Customer Reviews

Flash 8: Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity (O'Reilly Digital Studio)

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This book is a unique one on Flash 8 because it tears down the wall between artistic design books and technical manuals and succeeds at being both. It starts out simple by showing you how to draw elementary figures. It then moves on to customizing your properties and automating your workflow so that you can design quickly. Next, animation is presented along with all of the techniques you will need to be efficient plus how to perform various effects. This book is particularly good at showing the reader how to import sound, graphics, and video, and how to use scripting via AppleScript to control it all. The lessons are done via unique and creative projects. By the end of the book you won't be an expert on Flash, design techniques, or AppleScript, but you will be pretty good at putting the 3 together to perform interesting tasks in Flash and doing so efficiently. A good companion book to this one is "Flash 8: The Missing Manual". It explains all of the technical nuts and bolts of Flash that there is not room to accommodate in this book. I notice that Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that next:
1. Getting Started, Right Out of the Box
Drawing Your First Box 1
Coloring Fills and Strokes 7
Merging and Stacking Shapes 16
Creating Reusable Graphics 22
2. Creating Quickly: Customizing Your Workspace
Designing Your Own Panel Layout 27
Customizing Movie Properties 32
Aligning Objects on the Stage 33
Behind Every Good Symbol Is a Good Editor 37
Automate Your Workflow 39
3. Your First Animation 45
Layers and the Timeline 46
Keyframes and Tweening 50
Preparing Text for Animation 52
Staggering Animation 57
Alpha Effect 58
Motion Effects 58
Your First Script 63
Publishing Your Movie 65
4. Buttons and Interactivity
Buttons as Symbols 69
Scripting Your Button 73
Components and Behaviors 79
Navigation 83
More Fun with Buttons 90
vi Contents
5. Working with Graphics
Importing Pixels 95
Working with Pixels 101
Importing Vectors 106
Using Scenes 109
Working with the Library 110
6. Movie Clips and Interactivity
Drawing a Cartoon Character 115
Controlling the Character with ActionScript 128
More Movie Clip Control 131
7. More Animation Techniques
Morphing with Shape Tweens 135
Frame-by-Frame Animation 139
Using Masks 143
Timeline Versus ActionScript Animation 155
8. Using Sound
Importing Sounds 161
Controlling External Sounds 169
Scripting Your Own Sound Control 172
9. Using Video
Importing Video 181
Controlling External Videos 184
Scripting Your Own Video Control 190
10. Compositing and Bitmap Effects
Runtime Bitmap Caching 197
Bitmap Filter Effects 199
Blend Modes 210
11. Working with Text
Text Types 217
Using Fonts 221
Loading and Styling Text 223
FlashType 230
12. Loading Assets on the Fly
Using ActionScript to Modularize Content 235
Preloading 240
13. e-Learning with Flash
Creating a Quiz: Getting Started with Templates 249
Sending Results with a Form 254
Saving and Retrieving Local Data 260
14. Flash for CD-ROM and Handhelds
Flash on CD-ROM 271
Flash on the Run 277
vii Contents
15. Think Outside the Box
Exporting to Video 291
The Drawing API 299
Extending Flash 303
The Rest Is Up to You 311
A. Tips and Resources
Index

As the title states, this project-based approach to learning Flash 8 covers everything from becoming familiar with the interface to using both vector graphics versus pixilated images to the power of writing action script.

For the beginning Flash 8 user, this book starts from scratch on how to draw objects. It begins by having the reader draw a simple box; by then end of the third chapter, what started as one object has become a movie, complete with alpha effects, motion effects, and even a first stab at action script. The remainder of the book builds off these core aspects of Flash. As a beginner, the book made it easy to follow through the step-by-step processes required to make Flash 8 work as desired.

