Before you get started, check out the work of former students who have completed this course. Hopefully, you will be inspired by their work. No matter what your experience level with Flash or computer graphic applications, you, too can, complete a final project like these examples.
Make the Connection
When you think about Flash technology, what types of things do you think about? Animation? Cartoons? Games? Communication? Interactivity? Flash does all these things now.
Throughout this course, you will learn the basics of these Flash features. Throughout the course, view and analyze Flash sites that implement these features and discuss if the implementation is appropriate to the site's purpose, target audience and meets issues of usability including accessibility and download requirements.
Resources - Extend your Learning
Each lesson will include specific Internet resources pertaining to the topic of the lesson. To see a list of all recommended sites, refer to the Resources link (left navigation menu).
For this lesson, acquaint yourself with the Macromedia.com site and view their tutorials and sites for getting started in Flash, addressing accessibility in Flash, and their Gallery Showcase of Flash sites.
Flash Samples and Tutorials - View the Quick Time Movie for the "Intro to Flash MX" topic and download the sample files .
Getting Started
Before beginning to work in Flash, it's good to get some exposure to the different ways Flash is used. You may be used to seeing a lot of animations such as movie trailers in Flash, but there are sites that use Flash for their User Interface and Navigation, such as the Macromedia Site.
Before you begin playing with Flash, become familiar with some Flash websites. Do a Google search
for a Flash site or use the Resources link in the left navigation column for examples of Flash sites.
Many Flash demonstrations, created by the course instructor, are included throughout the course. Many of these demos are interactive; they require you to click a button to play the movie, or direct the movie to a particular place based on your selection.
Make sure you have Flash installed on your computer and the free Flash Player in your browser so you can start to work on your own Flash creations in Lesson 2.
Here is a welcome message created in Flash. By the end of this course, you will be able to create similar objects. Turn on your speakers to hear the message. Then, click the Play Button.
