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Macromedia Director Workshop
http://www.arhu.umd.edu/technology/workshops/director/sp02dir1.html

Tour of Main Windows

Metaphor: the theater; cast members, stage, making a movie...

Stage: where the action takes place

Score: arrange timing of cast's actions; when cast members appear and disappear and then their actions take place

Channels: score is divided into rows of info or channels; each channel is divided into frames or cells

(hide/show effects channels)

Sprites: cast members that are on the stage

Cast Window

Paint Window

Tool Palette

 

Setting up Director

• Delete Preferences File (NOT Preferences FOLDER);

Hard Drive/System Folder/Preferences Folder/ Director 7.0 Preferences File; drag it to the trash can.

• Modify Menu/ Movie Properties

Select Movie tab from the Property Inspector

Stage Size: 640x480

Stage Alignment: Center

• (Optional: View Menu/ Sprite Overlay, turn off show info)

Intro to basic cell animation

-        Make bouncing ball cast members.

o      Go to the Window menu item and select Paint

o      From the foreground color option choose a color for your ball

o      Click on the Filled Ellipse tool and drag the cursor to the paint window to create an ellipse and adjust its size

-        Insert Key Frame:

Hold down the option key and click the point on the path that you want to be a keyframe

or

Move Playback head to frame at point in motion path when you want change in direction; click and drag center dot on sprite.

            Or

            Move Playback head to frame and use Insert Menu/ Keyframe; click and drag sprite.

- Experiment with sprite path. Select sprite channel; Modify Menu/ Sprite- Tweening; adjust curvature.

- Place multiple bouncing balls on stage.

-        Add welcome page text to the top of your page, “A” on tool palette, Window > Inspector > Text

-        Save this as “Bouncing Ball”

 

Project: Art Slide Show with Sound

1. Importing castmembers

2. Place Castmembers in score

• Drag flower.jpg cast member to channel 1, frame 5.

Adjust its end-point to frame 9.  (drag second key frame or enter end point value in top of score window.)

• Drag landscape.jpg to channel 1, frame 10. Adjust end-point to frame 14.

• Drag mask.jpg to channel 1, frame 15. Adjust end-point to frame 19.

• Drag painters.jpg channel 1, frame 20. Adjust end-point to frame 24.

• Drag portrait.jpg to channel 1, frame 25. Adjust end-point to frame 29.

 

(Save project. File Menu/ Save)

Window Menu/ Control Panel

Score: Hide/Show Effects Channels

         View > Sprite Toolbar

 

Controlling Sequence

 

Number of Frames in Score

1. In Score, extend  end-point of portrait sprite to frame 65.

play movie

2. Return end-point to frame 29.

 

Tempo Channel with Time

1. Dbl/click Tempo Channel/ cell 5. Select radial button for "wait for ... seconds", change slider to 2 seconds.

2. Copy contents of that cell, edit menu/ copy sprites

then paste in tempo channel, cells 10, 15, 20, 24; edit menu/ paste sprites.

play movie

 

Tempo Channel with Mouse Click

1. Dbl/click Tempo Channel/ cell 5. Select radial button for "wait for mouse click"

2. Copy contents of that cell, edit menu/ copy sprites (apple key + C)

then paste in tempo channel, cells 10, 15, 20, 24; edit menu/ paste sprites (apple key + V).

play movie

 

Sound as Cue Point

1. Import sounds to cast,        

file menu/ import, select georgia.iff and music.iff and finished.iff, then click import.

2. Drag georgia.iff castmember to sound channel 1, frame 5.

play movie

3. Shorten duration of georgia.iff clip in sound Track 1 to occupy only 4 frames.

play movie- what happens when you click before the sound is finished?

4. Dbl/click on tempo channel, cell 5, select radial button for wait for cue point (there is only one cue point at this time.)

5. Shorten duration of georgia.iff clip in sound Track 1 to occupy only one frame.

6. Drag castmember finished.iff to Sound Track 1, channel 25 (holding option key so that it only occupies one frame). Change Tempo Setting for frame 25 to wait for cue point.

