Director 7 for Macintosh & Windows Visual QuickStart Guide [Paperback]

Andre Persidsky (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201353989 | ISBN-13: 978-0201353983 | Publication Date: May 1999

Macromedia Director is the authoring software of choice for multimedia professionals of all types. Designed around the metaphor of a movie production, with its scenes, scripts, scores, and casts, Director lets users merge and orchestrate text, graphics, animation, video, sound effects, and music into business presentations, entertainment and education CD-ROMs, interactive information kiosks, Shockwave movies for the Web, and other full-featured interactive productions.Director 7 for Macintosh and Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide teaches all of Director's core features, showing readers how to arrange multimedia presentations, animate text and graphics, and add full interactivity to custom software. This cross-platform edition has been thoroughly updated for Director 7, covering all new basic techniques for creating animation, tools and special effects in the Paint window, cast member types, score channels, techniques for arranging frames and cells in the score, scene transitions, changes to how Director processes color, and upgrades in sound processing.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Are you new to Macromedia Director, the multimedia-authoring program? Do you need to learn the basics of the software as quickly as possible? If so, Director 7 for Macintosh and Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide is the perfect choice. In this book, you'll find large illustrations, easily readable type, and step-by-step instructions.

Inside are all the elements of the Director interface, which is especially helpful since it can be hard to work with the Stage, Cast, Score, and Sprites all at once. Director, after all, necessarily deviates from the normal software approach in which you have one main work area such as a text editor, a spreadsheet, or a drawing space.

There's plenty of hands-on work by choosing and managing color, text, sound, and video. The guide takes you to the point at which you've created a movie of your own and can deliver it, via Projector or via Shockwave movie, for the Web. The trickier aspects of Director are explored--its scripting language, add-ons, and interactive behaviors--but these are just meant as an introduction to the next step in your multimedia career: building highly customized, detailed projects worthy of a pro. --Kathleen Caster

From Library Journal

For new users, Persidsky covers all the basics: assembling casts, building the score, assembling sprites, and digital video and movies for the web. He gently introduces behaviors and Lingo programming, but this is where the novice needs the next book.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 387 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201353989
• ISBN-13: 978-0201353983
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,702,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A typical quickstart guide..., December 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Director 7 for Macintosh & Windows Visual QuickStart Guide (Paperback)

I've used these quickstart guides for many different programs, and, overall, I find them all the same. If you're an experienced computer user, you can probably figure out most of what's contained in the book by yourself with a little time. Where the book does come in useful, however, is for stuff that you remember learning how to do but don't remember how to do it.

This book was reccommended by the teacher of a class I took where we were learning Director ... it was good in that sense, so when we were in class and forgot how to do something, the book usually answered our questions without us having to ask her. Still, there's a lot it doesn't cover, and it sometimes makes things more complicated than they need to be. For example, if there are 3 different ways to do something, instead of just telling you the easiest way, it tells you all 3.

A useful book, but most useful if you are a quick learner, already know something about the program, or won't be getting too deep into the program.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Reference...Not So Good Tutor, October 19, 1999

By 

Keith F. Corso (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Director 7 for Macintosh & Windows Visual QuickStart Guide (Paperback)

Buy this book if you want a brief reference at times when you need some reminders. If you want to learn Director in a manner that will help you create something quickly, don't use this book. It is really just a collection of facts about different parts of the program. Get the Gross book and learn the program with an eye on creating a finished product.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to get you going in Director 7, June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Director 7 for Macintosh & Windows Visual QuickStart Guide (Paperback)

I was very pleased with this book. Especially for the price, you're getting a great introduction to Director. The writing is very clear and straight to the point. The book includes info on making Director movies on the Web, Lingo, and Behaviors. I tip my hat to the author.