Macromedia Flash CS4
Using Flash CS4
What is Flash CS4?
– Animation and interactive authoring
program
– Tools for complex animation, as well as
excellent drawing tools
Using Flash
What can Flash CS4 be used for?
– Web sites
– Web-based applications
– CD-Rom and interactive applications
– Video
Optimized for the Web
Vector images, which reduce the size
of graphic files
– Vectors are scalable
Flash provides streaming content
over the internet
– instead of waiting for the entire contents
of a web page to load
The Development
Environment
You can customize your
workspace
Flash works on a movie metaphor
– Create Scenes on a Stage
– Scenes run in frames on a timeline
– You create a movie by arranging
objects on the stage
– You can play the movie on the
stage using DVD-like controls
Playback of Flash content
Movies are viewable through a
browser
Macromedia Flash Player is
required (free download available
on Macromedia’s Web site)
Movies can be played through the
browser, the player, or as a stand-
alone “movie”
How Flash Starts up
Three parts to the Development
Environment
– Stage
– Timeline
– Workspace
You can display other parts of the
program
– The toolbox
– The properties panel
The Stage
Contains all objects that are seen
by the viewer in the final movie
Draw objects or import objects to
the stage
The Timeline
Organize and control the movie’s
content by specifying when each
object appears on the stage
Images are contained within
frames, which are units of the
timeline
The timeline has separate layers
The timeline has a playback head
The Toolbox
Contains a set of tools used to
draw and edit graphics and text
Divided into four sections: Tools,
View, Colors, Option
Panels, such as the Properties
Panel are used to organize and
modify objects and features in a
movie
Previewing a movie
Flash movies can be previewed in
the development environment
Control menu commands:
– Play, rewind, step forward, step
backward.
The Controller acts similar to a
DVD Controller
Testing a movie
When previewing a movie, some
interactive functions do not work
unless the movie is played using
the Flash Player.
Use Control > Test Movie to test
using the Flash player
Creating a Macromedia
Flash Movie
Movies are created by placing
objects on the stage, editing these
objects, animating them and
adding interactivity
You can create graphics in Flash,
or import them from another
program such as Fireworks or
Photoshop
Creating a Macromedia
Flash Movie
Objects placed on the stage are
automatically placed in a layer, and
in the currently selected frame of
the timeline
A keyframe represents a frame
which contains an object
– Always the first frame of every
animation
An object in a keyframe
Keyframe
representing
Object on the stage
object
Creating an animation
A basic animation requires two
keyframes
– First keyframe sets the starting
position
– Second keyframe sets the ending
position
The number of frames between two
keyframes determines the length of
the animation
– (24fps in CS4 is default)
Motion animation
Motion Guide
shows there
is motion and
can be
changed to
move how
you want.
Dots
represent
different
frames
Adding an Effect to an
Object
Animate an objects’ appearance
– Shape
– Color
– Brightness
– Transparency
– Rotation
Understanding the Timeline
Frame View
Playhead Frames Icon
Layers Status Bar
Understanding how to read the timeline
can help you determine what’s happening
in your movie frame by frame
Layers
Like transparent sheets of
content stacked on top of one
another
Adding a layer causes it to be
placed on top of the other layers
Can be re-ordered by dragging
up or down
Using Frames
The timeline
Made up of individual units
called frames
Content is displayed in frames
as the playhead moves over
them when the movie plays
The status bar indicates current
frame the playhead is on
Using the Playhead
Playhead indicates which frame
is playing
Can be dragged left or right
Dragging back and forth allows
you to check some animations in
Flash without exporting to swf
Adjusting the Timeline view
Makes the frames appear larger/smaller based on preference
Modifying the frame rate
Change movie dimensions
Adjust the
Background
color
Adjust the
frame rate