Flash Certification Bootcamp

Flash Certification Bootcamp is a blended learning solution that brings together the Flash CS4 Getting Started, ActionScript 3 Getting Started and ActionScript 3 Advanced Techniques courses into a complete solution designed for those planning to become a qualified Adobe Flash CS4 ACE. The course price includes the ACE exam fee.

Audience
This course is ideal for those who wish to become an Adobe Flash CS4 ACE and learn to use Flash to an advanced level including the powerful ActionScript 3 language.

Requirements
In order to complete this course you will require basic computer skills such as a basic understanding of a computer's operating system, launching an application, creating & saving files, and copying files from CDs & other media. An understanding of the internet and what Flash is used for is advantageous.

Course Overview
Stage 1 - Flash CS4
Flash Interface

• Panels and panel layouts
• Custom workspaces
• Colour and Kuler
• The tools
  
  • Drawing
  • Selecting
  • Painting
  • Editing
  • Spraying

 Working in Flash

• Setting Stage dimensions
• Setting preferences
• Flash Player version
• Actionscript version
• Import preferences
• Publishing a file

Creating and Importing Graphic Assets

• Working with different graphic formats
• Importing bitmap graphics
• Importing vector graphics
• Working with layers and layer folders
• Using the drawing tools
• Using object and merge drawing
• Working with the Colour panels
• Creating and using symbols
• Using the Library panel
• Filters and Blend modes

Using Text Effectively

• Using the Text tool
• Adding and formatting static text
• Changing font rendering methods
• Adding input text fields
• Embedding fonts in input text fields

Creating Animations

• Object based animation
• Creating motion tweens
• Motion Editor
• Motion Presets
• Editing Animations
• Copying/pasting animations

3D transformations

• Creating 3D effects
• Editing 3D effects
• 3D Translation
• 3D Rotate
• Vanishing point

Inverse Kinematics

• Bones tool
• Armatures
• Constraining objects
• Examples

Modeling

• Deco tool
• Patterns
• Effects
• Spray Brush tool
• Custom shapes

Adding ActionScript

• Using Script Assist
• Adding actions to a frame
• Creating and using Button symbols
• Adding behaviors to a button
• Loading external SWFs

Using Moving Clips

• Creating and using Movie Clip symbols
• Organizing a Movie Clip Timeline
• Using actions to control a Timeline
• Using frame labels
• Responding to user interactions

Adding Sound and Video

• Importing sound
• Changing sound properties
• Adding sound to a Timeline
• Embedding video in a Timeline
• Converting Video
• H264
• On2VP6
• Adobe Media Encoder
• Using the FLVPlayback component
• Masking video
• Controlling video

Publishing Flash Documents

• Using different publishing formats
• Using publishing profiles
• Adding Flash Player detection
• Publishing for deployment

Creating Animations- Old School

• Working with the Timeline
• Using keyframes, blank keyframes, and frames
• Creating motion tweens
• Creating shape tweens
• Creating transition effects
• Easing

Adobe AIR

• What is AIR
• Publishing for AIR
• Using flash with html to create an AIR application
• Flash, database work and AIR applications
• Accessing local files
• Examples

Flash and Other Applications

• InDesign to Flash (XFL)
• Photoshop to Flash
• Illustrator to Flash
• Placing SWF's into Acrobat 9 Pro

Using Flash to Draw

• The Pen tool
• Creating more complex shapes from primitive shapes
• Drawing landscapes
• Drawing figures
• Creating a library of useful shapes

A simple design

• Drawing a landscape with flash
• Animating the various parts of the landscape
• Publishing the final result

A simple application - case study

• What are components
• Using components
• Creating a simple interface with components
• Publishing the result

Stage 2 - ActionScript 3

Variables

• string variables
• Object variables
• name conflicts
• untyped variables
• default values
• isNaN
• deleting variables

Functions

• creating functions
• functions and arguments
• Default argument
• default argument order
• the rest symbol

Objects, Properties, Methods, and Classes

• trace
• this
• common properties
• basic objects
• common methods
• common classes

Iteration

• for loops
• do while loops
• arrays and for in loop
• var and for in
• this and for in
• for each loop
• for in and for each in

