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Total Training For Flash Pro 8 Review
Hosted by John Ulliman
Published by Total Training ($299.99 USD)
Level: Beginner Through Advanced
Running Time: 24 Hours, 3 DVDs
Project Files: Included
Bonus Material: Free stock footage clip courtesy of Post Holes.
Platform: Mac and PC / Format: DVD (ROM)
review by Eric Martin
Adobe Flash Pro Training For All
Total Training for Macromedia Flash Pro 8 offers a highly effective visual approach to learning the ins and outs of all that Flash has to offer. After following through these lessons with host John Ulliman, you'll find that websites, presentations, and animations will benefit from improved design and interactive content.
Produced in High Definition (see sample clips below), these DVDs run on both Windows and Mac. Graphics, animation and interactivity are the central topics covered in over 24 hours of tutorials, spread out over 3 DVDs with easy-to-use indexes for quick reference.
Ease Of Learning
Visually based learning creates the sense of having your own personal instructor, with lessons available at your convenience and adjustable to your pace. No need for written manuals, which are often written in highly technical and often difficult to decipher language – the video tutorials offer the experience of a seminar in the comfort of your own home.
Whether you wish to obtain certification in Flash or simply add dynamic content to your projects, this Total Training Flash Pro series is suitable for a variety of needs.
Another bonus with DVD-based training is you have the option of pausing or replaying a particular segment in order to become fully comfortable with its content. Even more useful, you can bookmark any section for easy future reference.
The Web Design Market Has Changed
The reality is that the market for web design has drastically changed – people don't build websites from scratch any longer, choosing instead to use ready-made templates that are easily available. That leaves all graphic designers in serious need of an expanded toolbox in order for their services to remain competitive in the increasingly DIY world of web design.
Given that Adobe has taken over ownership of Flash, it will undoubtedly be integrated into its Creative Suite, making Total Training for Macromedia Flash an even more timely purchase.
Summary
I'm a huge fan of Total Training products, and I'm happy to say that they've produced another excellent series here and so continue with their run of top-notch training DVDs. John Ulliman knows his stuff and he also knows how to get you involved with the tutorials and projects, guiding you expertly through the maze that Flash can sometimes be.
The wise designer will welcome this opportunity to add an important tool to their arsenal without too much of a learning process. The price may seem steep, but the knowledge imparted pays for itself just in terms of the time saved alone – time better directed toward increased productivity. Total Training for Macromedia Flash Pro 8 is strongly recommended.
Pricing and Availability
Total Training for Macromedia Flash Pro 8 ($299.99 USD) is available now. To place an order, visit Total Training.
About John Ulliman
John Ulliman is an authorized instructor for Macromedia's studio of products and principal of his own project development company, where he works closely with the major multimedia software companies. John has been teaching ever since he first started using a computer. Currently, he focuses on the products he uses to make animation magic work, with the intention to bring as much practical experience to his lessons as possible. Read our interview with John Ulliman.
Course Outline
Here are the major sections of the course, along with the running time of the sub-sections.
Part 1 - Graphics in Flash
1. A Quick Flash Demo (48 min)
2. Meet Flash: Fundamentals (37 min)
3. Drawing with Vectors (28 min)
4. Flash Natural Drawing Tools (45 min)
5- Advanced Vector Drawing (54 min)
6. Setting Colors in Flash (44 min)
7. Bitmaps in Flash (51 min)
8. Using Text in Flash (55 min)
9. Symbols (41 min)
10. Symbol Effects: Filters & Blends (65 min)
Part 2 - Animation in Flash
1. Introduction to the Timeline (55 min)
2. Shape Tweening (70 min)
3. Motion Tweening (64 min)
4. Advanced Animation Techniques (59 min)
5. Simulating Speed in your Animations (62 min)
6. Nesting Symbols for Complex Animation (61 min)
7. Animated Masks & Filters (54 min)
8. Sound & Video (85 min)
Part 3 - Making Interactive Movies with Flash
1. Flash Buttons (54 min)
2. Scripting Basics (51 min)
3. Basic Navigation Systems (64 min)
4. Flash Screens (61 min)
5. Advanced Navigation Systems (69 min)
6. Data Entry Forms & Components (74 min)
7. Publishing your Movies (46 min)
8. Developing for Mobile & PDA (25 min)
About Total Training
Total Training, Inc. (www.totaltraining.com) with offices in California and New York is a pioneer in innovative video-based training for leading software applications. The full product line offers comprehensive lessons and tutorials on creative design, web design, digital video, digital photography, and office productivity programs. Total Training is best known for its superior product quality, entertaining content, strong customer relationships, and strategic partnership with Adobe which includes tutorials in Adobe software boxes.
