Chapter-6 (Flash)

Question: What is flash and its uses?

Answer: Adobe Flash (formerly called Macromedia Flash and Shockwave Flash) is a multimedia and software platform used for creating vector graphics, animation, browser games, rich Internet applications, desktop applications, mobile applications and mobile games.

Question: How to make animation in flash player?

Answer:

Step 1:

1. First open up flash 5
2. Then make a basic character using the paint tools to the left.
3. Go up to insert and then select Key frame to take your first frame.
4. Move your character slightly bit by bit the way you want to, taking frames with each movement.
5. Use the onionskin tool to know what position your character was in the previous frame.

Step 2:

1.      Use many colors to make your video more colorful.

2.      If you want to make a vehicle with movable wheels then make 2 wheels, separate from the vehicle.

3.      Then place them right under the vehicle and move both wheels slightly in the direction of where the vehicle is going with the free transform tool, in each frame.

Question: what are symbols and instance in flash?

Answer:

Symbol	An object that can be copied and reused. Once it is created it becomes part of your project file's Library.
Instance	A copy of the original symbol. The size, color, shape and position can be altered without affecting the original symbol
Graphic Symbol	Consists of artwork that can be either static or animated.
Main Timeline	This is the Timeline you've been working with so far, it is the default Timeline.
Graphic Symbol Timeline	Each Graphic Symbol has its own Timeline.
Scene's Timeline	Projects can have multiple Scenes and each Scene has its own Timeline.

Question: How to convert an object to a symbol in flash?

Answer:

Converting Objects to Symbols

Any object (or group of objects) that can appear on the stage can be made into a symbol. Here’s how to do it:

1. Select one or more objects on the stage. The selected objects may include paths, text objects, bitmaps, or even other symbols.
2. Choose Modify > Convert to Symbol, or press the F8 key. The Convert to Symbol dialog box appears.

(While this book usually doesn’t mention keyboard shortcuts, F8 is an exception because Convert to Symbol is such a frequently used command.)

Naming Symbols

Technically, Flash lets you assign to a symbol whatever name you like. In practice, however, there are two issues you may want to take into account when you name a symbol:

• Convenience. Symbols listed in the library can be sorted by name or by type, but it’s much more convenient to have them sorted by name and by type without needing to switch between the two sorting modes. For this reason, many Flash developers like to give each symbol a prefix such as b_for button symbols, g_ for graphic symbols, and m_ for movie clip symbols.
• Descriptiveness. The more precise your symbol names are, the easier it will be to find the one you want among dozens or hundreds of symbols. If your movie contains graphic symbols of a beagle, a poodle, and a schnauzer, doesn’t name the symbols g_dog1, g_dog2, and g_dog3. Instead, name them g_dogBeagle, g_dogPoodle, and g_dogSchnauzer.
2. Enter a name for the symbol into the Name field.
3. Click the radio button for the type of symbol you want to create: a movie clip, button, or graphic. (For the differences between these symbol types. If you’re experimenting with symbols for the first time, the simplest choice is Graphic.)
4. Click one of the small squares in the diagram next to the word Registration. The square you click will determine the symbol’s registration point.

Question: Introducing timeline and its uses in animation?

Answer:

Introducing the Timeline

Click the Timeline button on the play bar to open the Timeline Editor.
The Timeline Editor is where you edit animation keys and clips for actors, props, cameras, image layers, sounds, music, etc.

Question: define frames and keyframes in flash?

Answer: Like films, Adobe Flash Professional documents divide lengths of time into frames. In the Timeline, you work with these frames to organize and control the content of your document. You place frames in the Timeline in the order you want the objects in the frames to appear in your finished content.

A keyframe is a frame where a new symbol instance appears in the Timeline. A keyframe can also be a frame that includes ActionScript® code to control some aspect of your document. You can also add a blank keyframe to the Timeline as a placeholder for symbols you plan to add later or to explicitly leave the frame blank.

Question: Explain types of animation (frames and tweened)?

Answer: A keyframe is a frame where a new symbol instance appears in the Timeline. A keyframe can also be a frame that includes ActionScript® code to control some aspect of your document. You can also add a blank keyframe to the Timeline as a placeholder for symbols you plan to add later or to explicitly leave the frame blank.

A property keyframe is a frame in which you define a change to an object’s properties for an animation. Flash Professional can tween, or automatically fill in, the property values between the property keyframes in order to produce fluid animations. Because property keyframes let you produce animation without drawing each individual frame, they make creating animation easier. A series of frames containing tweened animation is called a motion tween.

A tweened frame is any frame that is part of a motion tween.

A static frame is any frame that is not part of a motion tween.

Question: Explain layers in flash?

Answer:

Layers help you organize the artwork in your document. You can draw and edit objects on one layer without affecting objects on another layer. In areas of the Stage with nothing on a layer, you can see through it to the layers below.

There are five types of layers you can use in Flash:

·         Normal layers contain most of the artwork in a FLA file.

·         Mask layers contain objects used as masks to hide selected portions of layers below them. For more information, see Using mask layers.

·         Masked layers are layers beneath a mask layer that you associate with the mask layer. Only the portion of the masked layer revealed by the mask is visible. For more information, see Using mask layers.

·         Guide layers contain strokes that can be used to guide the arrangement of objects on other layers or the motion of classic tween animations on other layers. For more information, see Guide layers and Create classic tween motion along a path.

·         Guided layers are layers associated with a guide layer. The objects on the guided layer can be arranged or animated along the strokes on the guide layer. Guided layers can contain static artwork and classic tweens, but not motion tweens.

·         Motion Tween layers contain objects animated with motion tweens. For more information, see about tweened animation.

·         Armature layers contain objects with inverse kinematics bones attached. For more information, see Using the Bone Tool for inverse kinematics animation.

Create a layer

When you create a layer, it appears above the selected layer. The newly added layer becomes the active layer.

• Do one of the following:

o    Click the New Layer button at the bottom of the Timeline.

o    Select Insert > Timeline > Layer.

o    Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) a layer name in the Timeline and select Insert Layer from the context menu.

Rename a layer or folder

By default, new layers are named by the order in which they are created: Layer 1, Layer 2, and so on. To better reflect their contents, rename layers.

• Do one of the following:

o    Double-click the name of the layer or folder in the Timeline and enter a new name.

o    Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the name of the layer or folder and select Properties from the context menu. Enter the new name in the Name box and click OK.

o    Select the layer or folder in the Timeline and select Modify > Timeline > Layer Properties. Enter the new name in the Name box and click OK.

Delete a layer or folder

1. To select the layer or folder, click its name in the Timeline or any frame in the layer.
2. Do one of the following:

o    Click the Delete Layer button in the Timeline.

o    Drag the layer or folder to the Delete Layer button.

o    Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the layer or folder name and select Delete Layer from the context menu.

Note: When you delete a layer folder, all the enclosed layers and all their contents are also deleted.