Not only does the book walk Flash users through the step-by-step processes, it also includes very useful sidebar notes and separate comment boxes (not to mention the wide sidebar space that just happen to be perfect for note-taking). These features are helpful in understanding how Flash `thinks' about the commands given in the projects. Also, the side notes will oftentimes refer the reader to the chapter in which a process is discussed in more detail to aid those more experienced users who have skipped around rather than reading the book cover-to-cover. Another handy feature of Flash 8: Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity is the appendix titled "Tips and Resources," which lists some optional websites to extend Flash 8s possibilities; there is also a list of sites to practice with more tutorials.

One potential downside of working through these projects comes with any book that uses the project-based approach: time. It takes time to work through the examples, even the ones that start out with some of the background work already done for you. However, this approach also gives a more thorough understanding of Flash 8 and should be beneficial to anyone who prefers a hands-on approach to learning the software. As such, it may be best suited for beginning users, but definitely has some information throughout that all semi-experienced Flash users should know.

The Flash 8 projects for learning Animation and Interactivity book is a good resource for beginner to learn animation. It takes you step by step using practice examples to teach you basic animation techniques. The title of the book show two issues the first one is learning animation and I think the writer covered this part very well for beginners. The second issue is Learning Interactivity, which is covered along with the animation. The chapter that causes confusion for me is the 13th chapter. As it talks about e-learning in Flash, which is a very big issue that can not covered in one chapter, even for beginners. I think this part needs another book to cover deeply and give the beginner a strong beginning step in the field of e-learning.
Regardless the 13th chapter I see the book focused well and this helps the beginners to grasp the idea of the animation in Flash.

Are you a beginning Flash user who wants to bring their project ideas to life? If you are, then this book is for you. Authors Richard Shupe and Robert Hoekman, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that includes everything you need to get started in Flash.

Shupe and Robert Hoekman, begin by showing you how to use Flash's vector drawing tools. Then, the authors describe how you can set up your work environment the way you feel most comfortable. The authors then show you how to use a few essential techniques to create your first animated Flash movie. Next, they show you how to give your audience some control through the use of buttons and ActionScript. The authors also show you how Flash can work with other applications to help you meet your project needs. They continue by showing you how movie clips allow you to create animations that play independently of one another. Then, the authors show you how to create an animated advertisement for the sale of a home; as well as, other experience with some of these techniques. Next, they show you how to work with sound. They continue by showing you how to add video to your projects, with and without Action Script. Then, the authors describe how you can composite bitmap and vector assets on the fly and learn how to inject a heightened sense of expression into your files with real-time filter effects. The authors then show you how to use text. Next, they focus on solving one problem: Keeping initial download times to a minimum without compromising too much quality or creativity. The authors also show you how to use a template and components to construct a three-question quiz about what you've learned so far. They continue by exploring two slightly less conventional distribution methods for Flash content. Finally, they show you a few projects that demonstrate some of Flash's less common uses.

Several techniques are used in this most excellent book to help you better understand and retain the information you are given. More importantly, the preceding approach is what makes this book more effective learning tool than other books on the shelf.

Flash 8 Projects for learning Animation and Interactivity
By Rich Shupe & Robert Hoekman, Jr.
Publisher: O'Reilly
Copyright 2006
IBSN: 0-596-10223-2

Review by: Linda Weller

The books learning style is organic. They pair topics with goals. You learn by doing. Shortcuts are highlighted. Self teaching is encouraged by allowing you to expand on the projects using what you have learned. Sample files are available online or on the CD Rom.

They try to spoon feed you a little ActionScript in the sidebars of the book. Then you get to the chapter on creating a form and wow your using somewhat complex ActionScript and a PHP form. I hope you have a server installed that allows PHP for this one.
This book is filled with lots of special little tips. For example they tell you the difference between object level undo's and document level undo's. I bet you thought it was just ctrl +z.

Some of the Flash 8 features that are covered are Object drawing and Merge draw and when to you each one, metadata fields to make your Flash files search engine friendly, copy to grid assistant and, the distributed duplicate assistant.

