Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Magic

From the Back Cover As a serious Web designer, you'll want to do one thing and one thing only when you lay your hands on the latest version of Flash: Start tinkering with all its new features. Problem is, that's hard to do on someone else's dime. With Flash MX 2004 Magic, you don't have to! In these pages, 10 Flash wizards draw on their own professional experience to offer 12 real-world projects that let you explore Flash MX 2004 at your leisure. With a focus on areas that can be troublesome for professional users--whether because they present thorny issues or because they draw on completely new features--each lesson provides need-to-know tips, proven techniques, and best practices. By working through the step-by-step tutorials (whose project files and code you'll find on the accompanying CD), you soon will be finding your way around all of Flash MX 2004's new features: CSS support, enhanced components, JSFL, and more. In addition to the code listings and exercise files on the CD-ROM, you'll find videos that clearly demonstrate step by step all the procedures you need to complete in order to create the projects. About the Author Michelangelo Capraro is a multimedia designer and owner of Tin Lion Creative. He speaks at different events on the topic of multimedia programming, design, and usability and has been designing user interfaces and interaction for more than eight years with clients that include business-to-business firms, operating system companies, software makers, and consumer entertainment giants. He began his career designing multimedia CD-ROMs and moved into entertainment industry website design for movies and television shows. Michelangelo has founded several design groups, as well as his own firms over the years and worked as a user experience designer at Be Inc., and later at PalmSource, Inc., where he managed their user experience group. He is coauthor of the book Skip Intro: Macromedia Flash Usability and Interface Design (New Riders Publishing, 2002) and conducts workshops and curriculums on multimedia design. Acknowledgments: I would like to thank the New Riders team, especially Jennifer and Linda, for putting up with us on this project and cracking the whip when needed! Thanks to Duncan, my coauthor, for being the best teammate and making this possible. Thanks to Karen, for putting up with my lack of sleep and for your love and your support. Duncan McAlester lives at the beach and endeavors to one day be retired; until then, he makes a living doing things that he is still astonished people are willing to pay him for¿namely, designing and programming various things through his company, Breathe (http://www.breathedesign.com). When Duncan isn't creating interactive designs, he can be found teaching interface design at the University of California Irvine Extension, sitting in on life drawing classes at the Art Institute of Southern California (his alma mater), or hosting a very informal Flash user group at the local tavern (stop by and say hi). He also speaks on various topics relating to design, multimedia, and interface design and occasionally finds time to sleep. Chad Corbin is an award-winning Flash developer best known for his work on lo9ic.com. Originally educated as a mechanical engineer, Chad turned to web design to satisfy his creative tendencies, turning the one-time hobby into a full-time career. Currently, Chad works for Wall Street On Demand, where he develops Flash applications and financial websites for leading investment firms. When he is not working, Chad can be found riding his bike or playing in the mountains nearby his home in Boulder, Colorado. Acknowledgments: I'd like to thank Shan for putting up with all of the late nights and long hours of coding, my parents for supporting me in whatever I do, and the Flash community for its generosity, creativity, and wealth of knowledge and ideas. The core team at DallaVilla Design is (clockwise from left) Chris Dallavilla, Creative Director; Ron Thompson, Art Director; Drew Horton, Copywriter; and Rick Williams, Developer. They are a tightly knit group dedicated to producing innovative, exciting work. Over the past few years, DVd has produced successful, award-winning projects for the entertainment and fashion industries and companies ranging from small to Fortune 500. The studio operates under the philosophy that by combining great design, captivating storytelling, and cutting edge technology, it can create the next level of interactive experience. Although the team at DallaVilla works hard, it also cherishes the time spent in "team-building sessions." To the uneducated observer, these sessions might look very much like a bunch of guys playing video games, but the team assures us it's much more. You can check out DVd's portfolio and read more about the individual team members at http://www.dvdsgn.com. Aria Danika is an interactive designer, a senior moderator at Flashkit.com, and a member of the Hypermedia Research Centre in London, where she completed her graduate studies in hypermedia and interactive design. She originally trained as a photographer but turned to interactive media while pursuing a B.A. degree in multimedia and photography at Westminster University in London. Aria freelanced for various broadcasters in the UK including TV3, VH-1, and Granada and later joined BBCi for five years, where she designed and developed rich media applications and games. Aria is a contributor to Flash MX Magic (New Riders Publishing, 2002), and has written many articles on game design and design for interaction. She is based in Brooklyn, New York, spending her free time skateboarding, beta testing games, shooting short films, and exploring interactivity across different platf