About me

- Yes, the world revolves around me :)

What to expect from the workshops

- Foundation
- A project of your choice - think about what you want to do.

How this will work

- Guinea pig on big screen
- Open Q & A

What is Flash?

     - Vector vs Bitmap
     - Streaming
     - Web
          - Browser-based
          - plugin
          - Object Orientated (brief)
     - Web application Platform
          - Server-side, PHP, ASP, ColdFusion, Database
     - External files: Text, XML , MP3 JPG, SWF FLV
     - Audio and Video
     - Animation

How is Flash used properly?

     - Swish, Swift 3D
     - Audio
     - Video
     - Menus
     - Animation
     - Interactivity
     - Advertising
     - Information Design/Architecture
     - Ecommerce
     - Presentation
     - RoboDemo

How is Flash used improperly?

     - Dinasours
     - Splash Page / Skip Intro
     - Bandwidth / filesize
     - Audio
     - Macromedia Usability tips

The History of Flash

Flash is an interesting application. primarily due to it's ability to animate vector graphics. After spending a number of years handling graphics for print I became well aware of the vast differences between vector graphics and bitmap images. After making the transition from print to the Web, I often wondered why the web didn't support vector file formats, since vector files are not only smaller, but "scalable." However, after about three years in the industry i became aware of an application which could present vector based images on the web - Flash. Not only could Flash present vector images in a browser, but it could animate them, and stream them - with sound! This opened the doors for a whole new twist on the internet. But before we go any furthur i think a little history lesson is necessary to clear the air on how this technology became what it is today.

FutureSplash is the original name of Flash. The developers of FuturSplash sold there technology to Macromedia. Macromedia has an extensive history in the interactive application development. A number of years ago they developed Shockwave for Macromedia's long-standing CD-rom and Kiosk authoring tool "Director." Shockwave is a plug-in which enables browsers to display content specifically developed for the plug-in. There are a number of applications which can produce Shockwave files: Flash, Director, Freehand and Authorware - all are Macromedia products.

For an in-depth history of Flash, click here.

The reason for Flash's success is that it was developed specifically for the Internet - where-as the other applications mentioned above carry "extra baggage" for non-Internet specific functionality. And i beileve that Flash will continue to be the standard for developing interactive media on the Web due to it's ability incorporate a large varity of file format import and export features.

The vision and promise of the internet is to deliver information in an interactive and entertaining fashion enabling people to communicate at a higher level than TV, Radio or Telephone. Basically - the web is the the merger of TV, Radio, Telephone and Data. There are a number of technologies which enable this merger. RealNetworks was the first company to successfully develope video for the internet. Quicktime is another vide-based technology that has had tremendous success. Microsoft's Windows Media is also in the mix to try and monopolize internet video. While each of the "Big 3" have outstanding quality and perfomance, they are lacking in two critical areas that limit their overall impact: 1) Ease of use. 2) Market Saturation.

Why is Flash so successful?

     - Market saturation
     - Free plugin
     - API
     - Extensible
     - Tool designed specifically for the web
     - Predicesor, FutureSplash, Shockwave - Director
     - Flexible
     - Data
     - Audio Video
     - Version 2-4 ease-of-use
     - Design restrictions

What are the competitors to Flash?

     - Swish
     - Adobe LiveMotion
     - SVG
     - Shockwave
     - Java
     - Real
     - Quicktime
     - Windows Media
     - DHTML
     - PowerPoint

Benefits of Flash over other technologies

     - platform independant
     - Big 3 (quicktime, windows media, real - "learning" - user and webmaster
     - Small footprint
     - Market saturation
     - Design
     - Open standards

Flash's limitations

     - The Plugin Perdicament
     - Inside a "box"
     - Performance
     - Frame rate dependant on procesosr speed.
     - Alpha and Blends
     - Bitmaps
     - Proprietery Video
     - As plugin
     - Total Frames
     - Actionscript Learning curve

A Word About 3D

     - Swish

Think about what you want to do