|
|
 |
|
Ministrymedia Useful
Technology Links
and Resources |
 The Book on Flash2004-02-16 It’s amazing what you learn about the person next to you sometimes. Do you really know what they have accomplished or what they know? Here at Ministry Media we were in for a surprise when we hired our newest team member, Robert Penner. Our regular web and animation designer was on vacation. While he was away, a project came up for a Macromedia Flash presentation that was needed immediately. In a futile attempt to do the job without the main programmer on hand, the boss asked if Robert knew Flash. He confessed that he did, and nonchalantly added that he wrote a book about it. I asked Robert to explain to me what exactly Flash is. Here is what he said: “Macromedia Flash is a vector graphics based animation program. The resulting files, sometimes called "Flash files", may be included in a web page to view in a web browser, or they may be played on a standalone player. Flash is the name of both the animation file format, and the software tool that is used to create the files.” Chances are you already know what Flash is since it is all over the Internet, but in simple terms, Flash is a program that creates animation. It makes websites and emails more exciting (or more annoying in some cases), allowing graphic movement in subtle ways like a slowly moving word or more obvious ways like a short movie played at the start of a website every time you enter it. Robert’s book on Flash is called Robert Penner's Programming Macromedia Flash MX. The MX is the Flash version reference, I found out. I know nothing about Flash. Robert had to enlighten me a little bit. I did learn from him that there are many advantages to using Flash. “The Macromedia Flash file format has several advantages over "regular" HTML pages that make it an extremely popular option for professional web site creation,” Robert began. “Like PostScript and PDF, Flash allows exact specification of where the various page elements are, and so it gives the designer a great degree of control over how the user interface looks. It is much more difficult to do the same with HTML and CSS.” (To which I smiled and nodded my head). “Flash uses anti-aliased vector graphics; they may translate into small file sizes which take less bandwidth to transmit than bitmaps do. Flash's file format is not platform-dependent; players exist on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux and various UNIX systems. Flash allows the embedding of images, sounds and movies. These abilities make it a good multimedia platform.” Okay, so I think I get it. Flash is cool. And apparently I’m not the only one who came to that conclusion: “The Flash plugin is the most-downloaded software ever,” Robert said. “In just the last three months, the Flash plugin was downloaded half-a-billion times! There is a strong online Flash community, centered around discussion and resource sites like Flashkit.com, which currently has over 460,000 members, many of whom are teenagers.” Wow! So this would be a good thing for YOUR website, or for churches and ministries and etc. etc… Robert agrees. “Flash is not a replacement for HTML, but it can do certain things more effectively. Flash can definitely add excitement to a site with the use of animation, sound effects and music. As an artistic medium, Flash has a lot of possibilities for expression and creating an emotional experience. Flash can be used equally well on a web site or as a projected presentation, like PowerPoint.” So the verdict is in. Flash is a great tool for your website or multi-media presentation and Ministry Media is happy to offer it to you. Take it from the guy who wrote the book on Flash! You can find Robert’s book on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) - type in ‘Robert Penner’ in the search bar and select ‘books’. Or visit his website to see some of his work (link below).
|
|
Learn
more about Ministrymedia? | Contribute a
story or resource
Copyright © 1999-2003 Ministrymedia.com
