Flirting with Flash


Overview
This course was designed to help you decide whether Flash is a tool you want to use for your web site or presentations. You will have first-hand experience with how Flash works and how to develop a simple Flash movie. To fully use the capabilities in Flash, you will need to have animation experience or hire an animator, but you may find that creating simple Flash movies is all you need to spruce up your site.

Required text: Flash 8 Revealed by Jim Shuman; published by Thomson Course Technology.

Note: the following schedule roughly corresponds to our class sessions. However, based on class discussion and questions, this schedule should be considered flexible.

Session
Class Description
1

Introduction
    To FLASH or not to FLASH
Splash pages
Flash Discussion
- usability
Flash Discussion - searchability - see Photo Gallery example below

 Chapter 1 - Lessons 1 & 2: The Flash Environment
    - Understanding the file types
    - The timeline panel and frames
    - Layers and the importance of naming layers
 Lesson3: Using the tools
    - The choices in File -> New
    - Use the text tools
    - Add a Motion Tween

    - Do Exercise 1
Lesson 4: Building with a Timeline
    - Adding Layers
    - Animation in Layers and Symbols
    -
Do Exercise 2
 Analyze the parts of the Class Example
    - Where do the following features come into play
    - Timeline
    - Layers


Web references
   - History of Flash
   - Analysis examples: IKEA, Photo Gallery

2

Drawing Objects  
 
 Chapter 2: Lessons 1 - 3: Drawing Objects and Gradients
    - Understanding the drawing objects
    - Using gradients
    - Understanding Transform
    - Do Exercise 3
    - Do Exercise 4
    - Do Review 1

3

Text and Graphic Animations
    - Importing photos into Flash
    - Do Exercise 5

  Chapter 2: Lesson4: Manipulating Text
    - Formatting Text
    - Making Text Symbols
    - Animating Text
    - Importing images
    - Do Exercise 6


 Analyze the parts of the Class Example
    -
Text animations

4

Review and Complete Slideshow project

    - Review basic steps to making a slideshow with imported graphics and text
    - Go through example: falconipuig.com for text animation
    - Working with scenes
    -
Using skills from Day 3 use example for slideshow intro
    - Finish Slide Show



 

Nora McDougall | Missoula, Montana 59801 | 406.253.4045 | info@thecomputergal.com
© 2008, Nora McDougall