SWF & PDF, A Perfect Match

Things are moving pretty quick with the Adobe software and with this I bring you some good feedback on the integration of Flash into pdf. I see this being a great advancement for the developer and user. We all know forwarding a swf. file usually consists of the person getting the file while not being familiar with seeing swf. files and often not having a local flash player to view it. One thing we do know is that everyone and yes even their mom’s have an Acrobat reader and know what a pdf is. To view Flash in the pdf you need to have the latest version of Acrobat, but I can just imagine people seeing they need to upgrade their Acrobat reader and I believe most are comfortable doing that. When people see the “go get your flash player” a confusing look is soon to follow so I think the first option is the way to go The new programming for Acrobat comes with integration of video and more in depth programming abilities to send back data to your web site ( ideal when sending out interactive forms). So that’s bout it, Acrobat and swf. finally meet, and that’s the vacation picture up top! Don’t forget to check the Twitter page for updates on new articles.

Someone Ate All The BitmapData…In My Dynamic Flash Movie

I’m going to describe just how I fell into the world of bitmapdata.  You probably never noticed the images you look at have this data but it’s data that will effect the appearance of your images as they adjust to different sizes and resolutions in the Flash player. That’s the easiest way I can explain what bitmap data is. If you look it up your going to read a bunch of mumbo jumbo that has to do with data. The long and short of it for purposes of this post is that when it’s missing in dynamic images it makes the images look horrible. When you import an image into Flash you can click the properties and have an option to smooth out the image. Guess what, your telling flash right their to include the bitmap data. If you don’t smooth the image out you could end up with some pretty bad looking images. I’m using Flash CS4 and this rule still applies. That seems easy enough just select the smooth out option in Flash and your images are good to go. But what if you want to use dynamic images? Well this is where my journey begins in smoothing out my dynamic images in Actionscript 2.0. In 3.0 you can use the bitmap data class’s on your movie clip and that will solve your problem.

With 2.0 I found this solution to the problem with smoothing out the dynamic movie clip:

_global.smoothImageLoad = function(imgURL, targetMovie) {
var i=0
do { i++ } while (eval(“_root.smoothImageLoadTemp”+i) != undefined)
tmc = _root.createEmptyMovieClip(“smoothImageLoadTemp”+i, _root.getNextHighestDepth())
tmc.createEmptyMovieClip(“ti”, tmc.getNextHighestDepth())
tmc.tm = targetMovie
with(tmc) {
tmcl = new MovieClipLoader()
tmcl.onLoadComplete = function() {
ti.onEnterFrame = function() {
pixelData = new flash.display.BitmapData(ti._width, ti._height);
pixelData.draw(ti);
tm.attachBitmap(pixelData, 1, true, true);
tm.smoothImageLoadComplete()
removeMovieClip(ti._parent)
}
}
tmcl.loadClip(imgURL, tmc.ti)
}
}

mymc.smoothImageLoadComplete = function() {
trace(“success”)
}

smoothImageLoad(“images/beta.jpg”, mymc)

The top portion is calling for the bitmapdata to be presented again and the last line is referencing the image loaded to your server, along with the instance name of the movie clip holding the image. Now I can already hear people asking me why I don’t just use Actionscript 3.0. In short I’ll just say my client is happy with the site in 2.0. and as you Flash users know mixing 2.0 and 3.0 is going to result in a mess.  I do think that the guy’s at Flash are capable of coming up with a better or more simpler solution to this issue, such as an option for the movie clip. I know Adobe looks through the wish lists every year when they go back to developing the next versions of the software, maybe this will eventually be a subject of interest.

So do you want Flash for your mobile device?

I’m going to start using the polling widget for the blog. Topics like Flash for mobile devices has been a hot topic, so I figured this would be a quick way to get feedback and hear what people think.

