Project Two Finished

Hello Everyone,
The second class project is now "in the can" as they say. Here are some still screen captures of the project since this work incorporated buttons and I can not post a playable version on the blog that includes them.
In the first part of the assignment I am animating "Tension". This is the first frame. The arrows are both buttons that when clicked start the band stretching.

The next couple of screen captures show the stretching. Notice the rainbow of color that is expanding in the background:

Here is the frame at the end of the Tension sequence after the band has been released and the rainbow in the center is the next button that when clicked will start the next sequence:

The second sequence is an animation of the letters "Exposed" and as we all learned this is NOT to be confused with "Revealed". It starts with a pure black screen and that opens to expose the letters:

Notice that the letters are running away on the ends:

This leaves the O standing alone, exposed. The O then blushes and shrinks down:

The curtains then close and the small O bounces to the top and then to the bottom finaling landing in the center to become a button that returns to play the first sequence.

And as that pesky rabbit says, "That's all Folks".  On to the next project. It promises to be a doozy.

Hello All,

Adobe sent me an e-mail that included a blog by Rob Ford that included the following information that I thought was really great.

The edge of Flash by Rob Ford

I have been following almost every noteworthy Flash site launch since the late 1990s. Over that time, I have witnessed many comings and goings and read many sweeping statements about Flash and its longevity, and I would say that 2010 was a year in point for Flash. As we all know, Apple does not currently allow Flash on its iPhone or iPad, and we have heard many people lauding HTML5 as the next Flash killer. Remember Silverlight’s launch with headlines such as "Microsoft unveils Silverlight as Flash killer"? Well, the latest headlines read more like this: "Microsoft Corp. drops Silverlight platform for HTML5."

The reality is that Flash is stronger than ever as the weapon of choice to create the most memorable, exciting, and interactive experiences online. HTML5 has great potential as a standalone way of creating websites or for working hand in hand with other tools like Flash. If you look in any great workman’s toolkit, you will see more than one tool.

Flash on mobile is also an exciting development for smartphones and tablets. I believe apps will ultimately give way to mobile browser sites and experiences.
The proof of the pudding is always in the eating, and the following amazing and unforgettable experiences, which are all new for 2011, demonstrate why Flash is still the ultimate force.

Isle of Tune Site by Jim Hall

http://www.isleoftune.com/

This is a music sequencer for constructing street layouts that generates tunes. This is a pure experimental delight that shows amazing attention to detail. It is a great example of the power of one person who has an idea and devotes passion and time to make it a reality. These are the types of projects that excite me — projects that are made by one person with no motive other than to be creative. Ideas like these can really take off, and this one certainly did. As the creator himself says, “There really is no purpose to it. Just play about and create something.” This has a Sim City feel to it in that you lay down sections of road, houses, trees, and so forth and then drop your car onto the newly created road. As the car drives around, it plays a tune. Simple but great. You can even save your own islands, which become part of a bigger gallery that all users can browse.

Mobile Flash: Little SuckersSite by Little Suckers

http://www.littlesuckers.fr/

I must warn you that you need a Flash enabled smartphone to view this mobile Flash portfolio site. This is one of the first wave of sites created for Flash mobile specifically. It’s a simple little portfolio site with nice transitions. Some might ask what’s so special about it. It’s the fact that people are now making sites purely for Flash enabled devices, as they did back in the late 1990s when Flash really started to take off for web browsers. I look forward to seeing more examples like this or any Flash dedicated mobile content, so let me know if you have created or seen any Flash mobile projects.

Assignment One Final Video

Here is my final video for our first assignment. I didn't get to do all I had thought of in my mind but I did learn alot about the video time line and tweening and also about the use (and misuse) of Symbols. Guess that's not so bad for a first lesson. I hope to use some audio in my next piece.

One note, I had to convert my SWG file into a Quicktime movie to post it to this blog.

TED Video

Hi Everyone,
Here is an exciting video on computer animation by Paul Debevec showing some cutting edge technology they are using in Marina Del Rey to produce realistic animated photo-realistic digital faces. It is a must see for anyone interested in 3-D animation.


Paul Debevec animates a photo-real digital face Video on TED.com

Assignment One Progress

Thought I would go ahead and post a progress shot of my first assignment. This is my simple drawiwng from my photograph:

and here is the original photograph taken in San Francisco.

I took the liberty of adding the red flag in the hopes that it will animate later.

Well, that is what I have so far. I have gained some control over layers and tools but there is much more to learn. Baby steps............

Examples of Good and Bad Flash Sites

Here are my picks for examples of Bad Flash.

Example One: This one is a bit scary with all of the lightning flashes and electricity. Warning: do not attempt visiting this site if you are prone to seizures!!! The link to view this masterpiece is below the picture.

http://iccmworldwide.org/index2.htm

Example Two: This one has a strange (read frustrating) way to navigate since the navigation blocks tend to run away from your mouse when you try to click on them. Try it yourself at the link below the picture.

http://nomek.net/

Now for the good stuff:

Example One: This is a site for a writer that uses Flash beautifully to enhance the information, not overpowering it. Click on the link below the picture and see what you think.

http://www.sheeladaley.com/

Example Two: I saved the best for last. this site is for a Belgium computer graphic artist and is a Flash masterpiece. It is fun, interesting, and easy to navigate. This one will be my inspiration for this class. Be sure to check this one out.

http://www.thibaud.be/

Those are my picks. I look forward to seeing what you all found.

Welcome to my Multimedia Blog

Hello everyone. This is the grand opening of my Art 145 Multimedia Design class blog. I am on schedule to complete my Web Design Certificate at the end of this semester so I hope to get a bunch of knowledge and skills from this class. I look forward to sharing all the fun with you and will share my journey on this blog.