Adobe Flash Video Tutorials From Total Training
The following are High Definition Flash Pro 8 tutorials courtesy of Total Training.
• How To Add Frames In The Timeline Window
In this video clip tutorial you will learn how to add frames to individual elements in Flash, how to insert a frame using the menu in Flash, and how to manoeuver through the timeline window.
This Flash video tutorial clip is in High Definition (HD). Benefits of HD include a 165% larger screen size for viewing on a computer monitor, crystal-clear image capture to easily read text and fine details, and higher frame rate support for smoother playback.
View the How To Add Frames In The Timeline Window video clip.
• How To Prepare, Test And Publish A Movie
In this video clip tutorial you will learn how to prepare items in the timeline window before publishing a movie in Flash, how to test a completed movie in Flash, and how to preview a Flash movie in a browser for final testing.
This Flash video tutorial clip is in High Definition (HD). Benefits of HD include a 165% larger screen size for viewing on a computer monitor, crystal-clear image capture to easily read text and fine details, and higher frame rate support for smoother playback.
View the How To Prepare, Test And Publish A Movie video clip.
• How To Set A Mute Sound Button
In this video clip tutorial you will learn how to set a mute sound button in Flash, how to use the Behaviors Window to set common actions in Flash, and how to attach an action script to stop all sounds in Flash.
This Flash video tutorial clip is in High Definition (HD). Benefits of HD include a 165% larger screen size for viewing on a computer monitor, crystal-clear image capture to easily read text and fine details, and higher frame rate support for smoother playback.
View the How To Set A Mute Sound Button video clip.
• How To Create & Add A Simple Mask - Flash Video Tutorial
In this video clip tutorial you will learn how to create and use a fill shape as a mask in Flash, how to preview a mask in Flash, and how to use the timeline window to animate the mask.
This Flash video tutorial clip is in High Definition (HD). Benefits of HD include a 165% larger screen size for viewing on a computer monitor, crystal-clear image capture to easily read text and fine details, and higher frame rate support for smoother playback.
View the How To Create & Add A Simple Mask video clip.
• How To Make New Layers - Flash Video Tutorial
In this video clip tutorial you will learn how to make a new layer in Flash, how to rename and position a new layer in Flash, and how to work with the layers menu.
This Flash video tutorial clip is in High Definition (HD). Benefits of HD include a 165% larger screen size for viewing on a computer monitor, crystal-clear image capture to easily read text and fine details, and higher frame rate support for smoother playback.
View the How To Make New Layers - Flash Video Tutorial video clip.
• How To Import And Add Sound To A Movie
In this video clip tutorial you will learn how to import sounds and place them in the timeline in Flash, how to preview a new imported sound in Flash, and how to add sound to a movie using the timeline window in Flash.
This Flash video tutorial clip is in High Definition (HD). Benefits of HD include a 165% larger screen size for viewing on a computer monitor, crystal-clear image capture to easily read text and fine details, and higher frame rate support for smoother playback.
View the How To Import And Add Sound To A Movie video clip.
