Flash CS4/5 Foundations
Description
Flash Foundations is an introductory course for designers and budding developers new to the Flash environment. In this course, students will produce an engaging interface using text, graphics, animations, video, and sound. Flash Foundations focuses on the essentials, and emphasizes best practices throughout the course.
Audience
This course is for beginners: designers and developers new to Flash who want to learn the interface and commonly used features. To gain the most from this class, students should:
- Be familiar with Windows or Mac OS X
- Be familiar with the Web and its terminology
Course Length
2 or 3 Days
Course Objectives:
By the time students are finished with this course, they will be able to:
- Create a Flash Document and set up a Flash document
- Import and create graphics
- Use Flash drawing tools
- Create and use symbols
- Produce Motion and Shape animations
- Use Script Assist and Behaviors to add simple interactivity
- Import Sound and Video
- Publish a Flash Document in one of several formats
Course Outline
- Getting Started
Introducing Adobe Flash Professional
Why Use Flash?
What's New in Flash?
Flash, Flash Player, or Flash Lite?
File Types Associated with Flash
Caution: Player Required!
Beyond Flash - Understanding the Interface
Exploring the Welcome Screen
Interface Overview
Exploring the Tools Panel
Working with the Panels
Exercise 1: Creating a New Custom Keyboard Shortcut Set - Using the Drawing and Color Tools
Drawing Tools Defined
Lines, Strokes, and Fills Defined
Exercise 1: Drawing with the Pencil Tool
Exercise 2: Using the Oval and Rectangle Tools
Exercise 3: Using the Brush Tool
Exercise 4: Modifying Lines and Shapes
Exercise 5: Modifying Strokes and Fills
What Is the Color Panel?
Understanding the Flash Drawing Models
Exercise 6: Using the Merge and Object Drawing Models
Exercise 7: Grouping Objects
Exercise 8: Creating Gradients
Exercise 9: Drawing with the Pen Tool
Exercise 10: Modifying Paths - Animating in Flash
Understanding How the Timeline Works
Exercise 1: Setting Document Properties
Understanding Keyframes and Frames
Exercise 2: Creating Frame-by-Frame Animation with Keyframes
What Is the Frame Rate?
Recommended Frame Rates
Exercise 3: Inserting and Deleting Frames
Exercise 4: Copying and Reversing Frames
Exercise 5: Using Onion Skinning
Exercise 6: Testing Movies - Shape Tweening
What Is Shape Tweening?
Exercise 1: Shape Tweening Basics
Exercise 2: Using Shape Hints
Exercise 3: Creating Multiple Shape Tweens
Understanding Layer Properties - Creating Symbols and Instances
Understanding the Symbol and Instance Structure
Symbol Naming Conventions
Important Timeline Vocabulary Terms
Exercise 1: Creating Graphic Symbols
Exercise 2: Creating Symbol Instances
Exercise 3: Editing Symbols
Exercise 4: Editing Symbol Instances
Using Color Styles
Exercise 5: Animating Graphic Symbols - Filters and Blend Modes
What Are Blend Modes?
Blend Mode Basics
Exercise 1: Working with Blend Modes
What Are Filters?
Exercise 2: Working with Filters
Exercise 3: Colorizing a Grayscale Image - Motion Tweening and Timeline Effects
Shape Tweening vs. Motion Tweening
Exercise 1: Understanding Basic Motion Tweening
Exercise 2: Using Tweening Effects
Exercise 3: Editing Multiple Frames
Exercise 4: Using a Motion Guide
Exercise 5: Using the Custom Ease Controls
Exercise 6: Animating Text
Exercise 7: Using Timeline Effect Assistants
Exercise 8: Animating with the Blur Filter
Exercise 9: Animating with the Drop Shadow Filter - Working with Bitmaps
Understanding the Benefits of Bitmaps
Understanding Compression in Flash
Exercise 1: Importing and Compressing Bitmaps
Exercise 2: Importing Bitmap Sequences
Exercise 3: Converting Bitmaps to Vectors
Exercise 4: Using Basic Masking
Exercise 5: Using Animated Masks
Exercise 6: Animating Bitmaps - Buttons
Understanding Button States
Understanding Button Types
Exercise 1: Creating Rollover Buttons
Exercise 2: Creating Rollover Buttons with Text
Exercise 3: Duplicating and Aligning Buttons
Exercise 4: Adding Sound to Buttons
Exercise 5: Creating Invisible Buttons - Movie Clips
What Is a Movie Clip?