Display Objects

• Timeline based symbols
• Symbol type
• MovieClip
• Button
• Graphic
• Class type
• MovieClip
• SimpleButton
• Shape
• Text Classes
• StaticText
• TextField

Accessing Display Objects

• tracing a movieclip's name
• changing names
• Understanding the Class Inheritance Hierarchy
• Referencing Movie Clips in the Timeline
• The Display List
• The root and stage
• Dynamic display objects
• Bitmaps
• new Bitmaps
• Removing bitmaps
• removeChild()
• Creating Dynamic Instances from the Library
• Dynamic graphics
• Drawing a triangle

Events

• stage click handler
• buttonMode
• Reacting to the Mouse
• Event Propagation
• tracing evt.target
• Stage events
• drag and drop
• Keyboard Events
• tracing keyCode

Animation

• Moving a ball
• Accelerating a ball
• Controlling a ball
• Adding gravity
• Rotating a movieclip
• Rotating and controlling a movieclip
• Creating balls at random
• Creating balls where the mouse clicks
• Creating balls automatically
• Boundaries
• Bouncing a ball left and right
• Bouncing a ball again
• Moving a ball in x and y directions
• Moving a ball smoothly with oscillation
• Moving a ball with easing

What is a class?

• Creating classes
• Creating methods
• Creating properties
• Using a class-based timer system

Creating Custom Classes

• Designing a custom class
• Adding methods to the class
• Adding properties to the class
• Using getters and setters
• Applying the class to a movie clip
• Applying the class to the MainTimeline

Introducing Components and Data

• List the components
• Setting up a server and database
• Testing server/flash/db integration
• Ways to connect Flash and data

UI Components

• Accordian, Button, Checkbox, Radio Buttons
• List, ComboBox, DataGrid
• DateChooser, Date Field
• Loader
• ScrollPane
• ProgressBar
• Menu and MenuBar
• Numeric Stepper
• TextArea, TextInput, and Labels
• Tree component
• Windows/Alerts
• Handling Scrollbars

Video Components

• FLVPlayback
• Flash Video Components
• Videomaru
• Fullscreen video

Data binding

• XML
• Inputting data & binding data

Database integration

• Flash and php
• Flash and amfphp
• Flash Remoting
• Flash and web services

Customising Components

• Stylizing components
• CSS and components
• Custom shapes

Creating Your Own Components

• Creating a movieclip with code
• Converting to a component
• Making the component installable

Introducing Flex & AIR

Stage 3 - ActionScript 3 Advanced Techniques

Drawing

• Drawing API
• Triangles (and UVT)
• Bitmap fills

3D transformations

• rotationX/Y/Z transformations
• scaleX/Y/Z transformations
• x/y/z translations
• Simple 3D drawing

Collision Detection

• Hit tests
• Using Bitmaps for detection

Tweening

• Tween class
• Applying tweens
• Creating effects with tweens
• Other tweening libraries

Transitions and the Transition Manager

• Blinds
• Fade
• Fly
• Iris
• Squeeze
• Wipe
• Others

Colour

• Manipulating colours with AS3
• ColorTransform class

Transformations

• Matrix class
• Matrix3D class
• Transform
• Others

Video Effects

• Bitmaps
• Cameras
• Movies

Sound effects

• Loading sounds
• Controlling sounds
• Visualisation - waveforms and frequencies
• Microphones

Image Effects

• Bitmaps and BitmapData
• Filters and Blend modes
• PerlinNoise

Open source Classes

• Papervision3D
• Tweener
• TweenMax
• Minimal Components
• Others

Open source frameworks

• Gaia

Object Orientated Programming

• Creating your own class
• Creating methods
• Creating getters/setters
• Using your custom class
• Creating Document classes

Flash and Flash Builder (Flex Builder)

• Importing Flash work into Flash Builder
• Setting up your classes in Flash Builder
• Embedding Flash work as assets in your classes
• Using Flash Builder with php and mysql

Components and Data

• Components
  • Button
  • Checkbox
  • ColourPicker
  • Combobox
  • Datagrid
  • etc

  Working with data

• Database Integration
  • Setting up a server and database
  • Testing server/flash/db integration
  • Ways to connect Flash and data - AMFPHP
• XML
• DataProvider