Customer Reviews

Macromedia(R) Flash(TM) MX Hands-On-Training

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are a digital media artist, making the transition from hi-res publication into lo-res rich online content, one's initial impression of Macromedia Flash is commonly disorientation. It is anything but intuitive, due more to the restrictions of creating documents for a variety of web browsers and systems. A simple function can require many steps which must be followed in order, and are not easy to retrace if an error occurs. Instead of images on a canvas, you are creating instances and events on a stage; you were a designer, but now you are becoming a scriptor and director.

I believe that of all books written on digital graphics publication, Flash is probably second only to Photoshop as having the most titles. Many claim to be the best starting place. This book, as many other titles in the lynda.com H.O.T. series, gets my vote hands down. It is easy, it is quick, it works great for someone who can barely fit spare time into their schedule, and that's because it's fun. You see, for all its techno-razzle-dazzle-complexity, Flash is a program with FUN as its essential purpose. It is designed to make mere information displayed on a scrolling screen sing and dance, and be interacted with.

As with her outstanding intro-tuitive book on Flash 5, author/instructor Kymberlee Weill presents us with an 18-chapter tour of Flash's various tools and abilities (as well as a healthy interest in snowboarding and Red Bull), with in-depth explanations of what each tool and command is capable of, and a series of economical exercises I'm sure anyone could fit into their schedule. Previous exercises are referenced in later chapters, something I especially appreciate, and moderate Flash veterans can skip ahead without fear of missing needed information. Another thing I really enjoy is how this is not just an update of the previous book; like the program Flash itself, Weil has upgraded both the content and teaching approach, unlike the books by Macromedia with their damn Compass Travel "client" (sometimes the source is not the best place to seek training). One of the few computer instruction books I would actually call "fresh".

In short, Flash MX H.O.T. is an optimal starting place for Flash virgins who need to get up and running in short order. I'm sure the program will become less awkward in future versions; in the meantime, Ms Weil's softcover classroom makes conquering the present-day Flash online theatre a productive and enjoyable experience.

This is the first book on Flash MX I purchased, and so far it is EXCELLENT!!! Its straight-to-the-point and easy-to-read format helps make the seemingly difficult parts easier to understand (and I am 14 years old!!! Great explanations huh?).
I can't put this book down! At the moment I am on chapter 8 and am having heaps of fun with Flash MX. I have not found any typographical errors so far and all seems to be up to date and clearly organised.

This book can be used both as a tutorial and as a reference due to it's easy to use contents and index!!!!! It comes with a handy Companion CD with all the required programs and example files. It even includes some video tutorials.

This isn't the sort of book you take somewhere and read since you learn by doing the examples, which is probably why it is called "Flash MX Hands-On Training".

I'm glad I bought it!!!

This book starts out very slowly teaching the fundamentals of Flash MX and then using the learned knowledge to advance to some of the other topics. The beginning of the book can seem somewhat annoying and tedious, but if you follow the book from the first chapter all the way through the end, you will be solid in fundamental Flash MX. Some of the examples seemed to be here to fill up space, for example there was one "lesson" showing how to convert a graphic to a symbol. If you know how to do this you already know there isn't much to this process. However, by including this type of information it won't leave you frustrated that they left steps out... as most tutorial books do. I WILL keep this as a reference, as it outlines the fundamentals of basic Flash MX projects. Naturally, your projects will become much more complex, but this can certainly serve as a refresher or starting point when you've got that idea but don't know how to make the connection from idea to to Flash MX. Good Book - I will look for Lynda Weinman books in the future. On last thing, I recently made the switch and I am running OS X - great job in making clear any differences between Mac OSX and Windows versions!

This book claims to be hands on and teach you to build movies with little effort. This is very true. It is more like a workbook than just a reference or regular manual. Every step of the way is guided with pictures and explanations. It is more than just step-by-step excerises. It explains why you do what you do for each step. This book gives an excellent introduction to Flash MX. I read some bad reviews of this book by people who obviously had misperceptions of the book. It is meant for the novice. It is not an intermediate or advanced book. Those bad reviews I read were by people looking for something more. This book fulfills all that it promises. I have tried and failed many times to teach myself Flash, until I found this book. I love Flash now and have a strong foundation of it now because of this book. Yes, the book leaves you wanting more, but then it is only an introductory book. For those first getting into Flash. Keep in mind that Flash 5 and Flash 6 (MX) are different and the excerises in this book would not work with Flash 5, so I had to upgrade. If you are first starting out, try to get the latest which is Flash 6 (MX). Not quite sure what is the difference between MX and non-MX, but it is always good to have the latest.

