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Title:
Adobe
LiveMotion 2.0 Classroom in a Book
Author:
Team Adobe Development
Publisher:
Adobe Press in association with Peachpit Press http://www.adobe.com/adobepress/main.html
http://www.peachpit.com
Publication Date: June
2002
Pages: 376
with CD
ISBN: 0-201-75623-4
Price:
$45.00
Adobe
LiveMotion 2.0 Classroom in a Book
is part of an official training series from Adobe Systems. The Classroom
in a Book series of hands-on software training workbooks helps you learn
the features of Adobe software quickly and easily and at your own pace.
If you're new to Adobe LiveMotion, you'll learn the fundamental concepts
and features you'll need to master the program. If you have been using
Adobe LiveMotion for a while, you'll find that Classroom in a Book teaches
many advanced features, including tips and techniques for using this latest
version. It includes a cross-platform CD/ROM that contains material
that supplements the lessons in the book. The book begins with the basics:
the work area, drawing basic shapes, and the Pen tool, and then looks
at some of the advanced and new features such as writing Automation Scripts
and Live Tabs. You can follow the book from start to finish, or do only
the lessons that correspond to your interests and needs. There are also
special review lessons that summarize what you've covered. Written for
both PC and Macintosh users.
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Lesson
4 Pen Tool
Lesson
8 Rollovers
Lesson
9 Movie Clips
Lesson
10 Script
Lesson
12 Variables
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Lessons
1 through 15
cover the following:
- Lesson
1:
Getting to Know the Work Area--This
lesson gets you started in LiveMotion by showing you around the work
area. You explore the menus and palettes and viewing features. Learn
to open and save a file; select objects; move objects; use and rearrange
palettes; and preview compositions. It takes approximately 30 minutes
to complete, and there is a sample file on the CD to work with.
- Lesson
2:
Drawing Basic Shapes--In this lesson
you will learn how to create a logo and do the following: create shapes
and layers; create text objects; add effects and textures to shapes;
change the size, color, and opacity of shapes; and use various combine
commands. It takes about 45 minutes to complete, and there is a beginning
and ending file on the CD.
- Lesson
3:
Working with Type--In LiveMotion,
text can be manipulated like any other object, and it can be edited
at any time while retaining its attributes. In this lesson, you'll explore
the uses of type by creating and altering it in various ways. It discusses
how to use the type tool; create, save, and apply a style; create a
group mask; edit text; change the alignment of text; use the combine
commands; and use a Photoshop filter. This lesson has you make a Web
page, and it takes about 60 minutes to complete. There is a beginning
and ending file on the CD.
- Lesson
4:
Working with the Pen Tool--In previous
lessons, you learned how to draw simple shapes using the shape tools.
For more complicated shapes, you can use the LiveMotion pen tool, as
it lets you draw straight lines, curves, and corners, which you can
add to and edit while you draw. In this lesson, you practice drawing
with the pen tool first by transforming a rectangle, then by drawing
a bird. You'll learn how to do the following: draw straight lines; draw
cured lines; add and remove control points; convert smooth points to
corner points and vice versa; change shapes to paths; create closed
paths; adjust lines; and use the fill and outline features. It takes
about 45 minutes to complete and there is a beginning and ending file
on the CD. See image to the left for a view of the file you create.
- Review
A--In
this first review section, you use the techniques you learned in the
first four lessons to create a greeting card. You use the tools and
palettes to create objects, such as a red heart, a greeting, and flowers;
modify them; and create effects. Then you use masking to complete the
project. There are files on the CD to work with.
- Lesson
5:
Animating Position--With LiveMotion,
you can add motion to objects, as well as change a variety of properties
over time using the Timeline window. You can play the animation from
start to finish, or click through it one frame at a time. In this lesson,
you create an animation that consists of a flying saucer that zooms
toward the bottom of the composition, turning and rotating as it comes
closer. It examines how to do the following: create an object to animate;
name the object; display and work with the animation Timeline window;
create and edit keyframes; animate an object's position and other properties;
create and edit motion paths; replace one object in an animation with
another from a different file; time-stretch an animation; and preview
and export an animation. It takes about 45 minutes to complete, and
there are sample files on the CD.
- Lesson
6:
Editing Keyframes--In Lesson 5,
you learned how to animate an object's position, but in this lesson,
you will discover how to create more realistic, complex movement by
altering keyframes and repositioning objects. It examines how to do
the following: create hold frames; ease in and ease out of frames; reverse
animations by moving keyframes; and change the stacking order of objects.
You create an animation that consists of a plane that flies to three
different cites, as a cloud drifts across the scene. It takes about
30 minutes to complete, and there are beginning and ending files on
the CD.
- Lesson
7:
Animating Object Properties--Using
LiveMotion, you can animate nearly any aspect of an object. You can
also make objects appear and disappear during an animation. This lesson
explains how to: animate multilayered objects; change color, object
opacity, and layer opacity over time; and work with sound. The lesson
takes about 45 minutes to complete, and there are beginning and ending
files on the CD.