Exercise 1: Creating a Movie Clip
Exercise 2: Using Animated Graphic Symbols Versus Using Movie Clip Symbols
Exercise 3: Creating an Animated Rollover Button
Exercise 4: Putting an Animated Rollover Button into Action - ActionScript Basics
Using the Actions Panel
Introducing ActionScript 3.0 Elements
Exercise 1: Controlling the Timeline
Exercise 2: Controlling Movie Clips
What Is Dot Syntax?
Exercise 3: Using Conditional Statements
What Is the URLRequest Class?
Exercise 4: Using the navigateToURL Function
What Are Frame Labels, and Why Use Them?
Exercise 5: Creating a Pop-Up Menu Using Frame Labels
What Is the Loader Class?
What Is addChild?
Exercise 6: Loading Movies Using the Loader Class - Working with Text
Understanding Text Field Types
Creating, Modifying, and Formatting Text
Exercise 1: Working with Static Text and Device Fonts
Exercise 2: Using Small Type and Aliased Text
Exercise 3: Loading Text into Dynamic Text Fields
Exercise 4: Working with Dynamic Text and HTML
Exercise 5: Working with Input Text - Sound
Exercise 1: Importing Sounds
Exercise 2: Compressing Sound
Exercise 3: Creating Background Sound with Sound Effects
Modifying Sound Settings
Exercise 4: Adding Sounds Using ActionScript 3.0
Exercise 5: Controlling Sound with On/Off Buttons
Exercise 6: Setting Compression for Narration
Exercise 7: Synchronizing Sound to Narration Cues
Exercise 8: Controlling Animation and Sound with Stop and Play Buttons - Components and Forms
What Are Components?
Working with Components
Exercise 1: Creating a Form
Exercise 2: Configuring Components
Exercise 3: Modifying ActionScript 3.0 Component Skins
Using Adobe Flash Exchange - Video
Importing Video into Flash
Understanding On2 VP6 and Sorenson Spark Video Compression
Using the Flash Professional Video Features
Using Adobe Flash Video (FLV)
Exercise 1: Importing Video
Exercise 2: Controlling Video with Stop and Play Actions
Exercise 3: Controlling Video by Targeting Frame Labels
Exercise 4: Editing Video
Exercise 5: Using the Flash Video Encoder - Publishing and Exporting What Types of Content Can Flash CS3/4 Publish?
Exercise 1: Using Flash with HTML
Exercise 2: Creating Projectors
Exercise 3: Modifying Projectors with FSCommands
Knowing When to Publish and Export
Exercise 4: Exporting Image Files
Learning More About the Publish Settings
Saving Publishing Profiles
Optimizing Movies - Putting It All Together
Exercise 1: Understanding the Big Picture
Exercise 2: Examining the Timeline
Managing Layers
Organizing the Library
Exercise 3: Investigating the Library
Exercise 4: Using the Movie Explorer
What Is a Preloader?
Exercise 5: Building a Preloader
Exercise 6: Printing from the Project File
Setting Layout Options
Exercise 7: Printing from the Flash Player
Exercise 8: Creating Draggable Movies - Integration
Importing Vector Files
Exercise 1: Importing Fireworks Content
Exercise 2: Integrating with Dreamweaver
Exercise 3: Importing Illustrator Content
Exercise 4: Importing Photoshop Content
Exercise 5: Creating Accessible Content