Schedule

Week 1: February 1 - introduction - Setting the Stage

• introduction, syllabus, etc
• tour of the Flash authoring environment, vector graphics
• using text - static, broken, dynamic
• the Stage - movie properties
• frame-by-frame animation

look:

• http://www.yhchang.com
• http://www.6amhoover.com
• http://www.bornmagazine.org

Week 2: February 8 - T E X T

• drawing tools, shapes, strokes, fills, grouping
• shape tweens and shape hints

look:

• http://www.theyrule.net
• http://teddiesinspace.com/
• http://escapelab.com.au/
• http://svt.se/hogafflahage/hogafflaHage_site/Kor/hestekor.html
• http://becominghuman.org/

DUE today: "t e x t" - choose a word and illustrate either its mood or tone or meaning in a frame-by-frame animation. You may only use the one word - no other words are allowed. You may use other shapes. Your animation should be sized to 550x400, 12 frames per second and EXACTLY 60 frames in duration.

Week 3: February 15 - drawing a Tween - remix culture

• The Timeline - layers, framerate, keyframes
• Motion Tweens - shape, motion (position, scale, color, alpha)
• Using Symbols

DUE today: "morph-olution" - Create an animation that explores the notion of evolution in at least 5 stages. The project should incorporate at least 2 shape tweens that utilize shape hints. The final result should be a "perfect loop" - it should end exactly where it began. Your animation should be sized to 550x400, 24 frames per second and 10 seconds in duration.

Week 4: February 22 - creating a Mask - Thinking about Time

• importing artwork from illustrator/photoshop
• creating masks
• using motion paths and guides

DUE today: "crowded" - Create an animation of a walking crowd of people. Your animation should use MovieClips and MotionTweens.

Week 5: March 1 - incorporating Sound

• Finding sounds online
• Importing sound, recording sound in the classroom
• Event sound, streaming sound gets sounds:
  http://sounddogs.com
  http://flashkit.com

DUE today: "Banner Ad Jam" Think about the ad banners on websites as public spaces similar to billboards, posters, signs & other advertisements. Plan & design a 468x60 (24 fps) Ad Banner in flash that utilizes images and text and incorporates a corporate logo. The banner can advertise your love for something or someone, can express a political message, can be humorous - keep in mind that this is meant to be presented in a public places. You should be able to make the argument that your piece is an example of Culture jamming.
http://www.logotypes.ru/default_e.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming

Week 6: March 8 - animation Tricks

• Animation techniques: easing, blur, gravity
• Working with MovieClips - nesting and animated loops

DUE today: "My Life" - Animate your life story in 30 seconds or less (bunnies optional). Your flash movie should be 640x480 at 24 fps. - 1st draft should include your soundtrack/voice over and approximately 10 seconds of completed animation (This will be graded)
http://www.angryalien.com
http://www.oddtodd.com

Week 7: March 15 - the Loop - Generation Flash

• Creating buttons
• Using Behaviors
• Using ActionScript

DUE today: "My Life" - final draft of My Life.

Week 8: March 22 - make it Interactive

• ActionScript - data types and variables
• Functions and events
• Input/dynamic text

DUE today: How-To script/storyboard Have a sitemap and at least 2 of the 5 scenes.

Week 9: April 5 - make it even more Interactive

• Approaches to navigation
• ActionScript - reusable functions

look:

• http://www.themeatrix.com
• http://dontclick.it
• http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html
• http://www.strindbergandhelium.com
• http://www.amanitadesign.com

DUE today: How-To first draft

No Class April 12 - Advising Day

Week 10: April 19 - incorporating video

• encoding flash video files
• controlling video with behaviors.
• Introduce final project

look:

• http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end
• http://fsk.deviantart.com/art/Line-Rider-beta-40255643
• http://www.beonlineb.com/click_around.html
• http://specials.washingtonpost.com/video/onbeing/
• http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/
• http://www.kirkshouse.com/
• http://www.donniedarkofilm.com/
• http://otnemem.com/index.html
• http://www.requiemforadream.com/
• http://www.wooagency.com/
• http://www.presstube.com/
• http://www.tokyoplastic.com/

DUE today: "How To": With a partner, develop an interactive Flash movie that illustrates/teaches your audience how to do something. This could be anything from how to make a PB&J sandwich to how to knit to how to make a Flash movie. It must have at least 5 different scenes; at least 1 voiceover and it must utilize buttons for your audience to interact with.

Week 11: April 26 - Individual Meetings

• ActionScript lesson
• Work on final project

DUE today: Final project proposal:

• project description (include any relevant background info)
• discuss your intended audience
• discuss your visual/aesthetic strategy
• discuss at least 3 URLs of other projects/websites relevant to your project
• Sitemap or Storyboard as appropriate

Week 12: May 3 - Individual Meetings

• ActionScript lesson
• Work on final project

Week 13: May 10 - Open Lab

• Work on Final Projects

Week 14: May 17 - Final Class

• In class critique of final projects and wrap-up