John Keston Classes

Week 6

Session 1: Today we’ll go over sound, motion paths and masks. First of all I would like to review tweening. Here are a few points to keep in mind about motion tweens:

1. Remember to convert to symbol (Modify/Convert to Symbol, or F8) before making motion tweens.
2. Use the scale checkbox in the frame properties (next to tween) to apply transform to motion tweens.
3. It’s a good idea to put each shape or symbol on it’s own layer if you before tweening.

Shape Tweens:
Excerpted from the Macromedia Flash MX Help File
1. Click a layer name to make it the current layer, and create or select a keyframe where you want the animation to start.

2. Create or place the artwork for the first frame of the sequence. For best results, the frame should contain only one item (a graphic object or broken-apart group, bitmap, instance, or text block).

3. Select the keyframe in the Timeline.

4. Choose Window > Properties.

5. In the Property inspector, select Shape from the Tween pop-up menu.

6. Drag the arrow next to the Easing value or enter a value to adjust the rate of change between tweened frames. (By default, the rate of change between tweened frames is constant. Easing creates a more natural appearance of transformation by gradually adjusting the rate of change.)

7. Choose an option for Blend: Distributive creates an animation in which the intermediate shapes are smoother and more irregular. Angular creates an animation that preserves apparent corners and straight lines in the intermediate shapes. Note: Angular is appropriate only for blending shapes with sharp corners and straight lines. If the shapes you choose do not have corners, Flash reverts to distributive shape tweening.

8. Create a second keyframe the desired number of frames after the first keyframe.

9. With the second keyframe selected, select the artwork you placed in the first keyframe and do one of the following: Modify the shape, color, or position of the artwork. Delete the artwork and place new artwork in the second keyframe.

Session 2: The last thing we’ll go over in Flash before moving on to our final project is a refresher on how to publish your Flash projects on the internet. Everyone has an account on the OLS which includes at least 5 megabytes of web space. To access your account you can use FTP client software such as RBrowserLite in the Mac labs. Documents you wish to publish on the web need to be copied into the "htdocs" directory, or subdirectories within it.

Make sure you get your project published to your website before Session 2 so we can view them on the web in class. If you’re not absolutely confident on how to do it, make an attempt during lab today and I’ll help any of you who need it.