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Class Schedule

Week 1 (8/26)

TOPICS

  • Overview/Introduction to the Class and Syllabus
  • Introduction to Flash
  • The Flash Environment: Tools, Windows, Inspectors, Menus
  • Movie Properties
  • Flash Drawing Tools
  • Raster vs. vector graphics
  • Modifying Shapes and Paths
  • Grouping/Arranging
  • Color in Flash
  • Keyframes and Frames
  • Understanding Frame Rate
  • Onion-Skinning
  • Step Animation/Animation Basics

LAb/Homework

Exercise #1: STEP ANIMATION (due 9/2)

Explore the drawing tools in Flash to create representational or abstract graphic artwork. Animate your artwork using step animation (also known as frame-by-frame or straight ahead animation), as demonstrated in class and in the video tutorials.

Your animation should be at least 5 seconds long (or around 60 frames minimum). Set your screen size to 775 x 425. You may wish to use a series of keyframes, erasing and modifying your artwork as you go. Or, you may wish to create straight-ahead animations by creating a series of blank keyframes (by hitting F7 or Modify > Timeline > Convert To Blank Keyframes) and filling the blank keyframes with novel imagery as you progress in time (Tip: be sure to turn on onion-skinning and use the comma (",") and period (".") keys to quickly move forward and back in the timeline. Also, remember the quick keys: F5 = Insert Frame, F6 = Insert Keyframe, and F7 = Insert Blank Keyframe).

Name your file with the naming convention lastname-e1 (ie. "cleveland-e1.fla") and turn it in to the Exercise 1 folder on the shared network drive (NAS1).

LINKS & Resources

SITES of INSPIRATION

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Week 2 (9/2)

TOPICS

  • Reivew of Step Animation
  • Motion Tweening
  • Working with Frames, Keyframes, and Blank Keyframes
  • Adding, removing, moving, and copying frames
  • Timing and Frame Rates
  • Symbols and Instances
  • Animation Principles
  • Easing
  • Working with Text

LAB/HoMEWORK

  • Work on Exercise # 2 (due 9/16)
  • Read Chapter 3 of Learning Flash CS4 Professional by Rich Shupe (recommended)

Exercise #2: Kinetic Typography - MOtion As Metaphor tweened animation (Due 9/16)

In Flash, use motion tweening and/or shape tweening to animate one of the words listed below. Be sure that your choices for color, font, style, and most importantly motion/animation are thematically consistent with your word of choice. You may choose to animate properties such as position, scale, rotation, tint, alpha transparency, and/or filters such as blur and glow. Use animation principles such as acceleration and deceleration, squash and stretch, and anticipation and follow-through. Whatever you choose, use motion as a metaphor. In other words, your animation should symbolically represent your chosen word. Use a stage size of 775 x 425 pixels.

Choose one of the following words (or choose your own word):

  • Anxious
  • Lethargic
  • Bloated
  • Excited
  • Sad
  • Angry
  • Nervous
  • Bursting
  • Kinetic
  • Rhythm
  • Momentum
  • Strong
  • Weak
  • Depressed
  • Sever
  • Cry
  • Laugh
  • Stress
  • Smile
  • Breathe
  • Ignite
  • Power
  • Haphazard
  • Mischievous
  • Bitter
  • Sunshine
  • Rain
  • Whisper

Name your file with the naming convention lastname-e2 (ie. "cleveland-e2.fla") and turn it in to the Exercise 2 folder on the shared network drive (NAS1).

LINKS & RESOURCES

SITES of INSPIRATION

  • Born Magazine (inspirational poetry and projects that marry design, interactive media, and the literary arts)
  • Favourite Website Awards (lots of cool, inspirational Flash sites)
  • Media Storm (journalism, documentary forms, multimedia storytelling)
  • Big Spaceship (design agency known for their cutting-edge Flash work)

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Week 3 (9/9)

TOPICS

  • Working with Text / Animation Techniques (continued)
  • Break Apart and Distribute to Layers
  • Shape Tweening
  • Motion Paths
  • Working with Movie Clips

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