- Review
B--In
this second review lesson, you use the techniques you learned in Lessons
5 through 7 to create an animated winter scene. You make elements of
the animation move, rotate, and loop. You then add a song that will
play through the animation. The files you need to work with are provided
on the CD.
- Lesson
8:
Creating Basic Rollovers--Rollovers
are multi-state buttons that change their appearance or behavior when
you roll the mouse pointer over them or click them. LiveMotion lets
you create different effects for the normal, over, down, and out states
of a rollover button. So after reading this lesson, you should know
how to: create multiple rollover buttons simultaneously; apply different
layered effects to a button; create a rollover state for each layered
effect; apply a sound effect to a rollover state; use a linked URL with
a rollover state; and add a label to each button. The lesson takes about
30 minutes to complete, and there is an end file on the CD to view.
See image to the left for a view of the rollovers you create.
- Lesson
9:
Movie Clips and Advanced Rollovers--This
is where the really fun techniques begin. Movie clips enable you to
animate multi-state rollover buttons so that they move when you click
them. You can also set up custom rollover states and apply multiple
conditions so that when one rollover is activated, another is activated
remotely. This lesson covers how to: create movie clip groups; incorporate
artwork from other LiveMotion files; animate a rollover button in different
states; build masked groups; convert Illustrator artwork into a group
of objects; and set up conditions for secondary, remote rollovers. There
are beginning and ending files on the CD. Takes about 45 minutes to
complete. See image to the left for a view of the file you create.
- Lesson
10:
Basic Player Script Interactivity--Using
the new scripting capability of LiveMotion 2.0, you can create complex
compositions that are created as separate component files which are
then placed into a final composition timeline. Once the components have
been assembled, they can then be wired together with scripts. In this
lesson, you learn how assemble multiple animations into one composition;
create transitions between scenes; use labels in the composition and
movie clip timelines; work with the Script Editor to add interactivity;
and create a Wait for Download behavior. There are beginning and ending
files on the CD. Takes about 45 minutes to complete. See image to the
left for a view of the file you create.
- Lesson
11: Adding Sounds to Your Composition--In
the same way that you add image files, you can add sound files to a
composition timeline. In this lesson, you discover how to add streaming
sound to a composition; add sound to a movie clip group; create a looping
effect that makes a sound play continuously; use the Solo Event Sound
property; create a controller to turn a looping sound on and off; and
add a sound volume controller. There are beginning and ending files
on the CD. Takes about 30 minutes to complete.
- Lesson
12:
Working with Dynamic Data--LiveMotion's
dynamic text fields allow your visitors to enter and retrieve customized
information as variables. When you store data in variables, that data
can be verified, manipulated, and submitted. This lesson covers all
that. You learn how to: assemble a multi-page form; use variable data
fields for input and output; create a password field; and use checkboxes
to store variables. There are beginning and ending files on the CD.
Takes about 45 minutes to complete. See image to the left for a view
of the file you create.
- Review
C--In
this final review section, you use the techniques you learned in Lessons
8 through 12 to make a wire figure move in and out of the composition,
and another figure move along a series of animated rectangles. You do
all this by creating movie clip groups. You then create rollovers and
add scripts to trigger the animations you create. The files you need
are on the CD.
- Lesson
13:
Advanced Interactivity: The Game--LiveMotion's
scripting capabilities allow you to create fun and exciting games, and
it doesn't even take a boatload of scripting savvy to produce an entertaining
game. With a ready-made script on which to base your project, you can
turn out a game without a major investment in time, and by altering
the graphics, you can quickly adapt an existing game to create an entirely
different look and feel. In this lesson you learn to: identify basic
game components; adjust game settings; and update an existing game.
The files you need are on the CD, and it takes about 60 minutes to complete.
- Lesson
14:
Writing Automation Scripts and Live Tabs--LiveMotion
2.0's new automation tools take the tedium out of performing the same
operations over and over. The first of these tools is automation scripting,
which leverages the power of JavaScript to control LiveMotion and carry
out repetitive tasks. Secondly, Live Tabs take automation to the next
level by allowing you to build custom interfaces that collect user input
and feed the information to your automation scripts. In this lesson,
you work with Automation Scripts and Live Tabs and learn to: use Automation
Scripts to create new LiveMotion objects; use the Script Editor to edit
and debug automation scripts; use the automation menu to load automation
scripts and Live Tabs; and create a Live Tab that makes 3D-style buttons
with customizable features. The files you need are on the CD, and it
takes about 45 minutes to complete.
- Lesson
15: Exporting--Exporting
in LiveMotion is extremely flexible, allowing you to export your files
to any of the common Web formats. In this lesson you learn to: choose
which export format best suits your composition; use the Export palette;
adjust object settings for optimal size and quality; export to different
formats; and optimize SWF exports. There are beginning and ending files
on the CD, and it takes about 45 minutes to complete.
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