Narrative Update

Good morning everybody,

I finally have a minute, so I figured I would update you on the digital Flash narrative.  This week, I added the third section, added some navigation, and applied appropriate background music to the individual sections.  I am extremely happy with the effect the sound has on the overall effectiveness of the narrative.  However, I am unhappy with the navigation, and will be working to correct this over the next few days.  Initially, I had placed buttons that appear at the end of each section to either move forward or back to the beginning of the narrative.  Now, I am considering using a slightly transparent bar with buttons to move forward one section, back to the beginning of a section, and then back to the beginning.  I am considering creating a motion tween in which the bar slides in from the right with the buttons already attached.  This will occur at the end of each section, and should give the narrative a more professional feel.  Three more weeks and it will be complete.  However, if you would like to see what I have done so far, you may visit http://kaplandgreer.webs.com/bio.html and scroll down to the bottom of the page.  As a side note, once the title screen section comes to an end, there is an invisible button that covers the entire screen to move forward.  This was not my choice, but one of the requirements of an earlier project and the overall final project.  You will notice the arrow turn to the hand when the button becomes available.  Just click anywhere and it will begin the first section.  Feel free to provide feedback!!!

Have a great day,
David L. Greer, Jr.

Working with Flash and ActionScript

Good evening everybody,

I am now in my seventh week of learning Flash.  I must say I am pleasantly surprised with the versatility and power of Flash.  This week, I am learning about using audio and video in Flash.  I knew you could use video with Flash, but I had no idea the tools used for audio and video were so robust.  Up to this point, I worked strictly with animations and creating the digital narrative.  Now I get the chance to add other aspects to my narrative; aspects that serve to significantly increase the effectiveness of any project.

In addition, I have been working a little with ActionScript.  I have come to discover this is an extremely powerful and complex scripting language.  I consider ActionScript with Flash as analogous to an engine with a car.  ActionScript serves to make Flash work even better.  Whether you are using ActionScript to activate a button, or using it to control physics-based animations, the possibilities are endless.  While I am currently focusing on learning the various aspects of Flash, I am scheduled to take both Intermediate and Advanced ActionScript courses toward the end of the year.  This will be after working to learn server-side scripting with VBScript and learning client-side scripting with JavaScript.  This will give me a great foundation for working with ActionScript, as I am told ActionScript is much like JavaScript.  Once I complete these courses, I will be well prepared to work with Flash and ActionScript for extremely complex projects, and with have the scripting knowledge necessary to become a legitimate Web Developer.  This will just add another facet to my career.

Have a great day,
David L. Greer, Jr.