Bloom22
07-23-2003, 06:19 AM
In this thread I will reflect my personal thoughts of developing an introduction movie for a flash presence.:) I just want to write down my opinions and theories about general flash development. I also will do this in upcoming articles and maybe it is helpful for some of you. What I'm writing could also be seen as flash philosophy. I would appreciate when anyone of you also could add some additional thoughts or critics on this thread.
When writing an intro - The basic concept
When writing an intro for a flash site we should think about the functional meaning of the introduction. An intro is "talking" to the customer or surfer. An intro can be seen as an employee representing a company. When an intro "talks" it has to find the right balance between gesture (animation), information (words, sentences, content) and emotional expression (graphics, music, sound).
The effect of motion
When we compare an intro with a person we know that a conversational partner using additional gesture is more interesting than a person using no gesture attached to his speech. Why? Gesture (motion) attaches life to a conversation. Gesture focuses the interest of the bystander on the information provided. When we look on a flash stage with a moving object and a static object, we always will look at the moving object at first. The eye has a weakness for motion, because motion represents live (change) and we all are living and changing at every moment in time. Flash animation attaches life to provided information and makes it interesting for our eyes.
The less flash objects on stage the higher the viewer's focus
When we write an intro it is advantageous to display as less as objects as possible in a sequence. Why? Well, the more objects we use at one time the more the viewer looses focus on each object or information. The eye can only fix one object at one time. When there are too many objects on stage the visitor doesn't know which object he has to focus on. This is ok when we just want to entertain our customers, but in such a sequence it's very hard to transfer information. The viewer needs to watch global and not detailed.
When there is to much motion on stage
When there is much animation / motion in a sequence our understanding for additional provided information (words, sentences) gets blured.
We are getting confused. We want to orientate but we don¡¦t know where to look at. So once again we have to watch global and not detailed. In cause of our confusion we loose our interest for detailed information. Overstated movements blur information interest. There is only one way to transfer information in such a type of sequence
Providing information in fast motion sequences containing many objects
There is a trick to maintain the viewer¡¦s focus when many fast moving objects are on stage . It¡¦s the speed level of motion. When we slow down the motion of the most important object or message in a sequence, the viewer can clearly focus on it, we establish a contrast of motion. When we slow down the most important object or information other objects stay at a higher level of speed. „³ Different tweening speeds result in a contrast of motion and in a focus on the slowest object.
The huge advantage of flash: Providing information in portions
A huge advantage of flash is the fact that we can provide content or information step by step. We can provide it in portions. We do not have to write down all our content on html pages any more. We are making movies. Now we can really feed our customers with information. But he needs some time for chewing. You have to slow down animation speed when it comes to information transfer. When you have huge personal content, you can not throw it in your customer¡¦s face by a static flash page with a lot of text. Just take a portion of information and provide it to your customer by animated motion. He will appreciate it, he will focus on it, he eats it, he chews and when he finally swallows he really has understood what you¡¦re talking about. Nice metaphor isn¡¦t it?
I will write more in the next days:D. Please post some comments or suggestion on this thread.
When writing an intro - The basic concept
When writing an intro for a flash site we should think about the functional meaning of the introduction. An intro is "talking" to the customer or surfer. An intro can be seen as an employee representing a company. When an intro "talks" it has to find the right balance between gesture (animation), information (words, sentences, content) and emotional expression (graphics, music, sound).
The effect of motion
When we compare an intro with a person we know that a conversational partner using additional gesture is more interesting than a person using no gesture attached to his speech. Why? Gesture (motion) attaches life to a conversation. Gesture focuses the interest of the bystander on the information provided. When we look on a flash stage with a moving object and a static object, we always will look at the moving object at first. The eye has a weakness for motion, because motion represents live (change) and we all are living and changing at every moment in time. Flash animation attaches life to provided information and makes it interesting for our eyes.
The less flash objects on stage the higher the viewer's focus
When we write an intro it is advantageous to display as less as objects as possible in a sequence. Why? Well, the more objects we use at one time the more the viewer looses focus on each object or information. The eye can only fix one object at one time. When there are too many objects on stage the visitor doesn't know which object he has to focus on. This is ok when we just want to entertain our customers, but in such a sequence it's very hard to transfer information. The viewer needs to watch global and not detailed.
When there is to much motion on stage
When there is much animation / motion in a sequence our understanding for additional provided information (words, sentences) gets blured.
We are getting confused. We want to orientate but we don¡¦t know where to look at. So once again we have to watch global and not detailed. In cause of our confusion we loose our interest for detailed information. Overstated movements blur information interest. There is only one way to transfer information in such a type of sequence
Providing information in fast motion sequences containing many objects
There is a trick to maintain the viewer¡¦s focus when many fast moving objects are on stage . It¡¦s the speed level of motion. When we slow down the motion of the most important object or message in a sequence, the viewer can clearly focus on it, we establish a contrast of motion. When we slow down the most important object or information other objects stay at a higher level of speed. „³ Different tweening speeds result in a contrast of motion and in a focus on the slowest object.
The huge advantage of flash: Providing information in portions
A huge advantage of flash is the fact that we can provide content or information step by step. We can provide it in portions. We do not have to write down all our content on html pages any more. We are making movies. Now we can really feed our customers with information. But he needs some time for chewing. You have to slow down animation speed when it comes to information transfer. When you have huge personal content, you can not throw it in your customer¡¦s face by a static flash page with a lot of text. Just take a portion of information and provide it to your customer by animated motion. He will appreciate it, he will focus on it, he eats it, he chews and when he finally swallows he really has understood what you¡¦re talking about. Nice metaphor isn¡¦t it?
I will write more in the next days:D. Please post some comments or suggestion on this thread.