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CANFIELD
STUDIOS
Flash 3 Example Files |
The links here are for browsers that have the Shockwave plug-in (Netscape/Opera) or activeX control (Internet Explorer) already installed and working properly. For ease of editing and to keep files as simple and small as possible, none of these samples includes browser- or plug-in/activex-control detection so if you dont have it, youll get a big fat nothing.
I have not yet even threatened to impose any sort of visual continuity on the various sample files available here. With the notable exception of the Image Import/Export Statistics, these are items created, on the fly, while visiting various newsgroups and message forums, in an attempt to answer user questions by demonstration. I have assembled them here as much for myself as for anyone else -- it seems I was continually struggling to recall the URLs to these samples, which were strewn all over the place on various servers, in order to answer the same questions, repeatedly (albeit from different users). I just decided they might as well all be in one place so that I and others could find them.
Most of the samples include links to download the source FLA files in Zipped (PKZip) format. Some of them, however, contain fonts that may not be on the receiving system, in which case, they may look significantly different.
You are welcome to download the sample files to dissect them and learn from them, but please be sensible and ethical and DONT post them on YOUR website as your own work.
These samples are provided as is. They contain precious little text, as yet, explaining anything about whats going on, but I figure since the FLA is available, youll probably be able to figure it out. I make no warranty as to the servicability of these files for any particular purpose, and will not be responsible for any damages resulting from showing these to your friends. They will not make your car run faster, or get you the guy/gal of your dreams, and youll still have to brush your teeth, and dont put that in your mouth; you dont know where its been.
Here is a link to the most current list of web sites devoted to Macromedia Flash and Flash developers, which you may find useful in your pursuit of Flash Perfection (you are in pursuit of perfection, arent you?).
http://www.macromedia.com/support/flash/ts/documents/flash_websites.htm
THE EXAMPLE FILES: |
Background Scroll An example of tweening a single symbol twice to provide the illusion of a continuous background.
Blinds An example of using masking to create a venetian-blind-like transition effect.
Button Movie An example of movie clips accessed via a Tell Target action applied to the instance of a button. This makes the movie clip play to the end, regardless of the state of the button, once activated.
Contour An example (non-animated) of color treatment to impart a glowing effect to objects (see also Neon Text).
Gradient Masks How to simulate the effect of a gradient mask.
Image Import/Export Statistics Finally (it took a long time) the lowdown on image importing and exporting in Flash. What you see here is the extent of the text that accompanies these charts, at this point. Import files consist of one simple (large areas of solid color) image and one complex image (photograph). Both these images were imported as: BMP; GIF adaptive palette, 216-color palette, and subset of 216-color palette (reduced); JPG -- five compression quality values, from Photoshop, 0 (minimum), 2 (low), 5 (medium), 7 (high), and 10 (maximum); and PNG (no alpha channel). These were then exported from Flash using as: Lossless (GIF), JPG -- five compression quality values, 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100. The charts here show the results. The images in the background of the chart are the ones used for this research.
Lightening Not to answer a question; just an experiment (sound of maniacal laughter echoing off stone walls).
Line vs Shape Distortion An example of how outlines fail to distort when an object is tweened, and an alternate method.
Motion Blur This example shows two things: application of a movie clip directly to the state frame of a button (so it stops playing as soon as the state of the button changes), and an approach to simulating motion blur for rotating objects.
Motion Trail This is two examples in one, both showing the use of duplicate tween layers, with adjusted Color Effects Alpha settings and Easing settings to simulate the tracing effect of an object in motion.
Movie Control This is kind of like a CD-changer. I developed this out need for an engine, for lack of a better term, that could load multiple SWF files and play them sequentially. It needed to be relatively modular, so that the SWFs loaded could be swapped out, from time to time, and so that the number of movies was extensible. Another reason for the development of this engine was to accomplish loading of movies in advance of playing, such that no delay occured on initial launch of each (except for the first), as would occur with sequentially loading and playing them in the same level. The zipped source FLA consists of six FLA files, a base.fla, whose SWF loads into Level 0 and proceeds to load the other levels, four movies movie01.fla, movie02.fla, movie02.fla, movie02.fla, whose SWFs are loaded into Levels 1 through 4, and control.fla, whose SWF loads into Level 99 and takes control of the rest of the process. Still trying to figure out why it auto-plays when tested locally (both with Test Movie and with local web pages), but will not auto-play once uploaded to the server.
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Neon Text Well, neon text -- whaddaya want, a picture?
Orbit This example show a moon orbiting a cube planet. Demonstrates combining single-frame animation for interim steps with shape tweening, motioning tweening on a path, and pause/continue buttons.
Outline Animation Two methods of animating an outline growing or drawing itself
Spiral In answer to someone seeking to move an object on a spiral path. No motion guide is used; just a graphic symbol and the main timeline.
Spray In answer to someone seeking to create the animated effect of graffiti being spray-painted.
Starfield Ahead warp 3 (really quick and dirty). There is, incidentally, another site with another downloadable source FLA and complete tutorial on creating a moving starfield at virtual-fx.net.
Status Tracking This is an example of how to use nested movie clips to track the status of events without having to resort to Javascript. This also uses the status tracking to branch at the end of the animation: if you do not press the end button, as the marching square moves off the right side of the stage, it immediately enters the left side, with whatever has disappeared on the right showing up on the left. If the end button HAS been pressed, the movie clip will conclude with the marching square simply moving off the stage to the right, with no corresponding entry on the left.
Text Zoom How to use minimal layers for the effect of letters zooming down from behind the view to land on the stage.
TV A sample television, complete with power switch and channel push-buttons for 13 channels primary reason for inclusion is effects used to simulate channels on which there is no signal (diagonal interference and white noise).
Tween Bug Shows bug in shape tweening apparently due to minimal stage size and invisible bezier control handles extending beyond extent of stage -- original produced to demonstrate simulation of animating text kerning.
Typewriter Simulation How to simulate the effect of characters being typewritten to a page, one character at a time. This shows two methods, both using mono-space fonts and masking. One method puts everything on the main timeline. The other uses movie clips. The latter method has the distinct and unique advantage of providing complete copy protection for the movie, as no tool, as yet developed, can turn the exported SWF, PROTECTED OR NOT, into usable objects other than what appears on the main stage.
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