NOT JUST A FLASH IN THE PAN

Macromedia’s Flash has been a huge success not just in termsof market penetration (Macromedia claims that 96% of the on-lineaudience can view Flash content) but also in terms of diversity. Thisyear, the format has become more useable than ever thanks to new toolsand new developments in software accoutrements.

First of all, this year will be remembered as the year when Flashwent portable. Macromedia knows that to truly serve the streamingaudience, it has to be more than an online standard; it has to gomobile. This parallels the trends in mobile devices, which are not onlybecoming more graphic intensive but more wireless-capable. While somemobile devices such as PDAs still do not make wireless streaming ano-brainer, some do, and the market will follow those that lead thepack.

Macromedia’s initiative in this area begins with the FlashPlayer for Pocket PC. The company could have launched a playersupporting the Microsoft Pocket PC platform and then just stood back tosee what developers would do with it. But instead it went the extramile and built a section of its web site that is full of informationabout this new technology.

When you think about it, Flash makes perfect sense for multimediaPDAs and wireless networks. The format is extremely compact and, withproper programming, you can pack in very long animations with sound andmusic. Not only that, but Flash is inherently interactive. Manydevelopers have built mini-applications with Macromedia’ssoftware, and this genre is sure to get a kick-start as Flash goeswireless. Add in the fact that Flash streams at a rate of between 9.6kbps and 19.2 kbps, and you see you are right in line with the low-endtransfer rates that current technology allows to portable devices. Inaddition, Macromedia’s Generator provides server-side featuressuch as pushing text and data-driven content from a network hub using awide variety of languages and sources such as CML, ASP, CSV andPHP.

You can get started by downloading the player and the AuthoringGuidelines from Macromedia's website. Macromedia also has a sectionthat focuses on providing optimal delivery for handheld PCs. Thesection goes over input methods, movie size, sound, animation, gaming,quality settings, version detection and much more.

One of the requirements for this first version of the Pocket PCFlash Player is that all animations created must be embedded inside anHTML page. There is currently no stand-alone player functionality, butit is expected in a future release. As such, the Macromedia site has awealth of info on how to publish SWF movies that can be displayedwithin Internet Explorer for Pocket PC.

Bear in mind, Macromedia is not the only company bringing streamingFlash content to mobile devices. Mobile Mutant, Conduits, and other companies also offer Flashplayers. Some of them are stand-alone and do not require the animationsto be viewed within a web browser. As for Palm users and other mobileplatforms, Macromedia hints that it is working hard to providesolutions to other PDA and wireless devices. So stay tuned. AlthoughFlash has taken over the web in a big way, its destiny is to break freeand go portable.

Exporting Flash Files

Another Flash-related trend we are seeing is the growing number ofFlash compatible programs. You no longer necessarily needMacromedia’s Flash 5 program to produce Flash content. Yes, it isstill the granddaddy for production designers, but there are otheroptions now with many more to follow.

In fact, you may be surprised to find that a lot of the programs youhave used for years now export to Flash. Remember Metacreations’character animation program called Poser? When Metacreations’shifted its corporate focus, a lot of its programs moved to othercompanies. Curious Labs wound up with Poser, and it is picking up whereMetacreations left off. Today, the current version of Poser 4.0 savescharacter animations in SWF Flash format. If you check out thecompany’s site, you will see some amazing examples ofanimations with any number of characters. Keep in mind these are allrendered in 3D with shading, so you definitely have an upper handagainst 2D cartoon animation.

ThirdWish offers a Lightwave 3D Flash exporter, so professionals whohave mastered that program can easily become Flash animators. Thecompany offers a free evaluation version on its site if you would liketo check it out.

Also, let's not forget about Adobe. It is incorporating Flashexporting into several products in its line, with the most notablebeing the recently released Flash-enabled After Effects 5.0. LikeLightwave users, professionals with years of After Effects training cannow move into a new market of Flash animation with the new Flash outputoptions available in AE. You can see some Flash examples on Adobe’swebsite.

These are only a few of the many programs now offering Flash output,and there are many more on the way. Investigate the websites of yourfavorite creative development programs. Chances are you will see Flashsupport offered as a feature or add-on. And if it is not, ask forit!

While there are not a lot of programs that are trying to be areplacement for Macromedia’s Flash 5, one is trying, and that isAdobe’s Live Motion. Released as Adobe’s developer tool forvector based content creation, the program is building a steadyfollowing. Check out the Live Motion section of Adobe's site to see anexcellent group of animations done with LiveMotion and then pop over toAdobe’s LiveMotion User Forum to see a bustling community that is takingLiveMotion to amazing new levels.

Admittedly, I thought that Adobe’s LiveMotion was a littlemore limited than Macromedia’s Flash 5, but after seeing what canbe done and viewing the sample pages by users in the Adobe Forum, itbecame instantly clear to me that there is more than one Flashdeveloper program doing battle in the marketplace.

Savable Flash Movies

Another new concept in Flash animation that we have seen this yearis savable Flash movies. Macromedia made this possible with theintroduction of its Shockmachine program. If you have not downloadedShockmachine, you can grab it at the Shockwave site.

Shockmachine has several features that Flash content developersshould know about. First off, you can now prepare your Flash animationsto be downloaded to an end-users machine. With HTML coding, you canallow users to download and play your Flash content off-line (clickhere for a complete walk-though). This has tremendous benefits forsupplying specific Flash programs as well as distributing Flash contentto your audience. Users also have the option to play Flash animationsand programs in full-screen mode, which is an advantage over typicalweb-based play. The savable Flash movie concept will continue as thePDA and mobile market gets fired up. (For a taste of the mobile futureof Flash that is here today, bop over to here).

Finally, one of the most telling directions that Flash is headinginto is the interactive world. One only has to visit the Shockwave site to seea site that a year ago was a mix of funny on-line animations, but hasevolved into a huge library of interactive content. Flash is drivingthe lean-forward streaming web movement and this site is a fine exampleof where it is now and where it is heading. Games and interactivemovies seem primed and ready to plow over passive cartoons.

Clearly, Macromedia’s Flash is maturing and, more importantly,so is the ever-widening circle of support programs and technologiesaround it. Whether you are just learning Flash (a 30-day free demo isavailable on Macromedia’s site) or if you are a seasoned pro atthis vector based animation program, you’ll want to keep an eyeon the big picture and explore what is out now and what will beavailable in the coming months to accent this exciting format.

Frank McMahon is a contributing editor for Video Systemsmagazine.