• How To Work With The Size Report
In this video clip tutorial you will learn how to work with the Generate Size Report in Flash, how to interpret the information generated in the Size Report in Flash, and how to double-check for certain elements that may create large files.
This Flash video tutorial clip is in High Definition (HD). Benefits of HD include a 165% larger screen size for viewing on a computer monitor, crystal-clear image capture to easily read text and fine details, and higher frame rate support for smoother playback.
View the How To Work With The Size Report video clip.
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You could save hundreds of dollars. Use this special link to see the full offer.
Adobe Flash Pro CS3 Upgrades And Bundles From The Adobe Store
Adobe Flash CS3 Professional software is the most advanced authoring environment for creating rich, interactive content for digital, web, and mobile platforms. Create interactive websites, media rich advertisements, instructional media, engaging presentations, games, and more. Get the full version for US $699, or upgrade for US $199.
Adobe Flash CS3 Professional is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium ($1,599/$340) — which offers a complete solution for creating interactive websites, applications, user interfaces, presentations, and mobile device content. Web Premium combines all-new CS3 versions of Dreamweaver, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Fireworks, Acrobat 8 Pro, Contribute, Bridge, Version Cue, and Device Central. International options are available at Adobe's UK Store, Europe Store, and Australia Store.
SiteGrinder 2 — Photoshop Plugin Review
Review by Jennifer Apple
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder 2 seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder 2, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
So how does it work? Think for a second about the normal flow of work for any web design project. You'll spend a great deal of your time designing the visual appearance of your website in Photoshop, only to turn around and spend even more time working with a code editor like Dreamweaver or GoLive, going through the labor-intensive process of reconstructing these designs for the web.
Not to mention that fact that your creativity is often significantly limited when you're using a design program that's completely separate from the program that's used to prep everything for the web. Not everything that you design will be functional when it's translated to the web, nor will it be compatible with all web browsers period! As such, you'll often find yourself not going that extra creative mile just because you know that your web developer will have to re-work your designs just to make sure that they can be used online.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
SiteGrinder 2 throws all these considerations to the wind. By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
With SiteGrinder 2, you can easily convert Photoshop Type layers into CSS styled web text. Virtually all of Photoshop's character and paragraph styles are supported by CSS, so you'll be able to ensure a smooth transition from workspace to web browser. This includes everything from bold and italic to paragraph spacing and alignment. Even hyperlinking is made easy, as SiteGrinder 2 will automatically turn any HTTP and e-mail URLs into hyperlinks.
Create Buttons, Rollovers, Popups & Menus
Likewise, SiteGrinder 2 will convert image layers to web graphics, generating automatically the HTML needed to display your images on your website exactly where you had positioned them in Photoshop. All the basic elements of any standard website are also easy to achieve by using SiteGrinder 2 with Photoshop, which allows you to create buttons, rollovers, pop-ups and menus. Pretty much all you have to do is tell SiteGrinder 2 about special layers by including "hints" when you name the layers – simply include "button", "rollover" or "pop-up" in your layer name and SiteGrinder 2 will create your preferred interactive feature automatically.
No Tables Here — SiteGrinder Produces Valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS
It's also a breeze to create a multipage website from a single Photoshop document, by using a Photoshop tool called the Layer Comps palette. Often overlooked, this incredibly powerful little tool lets you save and name particular document states, including the position and visibility of every layer. To create multiple pages, all you have to do is make the document look the way that you want a page on your site to look, and then make a layer comp — then set up the next page and make another layer comp, and so on. SiteGrinder 2 will then use these comps to figure out what to include on the web pages that it will generate for you. It's as easy as that!
SiteGrinder 2 effectively functions as your very own web technician, who knows all there is to know about CSS, HTML and other complex web formats.
You don't need to spend precious time and money learning the intricacies of web-speak when SiteGrinder 2 can do all this work for you, leaving you with much more time and freedom to explore the limits of your creative potential in the Photoshop world you know so well.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder 2 can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