I'm currently taking a course in Flash. The way the material was presented in class, I was nothing short of being overwhelmed (and this is from someone who is fairly proficient at Photoshop, GoLive, DreamWeaver, etc.). The instruction I've received from this book is head-and-shoulders above any other technical book I've read.

At last, we see a very nicely illustrated, very clearly explained book with step-by-step instructions on getting a jump-start with FLASH. The thing I like the most is how easy the book is to follow -- that is, I don't even have to run the example programs included on the CD so far-- every step is clearly explained in the book. The material is presented as if the author is with you, as you perform the steps. All terms are clearly explained, and the tone of the book is light and fun.

There are plenty of screenshots provided (mostly for Windows, but the author does make it a point to explain Mac specific Flash related items as well. I don't know much about Action scripting -- I am a rank Flash newbie. This book is for anyone that is just starting out with Flash. Highly Recommended!

I teach a number of digital media courses at a high school level. The HOT series has proven to be an excellent resource for helping and motivating students learn various program tools used in design and art.
Here are a number of reasons why these books are great educational tools and resources:
1. Interest/Fun - the projects are clearly laid out and explained and have a high interest value to the students: thus students are motivated!
2. Clearly introduced: each chapter goes over what is to be learned and why
3. Small chunks - the chapters are divided into small mini sections that allow students to complete a meaningful set of tasks. Often long drawn out instructions leave the student lost and confused.
4. Cohesive/Integrated - from beginning to end, you work on the same basic project. Students see the sum of the parts and this helps remove the Forest and the trees problem.
5. Connections are made to how Flash can be used in practical ways. Using a tool meaninfully is crucial.

This book is a beginners book and pulls no punches in this regard. It is not heavy on Actionscript, and rightfully so. It is a well conceived and well written book on Flash MX. For a beginner's book it is one of the BEST. Good advanced books are easily found, but a good foundation is the basis for effective use of adavanced materials on Flash MX.

I tried to learn flash first by reading the 'straight from the source' book. This didn't work very well. That book seemed to have been written for people who alredy know a lot about actionscript and html offering no apologies for the confusion to 'newbies'. So I picked up the H.O.T book and have learned twice as much in half the amount of time.. The author of this book is a true teacher and knows how to put an idea across in an easy to understand method. Thanks, I'm finally on my way to building great websites.. Mikeg

This book, accompanied by Macromedia's product tutorials, really helped me build a firm foundation for future Flash development. I found the content to be easy, well explained, informative and well structured. The book provides plenty of information, allowing you to get started on professional and functional web interfaces. Kymberlee Weil and Lynda Weinman did a fine job producing this book.

The books does an excellent job of providing information on tools, tweening (shape and motion), pre-loaders and integration. You really can breeze through the examples, all the while gaining knowledge on how, where, and why you are doing certain tasks.

A co-worker bought this book for our employee library. I'm going out to get my own.

I bought this book so I could work with my son and daughter (10 and 12) to teach them Flash MX (or, rather, teach them digital animation and video game programming). The book is a great introduction to Flash MX - easy to understand, good example/projects, alot of relevant 'hands-on-training' (as opposed to alot of programming books that have large sections of code).

It's probably too much for my kids to independently read and stay motivated (since it's written for adults), but we've really enjoyed my working through the chapters and then teaching my kids each of the lessons. We're all creating our own Flash MX movies and are just starting a video game. The book has provided a very nice foundation for us to quickly get up to speed and start using Flash MX. It's also really nice to see my kids to take such a strong interest in starting to write video games instead of just playing them ;).

(As with most introductory books, it's been great to get us started, but I don't really think we'll pick it up again now that we're pretty comfortable with the basics).

Install the included 30 day trial of FLASH MX.

Copy the CD-ROM exercise files from the book to a directory on your hard drive, turn off your phones, grab a cup of coffee, open FLASH MX, put this book on your lap and start feeding your brain.

Comprehensive tool descriptions (Bezier is always a pain), big helpings of ActionScript basics, sound and video.

Excellent beta testing for technical precision.