Productivity tips are covered using the align panel, timeline effect assistants and the history panel. Have you ever needed to change a symbol's registration point after it is made? Go to the Info window.

Usability is covered. The author's show you how to add an active content bar to your menu buttons so the user knows where they are in the menu. Also, using the anchor from the label type drop down menu which is like an HTML anchor enables the back and forward buttons to work when navigating browsers.

There is information on all the basics: making an invisible button, tweening, shape tweening and, masks. How to work with assets is discussed. They show why we use PNG format in Flash with a rather graphic example. You can access round trip editing with a program of your choice.

Chapter 7 is loaded with lots of animation techniques such as using shape tweening to have a house draw itself, gradient masks, enabling bitmap caching with ActionScript on the mask and masked movie clips. There is a whole exercise to help you learn to decide when you would use scripted and when you would use timeline animation.

The chapter on sound give you some great tips on trimming unused portions of your sound and using short loops to optimize your files. They even tell you of a free sound editor. You create an MP3 player and a video player with ActionScript as well as creating players using the components.

All the new Bitmap caching and filter effects are discussed. You make bevel filters using ActionScript 2.0 classes.

They close off the last chapter with lots of web resources and tips. For example for file optimization purposes you can go to "file--save-- compact new" this totally removes deleted files from the system and reduces file size.

I like this book. It's easy. It's clear. It reminds me of the wise words: "Keep it Simple Stupid!"

I used this book to teach a class of teenagers about Flash and it was great. I gave it to a marketing guy who professed an interest in making some stuff in Flash and it was great. And I've used it myself. Again, great. The authors have filled the book with practical mini-projects that explain various concepts in Flash.

This is a book about the basics for beginners. It covers the basics of a whole range of methods and techniques. And it touches upon more advanced concepts briefly and helpfully. All the way from the drawing tools in Flash to using some action script and bit map effects. It has a very clear explanation of what a conditional statement is, for example. And also exaplins variables and scope succintly and accurately. It also tells you how to make a roll-over button in Flash. Awesome! (Hey... remember the first one you made? I still get excited about swapping images on the fly with code, so I can dig it.)

If you know somebody who has NO CLUE - and I include myself in that category at times, obviously - how to: center something on the stage (Align), undo to ten steps ago (History), make a photo move around (Importing, Tweening), have a cartoon character walk believably (Walk Cycles), display only part of a photo (Masking), make a volume knob for your own web radio station (Sound Control), let people email them from their Flash website (Form Data)... Well, then! This is the book for them.

short and sweet, not in depth at all. I'd give it to people under 18 who aren't seriously trying to make a living

This book will be a great help to those who have worked with flash before and want to learn the advance parts of flash and plan on using Flash with most of their work or job. The lessons have great content but the beginner will have a hard time understanding the lessons.

Flash 8 Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity is great because it uses the concept of design in its lessons. Animation for animation sake is lame. With good design principles Flash becomes a real tool for project design and execution.

'Flash 8: Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity' by Rich Shupe is a nice book content-wise but I really dislike the layout chosen for this book. When I think Flash, I think dynamic, hot, exciting... FLASHY!!!

Well, for this book, the best words that comes to mind are grey, grey, and more GREY.

YAWN... BOOOORING!!!!

The only bit of color that touches this book resides on the front cover folks... that's it. I would expect this from an old-style O'Reilly book but not from a book in the O'Reilly family where cousin books are loaded with color. This might not seem like a big deal, but for this type of book, the choice to use a pure black and white layout is a very poor choice. Anything in Flash that isn't a video will be some kind of animation that is made, and the application is known for slick vector graphics and a wondrous interface. None of that stands out here and it makes the book very lackluster when reading it.

On the positive side of things, the projects outlined here are solid and the content is decent but I have trouble really recommending this book.

If you are a dedicated Flash worker who does this for a living I would recommend taking a look at all Flash books on the market, but if you just looking to learn or pick up some more tips and tricks, I would look at other books first.