Macromedia Training : Director MX: Level 1 (Windows)

Director MX: Level 1 (Windows)

Macromedia Training Overview

In this course, you will use Macromedia Director as a tool for creating multimedia presentations. You will create a banner ad for a Web page and an interactive presentation for distribution on a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

Target Student:

Anyone who wants to learn to create multimedia presentations for the Web or for distribution on a CD-ROM, but who has little to know experience doing so, is an ideal candidate to take this course.

Prerequisites

Director MX: Level 1 was designed for the student who has little or no experience using Director. The student will learn the basic skills that are necessary to begin using Director effectively.

Before taking this course, students should have a basic understanding of a computer�s operating system. For example, they should know how to launch an application, create and save files, and copy files from CDs and other media.

Delivery Method:

Instructor led, group-paced, classroom-delivery learning model with structured hands-on activities

Benefits:

Students will use Director to create interactive movies and animations, be introduced to the basics of Lingo (Director's scripting language), and prepare their movies for distribution on CD-ROM or over the Web.

What's Next:

Students wishing to further enhance their Director MX skill set can continue on to the next course in this series, Director MX: Level 2.

Hardware/Software Requirements

You will need

At least 128 MB of RAM.
At least 100 MB of free hard disk space.
An Intel Pentium II or faster processor.
Microsoft Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.
A 1024 x 768, 16-bit (thousands of colors) color display or better.
A CD-ROM drive.
Macromedia Director MX.
The latest version of Apple QuickTime.
The latest version of the Shockwave plug-in for Web browsers.
(Recommended) The latest version of Microsoft DirectX or OpenGL and a 3D accelerator.
The latest version of a Web browser of your choice (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator).
A functioning Internet connection.
Speakers or headphones to listen to sounds.

Performance-Based Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Navigate in the Director environment and identify the elements of the interface.
Create a Director movie by importing text and graphics, arranging sprites, and setting the playback duration and sequence.
Create interactive movies by storyboarding, setting movie properties, creating custom Casts, and working with raster and vector images.
Control the playback of movies by applying behaviors and Lingo scripts, and synchronize a movie with a soundtrack.
Create animation with tweening, multiple images, and film loops.
Create media-rich presentations as standalone applications for distribution on interactive CD-ROMs, and create animated Shockwave files for viewing on the Internet.

Course duration

1 Day

Macromedia Training Course outline

Lesson 1: The Director Environment

Topic 1A: Director Environment Elements
Topic 1B: Playing a Movie

Lesson 2: Creating Linear Movies

Topic 2A: Creating a New Movie
Topic 2B: Creating a Cast
Topic 2C: Creating the Movie

Lesson 3: Creating Interactive Movies

Topic 3A: Storyboarding
Topic 3B: Choosing Movie Properties
Topic 3C: Creating Casts
Topic 3D: Working with Sprites

Lesson 4: Controlling Playback

Topic 4A: Tempo
Topic 4B: Transitions
Topic 4C: Markers
Topic 4D: Scripts, Behaviors, and the Behavior Library
Topic 4E: Looping and Synchronizing Music

Lesson 5: Animating Sprites

Topic 5A: Flash Animations
Topic 5B: Video Cast Members
Topic 5C: Tweening
Topic 5D: Multiple Cast Members in One Sprite

Lesson 6: Distributing Movies

Topic 6A: Create Shockwave Movies
Topic 6B: Creating Projectors
Topic 6C: Embedding Fonts for Distribution with a Movie

Appendix A: Numeric Keypad Shortcuts for Navigating Movies

Navigating Movies with the Numeric Keypad