Flash Exercise 4
FOCUS Interactive package with embedded BMPs
PURPOSE Show your competence with photos, text and buttons -- especially photos -- in Flash. (Movie clips are optional in this exercise.)
VALUE 5 points (see Grading):
- 2 points for meeting all the requirements (below)
- 1 point for acceptable appearance (that is, no one is likely to say, "That looks bad!") -- consider all of the seven design components (White)
- 1 point for professional appearance (most people would say, "Wow, that's good!" even if they did not know it was student work)
- 1 point for originality and story value (is it interesting?)
DETAILS Create a new, original SWF with informational content that shows HOW TO DO something. Not necessarily a "how-to" that teaches, but you must tell a story using photos and text, and the story is HOW TO ... whatever you choose.
Requirements
- Use buttons to allow the user to control the package.
- Include at least 10 photographs that you took yourself specifically for THIS assignment.
- All photos must be BMPs (or PNG-24s) imported into the movie, as explained in Lesson 7. Do not import JPGs.
- Write text as needed to tell the story. That may or may not mean each photo requires its own caption.
- Include credits that name you as the producer. If you use information from any source, include that in the credits too.
- This package may be linear.
- Use frame labels, NOT frame numbers.
- Follow all the instructions below.
- Upload ALL THREE files (SWF, FLA, HTML) to your Web site and send me two URLs -- (1) the HTML page, and (2) the FLA -- via e-mail, by the deadline.
Example
This should give you an idea of what you can do: Cutting Back the Hornbeam. This example includes more than 10 photos (it has 19) and demonstrates several of the techniques from Lesson 7 in the Flash Journalism book.
To help you understand how to plan and execute such a slideshow, I made some notes about step-by-step planning (PDF, 95 KB).
Use of Scenes. I have a PDF online (395 KB) that discusses how to make Scenes in Flash. Scenes are mentioned only briefly in your book (page 120). I used Scenes in the example movie linked here because otherwise, at 818 frames, the Timeline would have been difficult to work with because of its extreme length. YOU SHOULD USE SCENES to make this assignment manageable.
Use of folders. If you choose not to use Scenes, then you must use folders in your Flash Timeline. Layers can be tucked into folders (there's an icon near the Make a New Layer icon) to make your work a little easier.
Instructions
- Create an entirely new FLA for this assignment.
- Decide on subject matter that you can reasonably photograph yourself. You do not need to be an expert on the subject; you can interview someone who is an expert, or research the subject online or in the library.
- Collect the necessary assets (images and facts). Do not plagiarize. Write in your own words. BE BRIEF.
- To get 10 decent photos, you will need to shoot AT LEAST 50-60 photos. Please trust me on this. You can shoot 60 photos in 30-40 minutes. It is not hard. DO NOT use a cell phone camera; the image quality is too poor.
- Plan your story. It would be a good idea to make some pencil sketches to organize your ideas before you start building.
- Edit your photos in Photoshop. PLEASE NOTE that this step comes AFTER "plan your story." Make sure you have read Lesson 7 before you start doing this. The width and height (in pixels) of the final photo is extremely important.
- Import your photos to Flash. (The FLA file will be quite large. You can reduce the size of the SWF significantly via the technique described on pp. 150-151. Yes, the book shows a JPG there. You must use only BMPs.)
- Create your image sequence on the Timeline. Don't forget to leave enough SPACE for both text and buttons.
- Write text for the package, and format it according to the techniques explained in Lesson 9.
- Demonstrate your understanding of the seven design components (from White) in the design of each screen of your Flash movie.
- Make sure your movie tells a story that a total stranger could understand.
- Test your movie very thoroughly.
- Copy the SWF, the HTML file and the FLA into your Web folder (this means the folder on your hard drive that you defined in Dreamweaver as your site folder).
- Upload all three files to your Web site.