ETC Week 4 Practical Experience - Flash (Part 1)

A Flash Icon by Javier found on iconfinder.com

Okay, so I've chosen to take the Flash CS4 Professional Getting Started tutorial from Lynda.com.  Starting out, I know very little about Flash other than that most videos, gadgets and sights on the Internet run on Flash, and that Steve Jobs hates it and won't run it on iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

There are six chapters to the tutorial, so I'll be blogging my thoughts, frustrations and successes after the 2nd, 4th and 6th chapters.  The full duration of the course is 49 minutes, which excites me because I won't have to sit through long chapters, but it worries me that I won't learn as much as I'd like.  Todd Perkins, the course author, promises that I'll learn all I need to know about flash, but we'll see how this pans out once we cross the finish line.

Okay, here I go.

Chapter 1 - Getting to Know Flash (8 min, 12 sec - 5 sections)

Flash file types and purposes.

 - Flash File (.FLA): the main Flash working file

 - Flash Movie (.SWF): Flash content viewed in the Flash Player

 - Video (.FLV, .F4V, .MP4): Video file types supported by the Flash Player

 - ActionScript File (.AS): Contains ActionScript Code

 - XFL Files (.XFL): Can be opened by Flash

(Right now I don't know what any of this means, but I'm hoping I'll figure it out before this is finished.)

Most common Flash file I'll be creating is a Flash File (ActionScript 3.0).

parts of the flash interface:

 - the stage: the main working area in flash

 - timeline: organizes content in to layers and frames

 - panels: Contains easy access to the file properties and the library, which stores the assets used in the file.

 - the toolbar: enables you to create and manipulate artwork.

Users have the ability to utilize one of 5 workspace preset by Flash, or modify and save a custom workspace.

Chapter 2 - Creating Art (6 min, 3 sec - 3 sections)

 - I learned some of the basic tools for creating art.

 - Learned how to create shapes with the object merge turned on and off

 - learned how to turn are piece of art work into a symbol and then edit the symbol.

So I know some basic drawing tools now.  They are similar to tools in other drawing programs, but I also found that they don't necessarily function in the same way their counterparts in other programs.  I'm assuming that I'll feel more prepared as the course continues.