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THIS IS A DRAFT, WHICH WILL BE IMPROVED WITH YOUR FEEDBACK

COSC 330 LAB 6
INTRODUCTION TO FLASH
(Based on the exercise developed by Ryan Hamerski.)

        This exercise introduces Macromedia Flash, a popular vector graphics development tool, designed to produce efficient Web animations that adapt to different display sizes and resolutions and play as they download.  Flash developers can import artwork using any graphics editor and modify it with animations, audio, interactivity, and special effects. The content is then saved as a file with a .swf file name extension.   Flash animations typically have full-screen navigation interfaces, graphic illustrations, and simple interactivity in an antialiased, resizable file format.   Unlike the bit-mapped GIF and JPEG files, used in Lab 5, vector graphic files are relatively small, efficient, and designed for optimal network transmissions, small enough to stream across a normal modem connection.  To view Flash animations, the Flash Player plug-in, which works with most browser and hardware platforms, is required; this can be downloaded from the Macromedia Web site. 

This lab is designated for the use of Flash MX, which is available in the Pullen Labs.  You may use another version of flash, but the tutorials will probably be different. If you would like to download a trial version of this program go here:  http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=flash.  Specifically the goals of this lab are to:

  1. become familiar with Macromedia Flash MX,
  2. open the door to learning more about Flash development, and
  3. develop a simple Flash animation.

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Open Flash. If you get a window asking you what type of user you are, select General user.
  2. Once Flash is loaded, work through the following "lessons".  You may get an opening dialog box that allows you to access the lessons or you may have to choose help|lessons from the toolbar.  A smaller dialog box will appear containing the lessons.  Work through the following topics (Check the questions in step 2, so you can identify the answers as you work through the tutorials.):
    1. Getting Started with flash
    2. Illustrating in flash
    3. Adding and editing text
    4. Creating and editing symbols
    5. Understanding layers
    6. Creating tweened animation
    7. Creating buttons
  3. After completing the tutorials above, answer the following questions (to make sure you learned enough to do the rest of the lab):
    1. What are panels in flash?
    2.  What is the programming language used with flash?
    3. Explain how to rotate an object in flash.
    4. What are the options you can choose in the pencil mode modifier?
    5. What is the difference between static and dynamic text?
    6. Explain how to reshape text
    7. List the types of symbols that can be created with flash
    8. What does alpha do?
    9.  List the advantages of using layers
    10.  What does a mask layer do?
    11. Explain the concept of a motion tween
    12. How many button states are there and what do they do?
    13.  What is the actionscript command to load a URL?
  4. One you are comfortable with Flash, create a splash page for your Web site:
    1. As a minimum include the following:
      1. Have “welcome to <<your name>>'s Flash animation” scroll horizontally across the screen.  (Obviously you have to replace <<your name>> with your name.)
      2.  Have a button named “enter” that loads your web site, i.e. accesses your index.htm.
    2. Try to be innovative and creative; extra credit will be awarded for creations beyond those above.
    3. To view a minimal example click here: http://goliath.frostburg.edu/rhamerski0/cosc/flash.html
  5. When finished export your movie and name it “enter.swf”.   To publish a movie in Flash choose Publish from the File menu.


ASSIGNMENT:

  1. Publish, on your FSU Web site, a Web page, lab330-6.htm that contains the following:
    1. the times it took to finish the tutorial and to finish the whole lab
    2. The answers to the 13 questions in instruction 2, above.
    3. a link to your Flash animation, and
    4. suggestions as to how the learning experience in this lab.  (Since this is a first draft of a Flash lab, your feedback and suggestions for improving the lab are of particular interest.)
  2. Place a link to lab330-6.htm on  main330.htm.