Two of the most talented Flash designers in the world reveal how to use interactive interfaces effectively to create breathtaking visuals for Flash Web sites. Techniques are illustrated and the book concludes with a discussion of usability and final tweaks. There is also a tutorial on testing work, and exporting and finally publishing it.

Diana Johnson (Sorenson Media) One of the best books on video for new users: editing, compression, and Flash MX technologies. Full of great tips. Let's make movies Interactive movies, totally integrated into your Flash interface With Macromedia Flash MX you have the power to import digital video and sound, and manipulate them just like any other media object. That's a whole world of design possibilities. This book takes you through all you need to know about producing such wonderful sites. The first section gives you a thorough grounding in how best to import your video and sound into Flash MX and the many different ways that you can manipulate it once it's in there. Then, in the second section, we go through a complete real-world case study from pre-production on the video to final output to the web and CD-ROM. Finally, we show you how can apply advanced ActionScript to video, and create a fully object-oriented sound and video playing Flash component that you'll be able to use time and time again. Flash MX - viewers who have the tiny Flash Player installed can now see video material that would otherwise require lengthy downloads and the clunky interfaces of other web video plug-ins. This book is the guide you need for this exciting new universe, offering inspiration and technical guidance in equal measure. As with all books from friends of ED our support is fast, friendly and free. Even if our dedicated support team are unable to solve your problem immediately, your queries will be passed onto the editors and authors who put the book together. All foED authors help with the support on their books, and will either directly mail readers with solutions or (more usually) send their response to an editor to pass on. This book assumes no knowledge beyond an ability to work with the Flash MX interface, and is not intended for those with substantial digital video experience. As such, this book does not assume that the reader has access to expensive video-editing software. All you need for this book is access to Flash MX, and some imagination. and Flash MX technologies. Gives you a thorough grounding in how best to import your video and sound into Flash MX and the many different ways you can produce such wonderful sites. Softcover. About the Author Hoss Gifford is one of the founding directors of Flammable Jam, and curator of his personal site. He regularly sponges his way around the world, getting free flights in exchange for talking at new media seminars, including FlashForward and Milia. Hoss reckons we should all take stuff a bit less seriously, and be happy with making 'quite nice things that entertain people for a wee while', as can be seen from his other two sites. Kristian Besley was born in Wales, grew up in the same street as Catherine Zeta Jones, and read Media Arts following interests in film and design. In his little spare time, you'll most likely find him creating random stuff which will eventually appear online at graphci, or laughing at personalised number plates. One day he vows to reform seminal band Ken.

Creating web designs and site content in Macromedia Flash MX can be a lot of fun, but there are always tasks that you'll want to do again and again. It's always a bit of a hassle to have to keep recreating and tweaking the same old content or functionality in different projects, so why can't you just reuse what you've created? With components, you can do just that

Flash MX Components enable the creation of self-contained design building blocks that can be simply dragged and dropped into any Flash movie. They are flexible enough to be easily customized to take care of many different tasks. No fuss, no botheryou can repurpose the standard elements of your design, application, or game, and use them over and over again.

But wait, it gets better Components can be used by anyone, not just the person who created them. So in this book, we've done all the hard work for you and collected together the Most Wanted components that will make your life easier.

In this book (and on the CD), you'll find a perfect combination of creative and functional components from some of today's leading Flash designers and developers. Just look at the fantastic components yo'llu get: Event Calendar Text Editor News Feed Tool Tip Sketch Pad Video Player Image Scroller Pattern Generators Tab Control Sliding Panel Color Picker Game Player Selector Particle Emitter Layout Manager Data Grid Movie Loader Image Modulators XML-to-ActionScript Converter Virtual 3D Trackball Text Animation Dynamic Text Manager

Each of these components is included on the accompanying CD, ready to be incorporatedinto your designs, along with plenty of example files giving practical demonstrations of their use. On top of that, each chapter in this book presents a comprehensive designer-oriented guide that will help you to get the most out of using all of the featured components.

If youre a Flash designer, of any ability from novice to professional, this book will increase the power of your Flash designs and enhance your project workflowinstantly

Digital 3D is a tricky area &emdash; and until the day someone makes 3D TV commercially viable, its going to remain a tricky area. What is 3D? Can you genuinely render 3D on a flat screen? Do you have to spend a years wages to get a dedicated piece of 3D software? Do you have to conjure up a bunch of complex math techniques to make the grade? Is anyone going to answer these interminable questions? Well, listen: were not out to work ourselves into the ground here. We want 3D and we want it fast, and we want to use Flash to get it. In a series of clear and concise demonstrations, this book shows you exactly what can be achieved in Web 3D. Some of the most cunning designers around have put their heads together to present these: the most wanted 3D cheats in Flash. This book will show you that you can: Lie your way into 3D with simple drawing techniques Cheat a 3D interface with cunning use of light and shadow Fool Flash into thinking it can render genuine 3D, and con the Internet into delivering it for us in double-quick time Hoodwink visitors into thinking theyre witnessing focus and depth of field Improve your depth of deception with an innovative slice engine to create convincing 3D objects Trick users into thinking theyre moving through a 3D space Summary of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction to Flash 3D Chapter 2 Light and Shadow Chapter 3 Scaling for 3D Chapter 4 Isometric 3D Chapter 5 Focus and Depth of Field Chapter 6 Parallax Scrolling Chapter 7 Text Effects in 3D Space Chapter 8 Drawing API and Math for 3D Chapter 9 3D Slice Engine Chapter 10 Departure Lounge: Moving beyond Flash 3D