"When we go to the movies or watch TV today, most of us become annoyed
if we see static, blips, or crudely handled transitions. It guarantees
that we will not be impressed. We expect the slick transitions, whether
simple or complex, to which we have become accustomed. Web builders, pay
close attention: This is the future of the Web." - Jason
Coleman
Macromedia Flash is claimed to be the industry standard for high-impact,
vector-based Web sites that deliver motion, sound, interactivity, and
graphics. Rob Burgess, chairman and CEO of Macromedia believes that "Flash
is an entire movement - and this is just the beginning". It is believed
that more than a half million designers and developers already use the
Macromedia Flash authoring environment to effectively convey their vision
on the Web, and seven of the top ten visited sites on the Internet deploy
Macromedia Flash authored content.
"Flashers" - as Magnus
Karlson would like to call the Flash Community are spreading rapidly
across the planet. "Creative Animation" is the keyword in the
flash development village today. The Flash animator or Flashimater as
Burqos calls us, is according to him "a visual art therapist, whose
script is one of visual exploitation; a conductor directing graphic assets
into a smooth-and-connected arrangement of word, image, time, and sound."
"In ArtAndCulture.com,
artists' names breathe like ethereal vapor. Their visual resuscitation
personifies the artists' restless pulse beat and inventive vitality. At
Turtleshell.com, fireflies gravitate
around your cursor. They are your lantern-companions on your site exploration.
These fireflies do not prove to be the will-o'-the-wisps that throw you
off course. In PregnancyCalendar.com,
numerals grow big and small. These are the numerals of embryonic maturation.
Accompanying the chronology is narrative written in the first person.
Like it's Flash counterparts, this site celebrates life, especially that
found in the fusion of word and image. Memory is preserved and shared.
Flash is the technical incubator of storytelling, where a body of text
is treated as a body, stimulating in faculties and possessing emotional
warmth." - Nathaniel Burgos
A whole lot of links are available on the net for budding "flashers".
Some of the sites offer free downloads of .fla s with valuable content.
The prominent one is FlashKit.com.
All these and more makes life easier for a "flasher". But don't
forget the competition is great out there. If you want to survive you
have to make sure that you don't do these 3 things.
Relax, take your own time to develop good stuff. Don't try to look at
what others are up to. Don't have to upgrade your old flash version.
For all those who think that "flash is here to stay" and are
over confident about it try to read Jakob Nielsen's article entitled:
"Flash: 99%
Bad". I won't say more on that. It certainly helps you to come
down to earth from Karlson's "divinity".
I strongly believe that the macromedia guys are working on it and will
come up with features that will allow flash movies to download faster.
And this unarguably is the wish every "flasher" would ask Aladdin.
