Flash MX: Boot Camp

Course Specifications

Course length: 2 days

Course Description

Target Student:  This course is intended for students with little or no experience creating Flash animations, who want to create efficient, optimized animations that allow for great user interactivity.

Prerequisites:  In order to take this course, you need to be familiar with your computer's operating system and basic operation.

Delivery Method:  Instructor-led, group-paced, classroom-delivery learning model with structured hands-on activities.

Benefits:  After completing this course, students will know how to create custom Flash animations for use on the Web. Students will create frame-by-frame, shape-tweened, and motion-tweened animation using both custom and imported graphics as well as text. Students will know how to incorporate symbols and instances into their Flash projects. They will learn to better organize their larger projects through the use of scenes and frame labels. In addition, students will add interactivity and sound elements to their Flash animations. Finally, they will learn how to test and publish their Flash movies.

What's Next:  After completing this course, students may want to take Dreamweaver XM Boot Camp or the Photoshop Boot Camp.

Performance-Based Objectives

• View a Flash movie and modify the appearance of the Stage.
• Draw, paint, and create custom colors, gradients, and line styles.
• Manipulate objects, describe shape interaction, and import artwork.
• Add text and manipulate its behavior and appearance.
• Build layers and use them to create various effects.
• Create frame-by-frame, shape-tweened, and motion-tweened animation.
• Publish a Flash movie.
• Identify the advantages that symbol use has in building a Flash movie, identify and create the three types of symbols, and manage symbols within a movie using the Library palette.
• Use scenes to organize content in large complex Timelines, and create frame labels to mark critical points in your Timeline.
• Add advanced playback controls and interactive elements to a Flash movie (including remote rollovers and expanding menus), and create preloaders to ensure smooth playback of larger movie files over slow connections.
• Import sounds into a project, work with sound properties, and edit sounds.
• Test a movie while simulating a slow connection, identify factors that increase a movie's size and download time, and publish a movie using many of Flash's numerous publishing options.

Course Content

Day 1 Agenda

Lesson 1: The Flash Environment

Topic 1A: What is Flash?

Topic 1B: The Flash Work Environment

Lesson 2: Drawing and Painting

Topic 2A: Vector vs. Raster Graphics

Topic 2B: Basic Drawing and Painting Tools

Topic 2C: Creating Custom Colors, Gradients, and Line Styles

Lesson 3: Manipulating Objects

Topic 3A: Selecting Objects

Topic 3B: Object Interaction

Topic 3C: Transforming and Grouping Objects

Topic 3D: Bitmap Images

Lesson 4: Working with Text

Topic 4A: Text Blocks

Topic 4B: Converting Text into Shapes

Lesson 5: Multiple Layers in a Movie

Topic 5A: Creating and Managing Multiple Layers

Topic 5B: Mask Layers

Topic 5C: Aligning Objects

Lesson 6: Creating Animation

Topic 6A: Frame-by-Frame Animation

Topic 6B: Shape-Tweened Animation

Topic 6C: Motion-Tweened Animation

Topic 6D: Guide Layers

Topic 6E: Mask Animations

Lesson 7: Publishing Your Flash Movie

Topic 7A: Selecting Your Publishing Settings

Topic 7B: Previewing and Publishing Files

Day 2 Agenda

Lesson 1: Symbols and Instances

Topic 1A: What is a Symbol?

Topic 1B: Graphic Symbols

Topic 1C: Movie Clip Symbols

Topic 1D: Button Symbols

Topic 1E: Managing Symbols and Instances

Lesson 2: Organizing Large Projects

Topic 2A: Scenes

Topic 2B: Frame Labels

Lesson 3: Interactivity in Flash

Topic 3A: Basic Playback Control

Topic 3B: Creating Advanced Navigation Controls

Lesson 4: Working with Sound

Topic 4A: Importing Sounds

Topic 4B: Event vs. Streaming Sounds

Lesson 5: Testing and Publishing a Flash Movie

Topic 5A: Evaluating Download Performance

Topic 5B: Optimization Factors

Topic 5C: Exporting and Publishing Movies