Re: FLASH: LiveMotion - Pros & Cons

[Louis L. Gambogi III]

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----- Original Message -----

From: "J. Lutes (pixelTwiddler)" <

jasongrafikimagism [dot] com

>

To: <

flasherchinwag [dot] com

>

Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2000 12:57 PM

Subject: RE: FLASH: LiveMotion - Pros & Cons



> >> rummor has it that flash 5 will have filter effects and almost

> >> the same exact feature that LM has.

>

> >It would be sort of self-destructive to

> >willfully bloat SWF files like that, so I'd be surprised if Flash 5 put

> >effort into supporting pixel-based filtering... there are more important

> >things to do.

>

> I agree.  One of my disappointments with the release of LM, as a big Adobe

> supporter, is the seeming disregard for certain efficiency issues -- one

of

> the reasons for the widespread adoption of Flash in the first place.

>

> All of the 3-D effects, and some other things in surprisingly unexpected

> places, output a raster format.  Blech!  If I wanted this, I could do it,

> and much better, in something more dedicated to 3-D effects or raster

> processing.  Another recent encounter with inefficiency...  I made a five

> second test with some combination tweens on a simple vector

object/shape --

> rotate, scale, alpha fade, color shift, etc.  Each of the tween "frames"

> (time slices) tranferred/exported as a graphic symbol, resulting in a 26K

> file with 60 symbols!  Yikes!  I can't hold this against them, though.  I

> haven't seen any SWF output from third party (conversion/translate) tools

> fully eliminate the object/frame redundancy inherent in creating outside

of

> the native Flash environment (because the translation is apparently

> difficult to accurately make).  The current crop of over-touted 3-D

> conversion software is still king of this sort of efficiency violation.

It

> is a problem wherever you go in CG.  Even Macromedia still doesn't do

> something as simple as translate Targa files correctly when importing into

> Director.  Nor does Adobe translate (as expected they might easily do)

> Dimensions output, from the PostScript it uses, to a properly

> ordered/arranged 2-D AI output.  It's tough going!  That is really why

with

> Flash you still have an edge -- optimization.  Having said that...

>

> Here is the short list of some recent LM disappointments.

>

> o There is no simple object snap.  That's an incredible oversight!

Someone

> please tell me where to find it if it's there and I just haven't seen it.

> In my mind this, and the automatic point-of-intersect parsing of vector

> lines, is one of Flash's main strengths over whatever else I use to

> manipulate vector artwork.

>

> o Some of my favorite shortcut key combinations (which I use across

> multiple Adobe applications) aren't in this software.

>

> o Limited gradient support compared to what I expected/hoped for/find in

> other Adobe software.

>

> o It lags sometimes interactively while constructing/designing --

> especially if you have the grid showing with auto-picking of the selection

> tool enabled.  Depending on what you are doing, this is a terrible

problem.

> Incidently, I am on a pIII 600 w/ 256 Mb of RAM, but only an 8 Mb ATI

video

> card -- it's a laptop.  Why am I lagging at all?  Note: I am on to you

wise

> acres who just got a notion to respond with, "'Cause you're not on a Mac!"

> It lags on the G4 here also.  Sorry, folks.

>

> Anyway, beyond the minor disappointments (the biggest of which is probably

> the Flash 3-level interactivity limitation), Live Motion is a really nifty

> product.  Again, I have an Adobe-centered bias that is difficult to sway.

>

> Here are some areas where I feel it rules over Flash.  I am leaving out

> some things for the sake of brevity, and am in no way suggesting

> abandonment of Flash -- to the contrary, I am for LM as only supplemental

> at this point (but stay tuned).

>

> o More immediate design/construction possibilities (within the interface)

> compared to Flash.  This will be compensated for in the next Flash

release,

> to an extent.

>

> o Somewhat familiar paradigm for users of other Adobe products, especially

> After Effects.  It is not a workflow panacea, though.  There are some new,

> potentially confusing, interface "enhancements."

>

> o The style bin (allowing you to store and reapply effects/animation/etc.

> with drag and drop ease) -- a borrowed model which you will, and should,

> see other software adopt.  Something similar is coming in Flash 5.

>

> o The timeline, which is a little nicer to edit than the Flash (Future

> Splash holdover) timeline.

>

> o Precision editing of individual effect or transform key frames, with

> (Drum roll please!) the ability to ease to/from _both_ sides of the key

> frame.  Wow!

>

> o Awesome interface model (with a floating palette/bin) for those who

> frequently incorporate textures/bitmap fills.  Flash is still clunky,

> buggy, or deficient in the handling of color, gradients, and bitmap fills.

> <OMG!  Did he just say what I thought he did?  Boy, he's going to get it

now!>

>

> In summary, I like Live Motion a lot.  At this point, though, you are

> better off sticking to Flash, unless you can afford both tools.  Live

> Motion will take some development time to solidify as a self-contained

> Flash option.

>

>

> -

> J A S O N   L U T E S

> ICQ: pixelTwiddler (#18046724)

>

E-mail: jasongrafikimagism [dot] com

>

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flasher is generously supported by...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

World Animation Celebration - Big Internet Animation Pow Wow Discount Offer


Register before May 25 mention flasher and save 25%!! www.wacfest.com


Be discovered, get a job or have your web series picked up.  A big talent search for Shockwave

and Flash animators is happening May 30-June 4 in Hollywood.  Featuring Rob Burgess, Matt

Groening, Brad Bird and more.   www.wacfest.com

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To unsubscribe or change your list settings go to

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