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Overview:Web Motion Graphics 1, aka Flash 1, is a course in creating dynamic content for online distribution. The primary mechanism for delivering material via the Internet is the Web page, and currently, the premiere format for dynamic content is Macromedia's Flash. Flash motion graphics are vector-based, producing extremely small file sizes for rapid downloading, unlike bitmap motion graphics like animated GIFs, QuickTime or AVI movies. They can contain sound (encoded in the MP3 format for impressive compression) and interactivity. With the release of Flash MX, Flash can now incorporate video into a Flash movie, as well as access MP3 and JPEG files directly (can load them without them having to be integrated in another Flash movie). And with the release of Flash MX 2004, Flash video FLVs can be streamed into a Flash presentation without special streaming server technologies. This course is designed to teach the basics of using Flash: the basic drawing tools; the Flash authoring environment, including timelines, frames and keyframes, layers, and scenes; the significance of (Graphic, Button, and Movie Clip) Symbols and Instances in the authoring process; the importation of graphics created in other applications; the use of Tweening to automate the animation process; and other features such as masking, working with multiple .SWF files, and ActionScript and Flash video. Students entering this class are expected to have experience creating and uploading web pages. Not everyone will have experience with Macromedia's web page editor, Dreamweaver. In that regard, certain basic and advanced web techniques using Dreamweaver will be shown as they relate to working with Flash movies. However, it is not a requirement that Dreamweaver be used to complete homework assignments for this class. In order for a web page and it's multimedia content to be published - viewable by others - the page and it's associated files must be uploaded to a server. To gain experience with this procedure, all homework assignments will be submitted via FTP to the Student Projects server (http://pluto.palomar.edu), a website established for Internet-related classes at Palomar College. Each student will be assigned a userarea for which they will be responsible for maintaining over the course of the semester. The requirements for each assignment include the uploading of all Web files associated with the assignment to a student's userarea. In addition, all assignments must be easily accessible from the main navigation page (aka Home Page) for that userarea. This is an online class, and during the summer there are no open labs. Since Flash has a fairly steep initial learning curve, you will need to purchase a copy of Flash MX 2004 to fully participate in this course. The academic version is exactly the same as the full version, only it contains a licensing agreement which forbids commercial use of the academic version. More than most other pieces of software, Flash demands a full immersion into it's authoring environment ... it is very easy to become confused about which Flash element is currently being edited or modified, and only repeated exposure to the tools and processes of Flash will help ease the possible confusion. Academic versions can be purchased through a number of online retailers, including Gradware.com here in San Diego. With the 2004 release, Macromedia has two versions of the Flash authoring tool: Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX 2004 Professional. We will only be covering the features in the regular version of Flash MX 2004 in this course. However, if you are planning on taking any of the advanced Flash courses - Web Motion Graphics 2 and/or Web Motion Graphics 3 - or if you are have an interest in or are planning on using Flash to work with video or with server-side interactions (with databases), then you will want to purchase Flash MX 2004 Professional. There is no upgrade path from the regular version of Flash MX 2004 to the Professional version, so unless you want to purchase both versions, it is recommended that you purchase the Professional version to begin with. Remember, this recommendation is based upon what you perceive your future needs are going to be. Academic version costs: Flash MX 2004: $99 ($199 for the Macromedia Studio suite, which includes Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks); and Flash MX 2004 Professional: $149 ($249 for the Macromedia Studio Professional suite).
ExpectationsA normal semester runs about 16 weeks, and traditionally includes 6 hours per week of lecture and lab time. Homework is done at home, in addition to the 6 hours of class time. Just the classroom time itself totals about 96 hours. This summer course is not dumbed down in any way in order to accomodate a summer schedule. The 96 hours over 16 weeks of a regular semester is compressed into 6 weeks, so each week of a summer session encompasses 16 hours of lecture and lab, or approximately 3 hours per weekday. Homework, as it is during the regular semester, is in addition to the lecture/lab time. Plan on spending about 15-20 hours each week of the summer session on classwork, which will include a combination of reading assignments, exercises, and projects. Generally, new assignments will be issued at least three times each week, most frequently on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Generally, due dates for non-reading assignments will be on Thursdays and Sundays. However, the only way to know for sure is to log onto the discussion board on a daily basis, at least during the week. Every assignment must be turned in (uploaded to the student's userarea) on or before the due date of the assignment. All correspondence with the instructor is to be through the discussion board set up for this class, with the exception of correspondence that is of a personal nature. The reason for this is that when you ask a question on the discussion board, the entire class get's to benefit from both the question and the answer. Finally, although it is a hope and not an expectation: Have fun and enjoy the process of exploration and discovery. Flash can be challenging at first, because it is unlike any other application you have ever worked with. It shares many concepts with Photoshop, Director, Illustrator, and other graphic and video applications, but it really is a unique tool in a category all of it's own. Within this uniqueness, however, it has some amazing capabilities. And it now has something to offer for both left-brain and right-brain characters; along with the artists, designers and animators that have used Flash in the past, Flash MX now welcomes developers, programmers, and video artists into the Flash community.
GradingHomework assignments will be graded based upon adherence to the assignment's requirements. In general, each project's or exercise's requirements will have a number of points associated with each specific requirement. Failure to meet a requirement/objective will result in 0 points assigned for that specific requirement. Partial credit may be awarded when a requirement is not met if there is sufficient evidence that a good-faith effort was made to meet the requirement; however, this is at the instructor's sole prerogative. Every assignment must be turned in (uploaded to the student's userarea) on or before the due date of the assignment. Any assignment that has not been uploaded on or before the due date will receive no credit. If you need an extension on an assignment due date, you must contact the instructor before the due date to request an extension. Exceptions will be made for "acts of God" - events like taking care of ill children, hard disk crashes, and the like. Exceptions might be made by prior arrangement with the instructor, as long as those arrangements are made in a timely fashion (ie, at the time when you are first aware that there will be a problem achieving the deadline). The last project must be turned in by the beginning of the last day of class.
AssignmentsThe homework for this course will include a mix of: reading assignments; mini-exercises to familiarize you with the online discussion board and using your Pluto server student account; guided exercises in the form of Web-based "handouts"; and on-your-own projects which you will design and implement. The latter projects category is the most significant, as the individual projects will test what you are learning about Flash - and not just your ability to follow directions - and collectively they will account for 80% of your overall grade.
BooksThere is one required textbook for this class. Flash MX 2004 at Your Fingertips: Get In, Get Out, Get Exactly What You Need, by Sham Bhangal, Jen deHaan; ISBN: 0782142915. A good project-based textbook is: Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Hands-on Training, by Rosanna Yeung; ISBN: 0321202988. Depending upon a student's interests and goals, there are a number of supplementary books to choose from.
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