame 109 Create tweening motion for the “ bee ” instance between Frame 97 to Frame 109 Exercise 3 (Using Motion Guide)

44. 44 A Buzzing Honey Bee: A Buzzing Honey Bee: Insert > Timeline> Motion Guide To create a motion guide for the “ bee ” instance, select the “ bee ” layer and click Insert > Timeline> Motion Guide A motion Guide layer will automatically be created as shown below: Exercise 3 (Using Motion Guide)

45. 45 A Buzzing Honey Bee: A Buzzing Honey Bee: On Frame 97, insert a Keyframe on the timeline Open the “ Tool Palette ” and select the pencil tool Select the motion guide layer and use the pencil tool to draw the path you wish the “ bee ” to follow At Frame 97, drag the “ bee ” to the starting point of the path drawn Similarly, at Similarly, at Frame 109, drag the “ bee ” to the end point of the path Exercise 3 (Using Motion Guide)

46. 46 A Buzzing Honey Bee: A Buzzing Honey Bee: To create some sound effect, create a new layer form the sound track Select the layer and right click to change the layer back to the “ Normal ” mode Drag the “ buzzing ” sound clip from the “ honey bee ” folder of the library File > Publish Preview >Flash You can preview the flash movie by clicking File > Publish Preview >Flash File > Save As flashmx-basics3-template.fla Save the flash movie by clicking File > Save As and save the file as flashmx-basics3-template.fla Exercise 3 (Using Motion Guide)

47. 47 Open the file flashmx-basics4-template.fla Create THREE new layers respectively for the images: Magnifying Glass, catseyes and catseye-blur stored in the “ mask layer ” folder of the Library Between Frame 115 to Frame 150, drag the images on to the stage at their respective layers as shown below: Exercise 4 (Creating Layer Masks)

48. 48 On top of the “ catseyes ” layer, insert a new layer which acts as the mask layer for “ catseyes ”. Then right click the layer and choose “ Mask ” To create a special effect, open the tool palette and draw a small circle which exactly covers the magnifying glass. To create a special effect, open the tool palette and draw a small circle which exactly covers the magnifying glass. This circle will serve as the hole of the mask layer. This circle will serve as the hole of the mask layer. Then follow previous procedure, create tweening motion for both the mask object and the magnifying glass Then follow previous procedure, create tweening motion for both the mask object and the magnifying glass Exercise 4 (Creating Layer Masks)

49. 49 File > Publish Preview >Flash You can preview the flash movie by clicking File > Publish Preview >Flash File > Save Asflashmx- basics4-template.fla Save the flash movie by clicking File > Save As and save the file as flashmx- basics4-template.fla Exercise 4 (Creating Layer Masks)

50. 50 To control the normal flow of the movie, one can insert actionscript into the desired frame to instruct the movie to take special action To do this, we may insert a new layer (named as “ actions ” ) to host all the actionscipt for the desirable frame. Exercise 5 (Creating Frame Actions)

51. 51 Looping Effect for the “ honey bee ” “ actions Insert a key frame at Frame 109 of the “ actions ” layer “ Actions ” Select and right-click this key frame, then choose “ Actions ” Exercise 5 (Creating Frame Actions)

52. 52 From the Movie Control folder choose “ gotoAndPlay ” option Then type 97 in the frame number field Exercise 5 (Creating Frame Actions)

53. 53 Looping Effect for the “ layer mask ” “ actions Similarly, insert a key frame at Frame 150 of the “ actions ” layer “ Actions ” Select and right-click this key frame, then choose “ Actions ” gotoAndPlay ” Choose “ gotoAndPlay ” as the action Then type in 115. Then type in 115 as the Frame number. Exercise 5 (Creating Frame Actions)

54. 54 File > Publish Preview >Flash You can preview the flash movie by clicking File > Publish Preview >Flash File > Save Asflashmx- basics5-template.fla Save the flash movie by clicking File > Save As and save the file as flashmx- basics5-template.fla Exercise 5 (Creating Frame Actions)

55. 55 Creating Buttons four-frame interactive movie clips.  Buttons are actually four-frame interactive movie clips. When you select the button behavior for a symbol, Flash creates a Timeline with four frames. The first three frames display the button's three possible states; the fourth frame defines the active area of the button. The Timeline doesn't actually play; it simply reacts to pointer movement and actions by jumping to the appropriate frame. Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)

56. 56 To create a button: Insert > New Symbol  6.1 Choose Insert > New Symbol, or press Control+F8.  6.2 To create the button, you convert the button frames to keyframes.  6.3 In the Symbol Properties dialog box, enter a name for the new button symbol, and for Behavior choose Button. Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)

57. 57  Flash switches to symbol-editing mode. The Timeline header changes to display four consecutive frames labeled Up, Over, Down, and Hit. The first frame, Up, is a blank keyframe. Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)

58. 58  6.4 To create the Up state button image, use the drawing tools, import a graphic, or place an instance of another symbol on the Stage. Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)

59. 59 Window > Color Mixerand select “ Linear Gradient ” and appropriate color pointer.  6.5 You can change the texture of the button by “ selecting ” the button and choose Window > Color Mixer and select “ Linear Gradient ” and appropriate color pointer. Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)

60. 60  6.6 Copy the “ Up ” frame and paste it onto the “ Over ” frame, “ Down ” frame, and the “ Hit ” frame.  6.7 You may then vary the colour tone of the second TWO frames. Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)

61. 61 Defining an action to the button (WWW link)  6.8 Insert TWO layers for two button instances.  6.9 On the two layers, insert Keyframes at Frame 97  On the TWO layers, create TWO labels: “ Mask Layer ” and “ Examples ” for the TWO button instances respectively Mask Layer Action  6.10 On the stage, select the “ Mask Layer ” button and right click it. Choose the “ Action ” option. Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)

62. 62 Defining an action to the button (WWW link)  6.11 On the script editor panel, select the commands for the two given buttons: on (release) { gotoAndPlay(115); }  on (release) { getURL("http://www.macromedia.com/support/flash /drawing/creating_masks/creating_masks02.html"); } Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)

63. 63  6.12 For the “ Example ” button instance, create an action to control the movie to go to Frame 109 when the button is being pressed. File > Publish Preview >Flash 6.13 You can preview the flash movie by clicking File > Publish Preview >Flash File > Save Asflashmx- basics6-template.fla 6.14 Save the flash movie by clicking File > Save As and save the file as flashmx- basics6-template.fla Exercise 6 (Creating a button for navigation)