Keynote II: Success Starts With The User
We all know that usability testing is a key to making Flash content
user-friendly, but what steps can Flash developers take before the testing begins to improve usability? Implementing a user-centric development process can help to improve your Flash content before the first user ever interacts with the content. In his Keynote presentation, Chris MacGregor will share his experiences in implementing user-centric development and what lessons he learned in the process. Best practices on the many issues that face interaction designers working with Flash content including interactions, interface design, emotions and cultural issues will be explored. The methods we use to create Flash content can provide developers with a usability head start, but first we need to re-examine how we develop Flash content.
Chris MacGregor, Co-Author, "The Flash Usability Guide"
10:00am - 10:15am
Break
10:15am - 11:15am
ActionScript Performance Best Practices This session will clarify the performance weaknesses and strengths in the
Flash Player. Tests will be shown that either prove or disprove many common
ActionScript programming practices.
Mike Lyda, Flash ActionScript Developer, Cisco Systems
11:15am - 12:15pm
Non-Vector Flash Theres been an obvious trend of "non-vector" animation in Flash
development lately. Developers are integrating quicktime animations,
tweened raster images, and bitmap sequences. Billy Bussey covers the
fundamentals of image compression, what programs integrate well with
Flash, and gives some inside info on how Flash handles non-vector
imagery. Be sure not to miss the deep exploration of BBV2
(billybussey.com version 2) and other "non-vector" based sites. Billy Bussey, Owner, Paradyme Multimedia, www.billybussey.com
12:15pm - 1:00pm
Lunch Break
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Flash MX Best Practices: Adventures Of The Macromedia SWAT Team The Macromedia SWAT team is a very specialized team that creates prototypes and proof-of-concepts for some of Macromedia’s largest clients. SWAT team engagements typically last between 2 days and 2 weeks. In this session, attendees will learn how to work with clients to provide them with a functional prototype that can be used as a basis for future development.
Allen Ellison, Information Architect, Architekture.com
2:00pm - 3:00pm
The Making of Flash Illuminations: 3D Flash 3D for Flash, The Creation of Flash Illuminations - Flash Kit vendor Electric Rain's multimedia guru Jim Foley deconstructs his latest creation Flash Illuminations. This experimental piece takes
advantage of Swift 3D v3 and Flash MX new capabilities to make a 3D Flash environment that blends 3D vector realism, raster imagery, video and ActionScripting. Foley surveys the techniques and tools used in the creation of Flash Illuminations. Electric Rain is giving away Swift 3D v3 (retail value $169.00) and three Swift 3D t-shirts at the end of the presentation.
Jim Foley, Multimedia Developer, Electric Rain
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Components - Extending the Power of Flash Plugins have been extending the power of applications like PhotoShop for many years. Now Components are ready to do the same for Flash. This session will look at a new set of components that create special effects. It will demonstrate how the components work, and also discuss how the components were created. Each component is a small micro-application consisting of a user interface, live update, and runtime.
Richard Blum, CEO, Animation Online
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Developing Applications for Macromedia Central Macromedia Central is a new way to develop, sell, and deploy applications using Macromedia Flash MX. More precisely, it is a different and exciting response to the need for "occasionally-connected" desktop and mobile applications. This session will cover how existing Macromedia Flash developers can create Flash applications people can use both online and offline, right from their desktops, with the Central SDK. The session will also highlight some of the latest applications available for the Central environment.
Michael Williams, Product Manager, Macromedia
Keynote II: Success Starts With The User
We all know that usability testing is a key to making Flash content
user-friendly, but what steps can Flash developers take before the testing begins to improve usability? Implementing a user-centric development process can help to improve your Flash content before the first user ever interacts with the content. In his Keynote presentation, Chris MacGregor will share his experiences in implementing user-centric development and what lessons he learned in the process. Best practices on the many issues that face interaction designers working with Flash content including interactions, interface design, emotions and cultural issues will be explored. The methods we use to create Flash content can provide developers with a usability head start, but first we need to re-examine how we develop Flash content.
Chris MacGregor, Co-Author, "The Flash Usability Guide"
10:00am - 10:15am
Break
10:15am - 11:15am
Enterprise Flash Development: Effectively Integrating Flash with Enterprise Applications The common practice of tying Flash into your server-side application directly is a poor design model to follow. If you leverage the power of XML and design patterns, you can build a Flash application that is simple to maintain and modify while actually saving the initial development time as well! In this session, we will show a programming architecture that provides everything you need to integrate Flash front-ends with server-side applications while not sacrificing anything. We recognize that you work in the real world so we will provide the source code for a fully functional sample application in multiple server-side languages along with the Flash front-end.
Michael Grundvig, Co-Founder, Electrotank Inc.
11:15am - 12:15pm
Exploring Practical Uses For FlashCom What's left for FlashCom after the initial novelty of seeing live video inside Flash wears off? A lot! The potential for practical FlashCom applications has yet to be exploited. Practical applications are waiting to be discovered for education, presentations, tech support, sales, and community sites. These applications can also work great in low bandwidth environments. Walk away from this session inspired to offer your clients ideas how to immediately use this technology.
Phillip Kerman, Independent Programmer, Teacher, Writer
12:15pm - 1:00pm
Lunch Break
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Panel Discussion: Aesthetics vs. Functionality: Where Should The Two Meet? Watch the sparks fly during this panel session as both designers and usability / interface specialists square off to decide whether functionality should take precedence over aesthetics. Are there really way too many products out there that have aesthetics but lack the functionality? This will be an interactive session where attendees are encouraged to participate and ask questions.
Moderator: Kristin Henry, President, GalaxyGoo, Inc. Panelists: Jessica D'Elena, Lead Designer/UI Specialist, ANIMAX Chris MacGregor, Publisher, Flazoom.com Todd Marks, President, MindGrub Technologies, LLC Tony Novak, Co-Founder & COO, 2Advanced Studios
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Flash Animation Goes Hollywood This presentation will clearly define the benefits using a program such as Flash MX from a production standpoint in a variety of entertainment formats.
Four major points will be explained:
Quantity, Cost, Time and Quality.
Quantity- Can you get a bargain producing for the Web, TV and feature film all at once?
Cost- Price comparisons of traditional 2-D models from Television and Feature Films
Time- How does using Flash affect a timetable. What about producing a TV show and movie right after one another?
Macromedia Flash For Mobile And Devices This session will delve into the Macromedia Flash Player SDK, the first Macromedia product licensed directly to consumer electronics manufacturers and wireless network operators around the world. Demonstrations will show how the Flash Player Content Development Kits (CDK) give developers the tools and technology to create content for mobile phones and other devices. Rich content that is easily produced is the key to improving the penetration of wireless data services around the world. The licensing of Macromedia Flash for the i-mode service by NTT DoCoMo is a proof point. Anup Murarka, Senior Director, Macromedia
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Manipulating Multi-User Flash The most "killer" of the killer apps have always been multi-user. From e-mail to Napster to 1st-person-shooters to Instant Messaging. The common thread is the ability for multiple people to manipulate the same environment at the same time. Using Harmony from moock.org as our backend-of-choice, we'll show you how to start creating your own multi-user content. Attendees will be shown a number of inspirational examples before diving into actual Flash ActionScript source. We'll also examine some of the common pitfalls of multiuser systems and discuss techniques for avoiding them. Hosting is another hurdle, and we'll provide information and resources for affordable multiuser application hosting.
Jon Williams, Superhero, Shovemedia
