Going beyond the competition, this book offers tutorial-based instruction including advanced Flash topics and extensive ActionScript coverage. "Inside Flash X" employs a comprehensive and advanced approach for designers and developers, addressing the fact that Flash is a designer's tool and a programming environment.

Learn the professional skills you need to make the best use of Flash for creating interactive animation and producing exciting, dynamic Internet content. Nik Lever, writing as an artist for artists, takes you through the entire process from creating the art and animation for games in Flash, to adding the interactivity using Flash's ActionScripting language. He also provides valuable extra coverage of how Flash integrates with Director 8.5 Shockwave studio and C++. As a designer using Flash you will see how you can apply your creative skills to the many stages of game production and produce your own interactive games with this versatile package. As an animator you will be able to add interactive functionality to your own animation and produce a game. As a web developer you will see how to make the best use of the sophisticated development environment Flash offers for the production of both artwork and code to create low bandwidth, animated web content that sells! The free CD-Rom includes all the code and files you need to try out each tutorial from the book so you can see exactly how each game was created. Learn from the many different types of games provided as examples, from simple quizzes to platform-based games. High score tables and multi-player games using sockets, vital to higher level online games, are also covered in detail to ensure you have the complete skill set needed to succeed in this competitive arena.

This book is broken up into a collection of hands-on seminars that each focus on teaching a specific aspect of Flash MX. The author begins each seminar by teaching core concepts and techniques. Then, in the workshop, she takes the reader step by step through applying those concepts and techniques to an actual Flash movie. By working through the book cover to cover, you can build an entire Flash web site that includes compelling graphics and animation, audio and video, ActionScript-driven activities, games and personalization, components, and XML-driven forms.

The authors give you all you need to know to create the most commonly requested and popular Flash visual effects and movies on the web with fast and fun examples.

Let's make movies! Interactive movies, totally integrated into your Flash interface! With Macromedia Flash MX you have the power to import digital video and sound, and manipulate them just like any other media object. That's a whole world of design possibilities. This book hopes to take you through all you'll need to know about producing such wonderful sites. The first section will give you a thorough grounding in how best to import your video and sound into Flash and the many different ways that you can manipulate it once it's in there. Then, in the second section, we'll go through a complete real-world case study from pre-production on the video to final output on the web and CD-ROM. Finally, we'll see how you can apply use some advanced ActionScripting with video, and create a fully object-orientated sound and video playing Flash component that you'll be able to use time and time again. The inclusion of video support is the most noticeable and exciting feature in Flash MX - viewers who have the tiny Flash plug-in installed can now see video material that would otherwise necessitate the lengthy downloads and clunky interfaces of other web video plug-ins. This book is the guide you need for this exciting new universe, offering inspiration and technical guidance in equal measures. This book assumes no knowledge beyond an ability to work with Flash MX's interface, and is not intended for those with substantial digital video experience. As such, this book does not assume that the reader has access to expensive video-editing software. All you need for this book is access to Flash MX, and some imagination.

* First Flash book to use the unique "virtual classroom" approach to teaching ActionScript programming to absolute beginners, so it meets a need head-on that no other book addresses directly—providing the missing link between technology and creativity. * Flash and ActionScript are extremely simple to learn, so this book provides the ideal entry point for any aspiring programmer and web designer, compared with technologies like VB and C++, which can be very intimidating to the novice. Additionally, this book is complementary to any other entry-level Flash titles – it recognizes that as well as mastering the design side of the toolset, effective designer/developers also need to grasp basic programming skills. Having Flash on your machine doesn't miraculously turn you into a web designer – you need to work at learning design and programming skills too. * The authors are highly experienced authors and Flash tutors, well versed in communicating technical information to a low level consumer audience. They are also active web community members and will provide personal technical support for the book direct to the reader via the Friends of ED support forums.

The Flash Reference You've Been Waiting For—Covers Flash MX 2004 and Flash MX Professional 2004 Flash MX 2004 at Your Fingertips is the first ever task-based reference to Flash. Every page of this unique, highly practical guide is focused on giving you immediate access to the information you need to get your work done fast. Inside you'll find: Complete explanations of the most common authoring and editing tasks and ActionScript techniques An intuitive organization that lets you search according to what you want to do Clear, step-by-step instructions At-a-glance shortcuts and time-saving tips A visual reference to the Flash MX 2004 interface This groundbreaking book was written by expert authors who share inside knowledge accumulated over years of intensive Flash use. Whatever your field or level of experience, whether working on the Mac or in Windows, you've found the Flash reference you've been waiting for.