 

Scripting

1.     Create Marker: select marker channel, frame 5. Type the name flower.

a.      Frame 10: land

b.     Frame 15: mask

c.      Frame 20: paint

d.      Frame 25: guy

2. Position playback head at channel 25. Select Button tool from tool palette. Click on the stage and drag. Type "Back to Start." Position button as desired by dragging it on the stage.

3. Change end point of sprite in score to match that to the end of the movie.

4. Dbl/click frame 29 in movie script channel to control playback head at certain frames. Enter script:

on exitFrame

                        go the frame

end

Close Window, then  play movie.

 

5. Dbl/click button sprite in score (channel 2, frame 25) and click script  icon; the script should look like this:

on mouseUp

                        go to "start"

end

Close Window, Play Movie and test button.                                           (Save project. File Menu/ Save)

 

Score Script: instructions enacted when playback head hits that point in the script.

Castmember Script: instructions happen whenever castmember is used.

Sprite Script: instructions happen when action (i.e.: mouse over) occurs to sprite (castmember on stage)

 

Incorporating More Sound and Multiple CastMembers

1. Drag music.iff to sound channel 2, frame 10.

play movie

2. Dbl/click cast member music.iff from property window, activate loop.

3. Shorten duration of music.iff clip in sound Track 2; set ending point to 29 (end of the movie).

play movie

4. Import rtf file; File Menu/ Import, text.rtf

5. Image labels come in as one castmember and you need to separate them into separate cast members. Cut text, make new cast member with + sign, paste text. Repeat for all five labels.

6. Drag castmember "Georgia…” to channel three frame 5; shorten duration so that the end point is set to 9.

Drag castmember "Winslow…" to channel three frame 10; shorten duration so that the end point is set to 14.

Drag castmember "Yoruba…" to channel three frame 15; shorten duration so that the end point is set to 19.

Drag castmember "William…" to channel three frame 20; shorten duration so that the end point is set to 24.

Drag castmember "Cecilia…" to channel three frame 25; shorten duration so that the end point is set to 29.

7. Format text by activating text window; Window Menu, Text

Select text and change size, font, etc. Change foreground color in tool palette to change text color.

8. Adjust position of sprites by moving them on the stage.

9. Select all sprites in channel 3 (select #3); change ink to background transparent (use either inspectors>property or View Menu> Sprite Toolbar.

 

Adding Opening/Welcome Page

1.     Add Start Marker to frame 1.

2.    Import “BouncingBall” Movie. All castmembers needed are included with film loop. Drag “BouncingBall” film loop to Channel 4, frame 1. Move other movie elements over by shift click and drag to select multiple or Insert Frames as needed to allow room for opening animation.

 

Extra: Adding Nonlinear Control with Libray Palette

1.     Add Buttons to be seen throughout entire movie:

a.      Previous (start at frame 5)

b.     Next (start at frame 1 and end at frame 25.

2.     Window Menu > Library Palette

3.     Library List Button, bring up Navigation.

4.     Drag “Go Previous” library item onto “previous” button sprite in score.

5.     Repeat for “Next Button.”

6.     Delete the current mouse click controls on the tempo channel (little clock icon)

7.     Add the hold on current frame navigation control from the library palette for each marker. May have to add a marker for the last frame and remove the guy marker.

 

Notes about scripts:

- Try to keep score, castmember and sprite scripts straight.

 

Adding Transitions

1. Dbl/click the transition channel in frame 10 to open it. Select random rows, move the duration to 1 second. Select changing area only and click OK

2. Dbl/click the transition channel in frame 15 to open it. Select checker board, move the duration to 1 seconds. Select changing area only and click OK.

3. Dbl/click the transition channel in frame 20 to open it. Select random columns, move the duration to 1 second. Select changing area only and click OK.

4. Dbl/click the transition channel in frame 25 to open it. Select dissolve, patterns, move the duration to 1 second. Select changing area only and click OK.

play movie

 

Creating Projector

1. Save file: File Menu / Save.

2. File Menu / Create Projector, Select movie from list, click add. Click options button, activate center.

 

Creating Shockwave File for playback via Web Browser

1.     Go to Xtras Menu > Update Movies

2.     Convert to Shockwave Movie

3.     Select a folder to backup your original files in

4.     Launch a web browser and view the shockwave (.dcr) file