Why You’ll Be Slicing Up Your Flash Like Cake

I just concluded a portion of flash development for one of my clients. The site was originally developed by another developer and the flash file was pretty big, okay it was HUGE! I do have one policy when telling stories like this, and that’s not to mention names. I don’t know what the circumstances really were and I can’t say if it was not knowing or just a time crunch but having a Flash file of that size acting as the web site is not good on many levels. For starters the loading time was really slow and for optimization it was at a major disadvantage. Figure this, you have one big Flash file acting as your website and you go to search various topics in Google, how the heck will Google or any other search engine be able to understand your site has the info if it’s one GIANT SWF. The solution is not that hard if you think about it. This website had roughly 16 categories with some sub categories. The first thing I did was take the main navigation menu and direct the buttons to it’s corresponding category, this time around it was being pushed to html pages I hadn’t created yet but I took note of each name I came up with. Later on I created the pages so the buttons would obviously be functional. Following this I took each category(movie) and threw it into it’s own movie. I kept the same background, branding etc etc… to keep everything uniform. After everything was said and done I had a site with multiple html pages being cached by the search engines. Just as important I had a site that was running a lot faster. Now in 2008 I read developers at Adobe contacted Google and offered them support to cache swf. files better for search engine optimization. Meaning that your swf. file would be found much easier and wouldn’t just be left at the sidelines. That was terriffic news for Flash users , but It seems like the news was lost in translation. Many people that hear the word “Flash” think right away that the search engines hate it. This is not the case. Like I said Google is on top of the list for being able to pick up swf.’s very nicely. On the other hand, having the support of a lot more data is ideal and this is where you want your html pages to support and drive data to your site. Their is a reason why you can publish Flash https. This was done to get you to leverage Flash and html for building your website. And this is why you’ll be slicing up your flash like cake as I did. Give yourself the best chance possible to have your web site being found, don’t go throwing up one swf. as your entire site. , it will not give you the upper hand in the everlasting battle of seo practices.

A Popular One On YouTube

I was just checking out my YouTube page and as I went through the video’s I noticed this one was the most popular. Some of the reactions are pretty funny. This was my first attempt at a tutorial video and as I do more I try to produce them better. People seem to really enjoy the video but the responses are interesting. I’m now seeing many people reacting like I did, not really thinking you could use Bridge for anything. I think Adobe marketed the product pretty lightly, maybe they should put a video out too. People all over seem to be interested in using all the Adobe software as I am. The focus of this video was to export a Flash gallery in Bridge which can be done in under a minute if you have your images ready. I happen to be an avid user of Flash so If needed I can produce my own gallery without a problem but for those who are more into just design Bridge does the job. To see more of my work you can visit
Designs by Jonathan.

cheers,

Jonathan

Stumbling Upon Val’s Art Diary

So I was just wandering the channels of YouTube the other day and stumbled upon a channel called Val’s Arty Diary.  The artist, Valentina talks about life and how her everyday experiences inspires her creations. She’s originally from Corsica which is a small island that lies close to Italy. It’s interesting because when you hear this woman speak you may be thinking Italian but the island itself is occupied by France; her accent must be from Italy’s regional influences. Anyhow I watched some of Valentina’s videos and was really impressed with her work and overall expression that comes through her channel.  To me it’s one of the most interesting things to watch and listen to an artist create and explain the process they go through. She also jokes around a lot in her explanations of projects but you walk away understanding how passionate she is with her creations.  If your interested in checking out more of Valentina’s work you can see her channel here; Val’s Art Diary or visit her website valsartdiary.com.

Michael Jackson Moonwalks away…

I guess I could start by stating the obvious about Michael Jackson and all the weird stuff that has been showcased around the media for years but that’s not why I’m putting in this post. Really hearing his passing last night brought back a lot of memories as a kid and how influential his music was. The first record I ever owned as a kid was Thriller. I must of been like 3 years old and my sister and I fought over that record one day and actually broke it! Around that time my mom took me out and bought me two leather jackets with zippers one red and one black. I would put the jackets on and break out into my best dance moves at home sliding around on the floor. It gives me chills even thinking about those times. Michael Jackson’s was the first music artist I could remember hearing as a kid. The first music video I ever saw was Billie Jean, I must of been watching mtv at that time. And the funny thing is when your that young no one could say you were listening to be cool or buying the media hype. For the past few years whenever I would mention that Michael was one of the artists I would listen to I would get mixed reactions. Sometimes in agreement to liking the music or sometimes really harsh comments about his character. I don’t blame anyone for their opinions on the guy, but when it comes down to what I remember Michael for it’ll be me dancing around hearing a music artist for the very first time. Today I listen to a wide variety of genres, but Michael Jackson will always be in my catalog. (Image above was produced in Photoshop CS4.)

Graphic That Made It To Broadway…

This was a pretty interesting project I got to work on a few months ago. One of my clients was contacted by the people that run Guy’s and Dolls and was asked to produce a crystal gift. Before I knew It I was working on getting this Guy’s and Dolls logo in an eps. or pdf file. I thought I would have to trace the whole thing but I ended up free handing various parts as well in Illustrator and then cleaned it up a little in Photoshop.  Above is the finished product; a crystal paperweight that was given to the 2009 cast of Guy’s and Dolls. By the way, when you want to be as perfect as you can; work at a very high resolution to draw on the computer. This will give you more control of your pen and when you set back to 100 percent you’ll see great results. So that’s my story, I designed a simple graphic that made it to Broadway, you never know what’s around
the corner.

