Tutorial by Daniel Nestorsson

Introduction creation:

Some of the more basic Flash concepts that I use are in my Web Classroom creation tutorial. If you haven’t read it yet you should look at the Web-Classroom tutorial first to get the most out of this one. This tutorial covers the fundamental concepts in creating Dr Rodriguez’s Indroduction.html page.

The Introduction page actually has more elements to it then the Web-Classroom page. There are seven layers and various key-frame combinations used along with the use of our first movie clip! The idea of the Introduction page is to simulate a shape opening up to a visually appealing page. We have added music to the intro and have timed the music to play only for the duration of the intro. This page also contains an additional link allowing the users to obtain the full version of the piece performed by Walter Rodriguez Jr.

First we label our layers and make seven of them. To label a layer double click it and begin typing a label name. The first layer is labeled Layer 1, followed by the second layer actions, layer 3 labels, layer 4 Web Class, layer 5 Dr Rodriguez, layer 6 Web Presentation, and finally layer 6 Contact. Figure 1.0 depicts the finalized project. Notice the layers begin with Layer 1 and end with Contact.

Figure 1.0

You can use Layer 1 as the label for the first layer if you can’t come up with anything more creative, but layer labels should be descriptive of the events or elements they contain.

Layer 1 contains many of the opening scene’s elements such as the box and the line that eventually turn into a screen of its own. Figure 2.0 shows the first box drawn at frame 6 with a key-frame and the box tool.

Figure 2.0

As we progress through the creation or the disappearance of the box we add corresponding key-frames showing the movement and transforming the box into a line and finally into the stage.

Each layer contains its own set of key-frames that usually control a single element’s movement.

Figure 3.0

Figure 3.0 we are using the fourth layer labeled Web Class to move a Web Class button along the key-frames of this layer. As the line to the left is moving to the right we also are moving the Web Class button from right to left.

In Layer 1 frame 5, there is a key-frame that contains a movie clip that has been created and then dragged and dropped from the Library (bottom right icon). The purpose of creating this movie clip is to store the mp3 music from the intro. To create a movie clip we go to the main toolbar and select Insert and then Create new Symbol. You will then get a dialog asking if you would like to either create a button symbol or a movie clip symbol. A symbol is simply a vector graphic that has action-scripting properties and methods. Once you have created the movie clip go to the Library (bottom right icon) and select your movie clip by dragging and dropping it anywhere on the frame you desire, which for us happens to be frame 5. Movie clips can be a useful way of importing .avi, .mp3, .wav, .mov, and other types of files that can be large and take up many frames. Movie clips can be thought of as a storage space for these items, making large file types easily accessible.

If nothing else, I hope you have gained a basic feel of Flash 5 and are not intimidated by this technology. With Flash 5, as with other technologies, you can be as complex with the projects as you choose to. I recommend purchasing the Flash 5 Bible as a good reference when working on projects. My name is Daniel Nestorsson and I can be reached at support@radical3se.com, dnestorsson@cs.com, or at my main site www.radical3se.com. I hope this gives you a look at what Flash 5 technology can do. Best of luck,

Daniel Nestorsson