Study, Learn, Work and Earn as a Flash Programmer
· Learn more about using FLASH to make multimedia files and interactive websites.
· A comprehensive course that you can study in your own home.
· A useful qualification for anyone interested in multimedia and graphic design.
· Learn from our highly experienced and qualified tutors.
How Flash works
For Flash to work on a website, the person visiting the website needs to have a ‘plug-in’ installed. This ‘plug-in’ enables the browser to identify and then display Flash content. Although the plug-in is a separate program, recent statistics show that around 95% of internet users already have the Flash plug-in installed. Flash is heavily supported by the I.T. industry and therefore comes installed with most windows based PC’s and some Mac computers. In later lessons, we will show you how to make your website detect if the visitor has the plug-in installed and if they don’t, how to direct them to the macromedia site to install it.
Flash was developed by a company called Macromedia. Earlier verions are known as Macromedia Flash. The Adobe company has since bought out Macromedia; hence Flash is now an Adobe product.
Course Structure
There are twelve lessons in total, as outlined below:
Introduction to Flash -Introduction, Vector graphics, Bitmap graphics, Streaming, How flash works, Upgraded features
Using the Flash MX editor -Creating a new document, Setting preferences, Editing, Clipboard, Action script editing, Zooming, Scenes, Objects, Moving the stage, Grids,Guides, Rulers, Timeline, Keyframes, Layers, Frame labels, etc.
Drawing & Colour -Toolbar, Basics of drawing in flash, Pencil tool, Drawing lines and shapes, Brush tool, Masks, etc
Working with objects & symbols -Objects, Arrow tool, Lasso tool, Symbols, Assets, Library, etc
Working with text -Static text, Embedded and Device Fonts, etc
Working with graphics -Turning bitmaps into vector graphics, Using bitmaps as fills, Modifying bitmap fills, The magic wand.
Animation -Frame by frame animation, Tweened animation, Setting up a movie, Animating, Layers, Adding a background, Creating timeline effects.
Actionscript -Creating interaction, Planning scripts for a movie, Object oriented programming, The movie clip object.
Using audio in your movies -Unsynchronised sound, Synchronised sound, Importing sounds, Adding sounds to frames, Adding sounds to buttoons, Using event sounds, Start sounds, Streaming sounds, Stopping sounds, Looping sounds, Editing sounds.
Using video in your movies -Quality, Keyframe interval, Scale, Importing audio, Working with video, Importing video.
Components -The check box, Importing text scroll bar, Creating a form, Adding a check box, Adding a combo box, Push buttons, Configure components, Write action script to gather data, Action script for the entire movie, Action script to each key frame, Testing the movie.
Publishing -How to prepare your finished movie for distribution via the Internet, CD and other formats. You will also learn techniques for optimising your movies so they perform efficiently and on multiple system configurations.
In the 1990’s, most websites were simply made up of static graphics, text and sometimes simple animations (called animated Gifs) which made many sites nothing more than glorified brochures and text heavy resources. With the birth of the ‘New Media’ industry, new tools were developed to make the internet a much more interactive and entertaining medium – one of these tools was Macromedia Flash.
Flash enabled website designers and developers to create complex animations, incorporate decent quality sound and develop unique and experimental interfaces for their online projects. Using vector graphics and special compression techniques, Flash allows websites to show high quality graphics, play great sound and add ‘extra dimensions’ of interactivity without choking up bandwidth. This has made Flash one of today’s most popular website development and design tools.
Flash uses an internet friendly technology called ‘streaming’. Streaming enables information to be displayed as it is downloading, rather than only displaying once downloading has completed. This enables a well designed Flash project to seem to load instantly or very quickly while in fact it is downloading information as the user views it.
A good example of this technology is ‘streaming audio’ where you can listen to music while it is downloading across the internet instead of waiting for it to completely download.
FAQ's More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses
Who are our tutors?
Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study. We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives. We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “The School” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.
Sample Course Notes
Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well. We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis. If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.
What learning method should I choose?
We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Enrolment” box above, then “Learning Methods.”
How Long will it take to complete the course?
This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing. We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.
Longer courses will obviously take longer. You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”
What Do Our Students think of us?
If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.
I don’t think this is the right course for me.
If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.
You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.
If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk
Recognition and Accreditation
For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.
Who is ACS Distance Education?
If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”
What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?
This is an individual module course. The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study.
If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it.
If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course.
If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments.
There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.
Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.
You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.
You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.