Why Google’s Android Will Eat The Delicious Apple

Recently I’ve been hearing tons of talk about the new release of Apple’s 3g Iphone. Typically I wouldn’t be phased by another Apple release because it seems like every other year they are releasing some kind of new or upgraded “I” something.  I loved my Ipod Nano and used it all the way up till I bought my Google phone. I have nothing bad to say about Apple products either,  Apple users will back up the quality in a second and I believe them. Now all that being said here’s where I’m lost on this new hot discussion of the smart phone. On tons of blogs, YouTube, and Twitter I’ve been reading and hearing people debate the quality of the Iphone vs. all the other phones out their. Which is why I’m typing right now. For starters comparing the Iphone with the Palm Pre is kind of a weird side by side and many Iphone users are doing it. I want to see someone do a side by side comparison of Google’s HTC G1 vs. the Iphone 3g.  This would be the G1′s open source platform also known as Android developed by the Xda team Vs. Apple’s closed platform.  Well instead of waiting for someone to do a side by side comparison I’ll just do it myself. In Android’s 1.0 software for the Google phone they delivered 99 percent of what Apple’s 3g new release has before Apple (way before Apple I should mention). They delivered everything minus the Safari goods. Additionally in making Google’s Android open source they are allowing developers to drive the future of the software which is exceeding what Apple’s Iphone is capable of handling such as having Flash content on the phone. Right now the Iphone is not capable of handling this technology or apparently it will push the phone beyond it’s battery life, meanwhile Google’s G1 was displayed for all to see this past year running Flash on it’s web browser. I’m not here to bash Apple but the facts are the facts. This is not one of those situations, “I’m a Mac, your a PC” . Google is a pretty hip company, just check out their office space along with the new technology they are developing. As I mentioned before, Papervision 3d is one of the most innovative 3d technologies in the works for video and web development. I respect Apple for what they brought but if they continue to close themselves off from new innovations surrounding them they will eventually be left on a bookshelf while everyone shares. We are entering a world where information is being shared everyday and the most successful companies are gathering to bring us new and better things hence why Adobe and Google are partnering to get Adobe Flash Player to run on a smart phone.  As for Google’s future with Android and their smart phone, their’s already a new branch over at xda called Donut. Yes that tasty pastry everyone loves, and the information floating around now is that they are working to have Android run on multiple resolutions.  Meaning, better games and possibly having some type of Android platform for computers as well.  When all is said and done I believe we all win. The more everyone competes for a larger audience the better the product!

Q&A Time From The Mailbox

Message I received today via the DesignsbyJonathan.com website.

Hey Jonathan,

Awesome website! I am curious, how did you get started in your desire to create videos, pictures, etc? Did you study it on your own or take formal classes somewhere? I have done video editing for a while as a hobby but would like to increase this skill by taking formal classes and was wondering if that’s really necessary.

Thanks,

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks buddy, always good to hear some good stuff bout the site. This made me think of some funny stories of when I first started out. Back in 2000 after graduating high school I went to college for a couple years for graphic / web design. To say the least the 2 years I received in education was not enough to hold a solid job in this field, or at least I didn’t think It was, so I began freelancing for a shopping bag company while working on other small projects.  I also was creating logos back then and created a logo for a company in Connecticut, charged the woman fifteen dollars and she didn’t like what I created and said to just keep the check!  I guess It was good to get some rejection of that kind in the very beginning.  It only motivated me that much more to prove to myself that I could accomplish anything I wanted to in this field. This began with 8 – 10 hours of time alone studying the Adobe software I had, I also had Macromedia stuff back then when they owned Dreamweaver and Flash. Yes it was that long ago! I’m 27  now, ouch I’m feeling the old age coming on. But really, if you want to get better and progress you need to have the desire and time to do so. I couldn’t see myself having that kind of time these days as I get older and have been a lot more busy than back then, but I made the time. Today I’m on CS4 with the Adobe software and I create time for myself to address things that I want to have in my array of skills. In this business your skill set is your foundation and who knows what will be around the corner for you. As for the guy’s question, I think it’s a good idea to get some kind of formal education. It helps to have someone their correcting you. But after you get that education you need to take the knowledge and do something with it. As for that lady who told me to keep my money all I have to say is that eight years later I’m proud to say I’ve worked on marketing campaigns that have reached nationwide and world audiences.  Since launching my own website, designsbyjonathan.com; people from almost every country of the world have visited! This sounds very cliche but I can easily say  the success has only come through the dedication put in.  Hard work and determination, you are on your way to success.

cheers,

Jonathan