The best and worst uses of Flash animation

D'Snowth

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I'm pretty sire Dexter, PPG, Johnny Bravo, and those were done traditionally; digital animation didn't really become the norm until the turn of the millenium. Courage, for example, it's clear that show was computer animated, which is odd considering John Dilworth is all about hand animation; I'm pretty sure KND was computer animated as well.
 

Sgt Floyd

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I thought PPG switched to flash somewhere around season 4...
 

The Shoe Fairy

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I'll tell you what, I love how smooth Spliced makes flash look, it's rare imo for it to be like that. The one thing that really gets me is not flash animation but rather dodgy, cheap, badly rendered CGI - something I think is becoming far too common due to cost.
 

frogboy4

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Flash was Macromedia but it is Adobe now. Brief history:
Flash originated with the application SmartSketch, developed by Jonathan Gay. After developing other graphics software for Silicon Beach Software, Gay created his own company, FutureWave, in 1993. SmartSketch was a drawing application for pen computers running the PenPoint OS, created by Silicon Beach Software.[2][3] When PenPoint failed in the marketplace, SmartSketch was ported to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Once the Internet became more popular, SmartSketch was re-named first as CelAnimator, and then as FutureSplash, a vector-based web animation application competing with Macromedia Shockwave. In 1995, SmartSketch was further modified with frame-by-frame animation features and released as FutureSplash Animator on multiple platforms.[4] FutureWave approached Adobe Systems with an offer to sell them FutureSplash in 1995, but Adobe turned them down at that time. FutureSplash was used by Microsoft in its early work with the Internet (MSN), and also by Disney Online for their subscription-based service, Disney's Daily Blast. In 1996, FutureSplash was acquired by Macromedia and released as Flash, contracting "Future" and "Splash". Flash is currently developed and distributed by Adobe Systems, as the result of their 2005 purchase of Macromedia.

My rant about Flash...

Flash is a wonderful tool on the web and in entertainment when used correctly. It creates unique user-controlled experiences that are unparalleled by any other creative software. Smaller minds have demonized Flash as a nuisance that causes unwanted pop-ups, slows down computer speed and runs down battery life.

Those items are true in part, but most of that is propaganda created by Steve Jobs at Apple to inhibit users from downloading free content from the web rather than purchase it from his itunes shop. It's a very smart move on his part, but it's intellectually dishonest. Many of Apple's Apps are created in Flash and use a different method of output. Flash is not just a plug-in or a video player. Flash is a tool and it's a poor workman who would blame a hammer on a faulty house. Some Flash loads quick, other drains the battery. Muppet Central has had the same Flash scripting for nearly 10 years and it still works well even though many developers predicted its doom at the time I designed it.

Why would any electronics developer or consumer want to exclude the Flash option in any device? It's easy to install a couple lines of code to allow the user to toggle it on or off and to warn them before any Flash (or other such element) loads on a page. I don't support Apple or PC. I support the user. Let them decide. One day another plug-in or a future version of HTML will replace the Flash plug-in or even replace its creative software, but there's no need to have users Flintstoning their way through the web for another several years before that happens.

It's the same way with entertainment. Computer animation, Flash and other tools have been used both for better and for worse. It all depends on the creator and the audience.

My favorite use of Flash creativity is with Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. My least favorite use of Flash has been largely with the Muppets website in how clumsily they embed the streaming video that causes severe stuttering while it loads on at least 1/3 of all Internet connections. It's an easy fix, but not everyone is a good architect. I have hope that their relaunch for the movie will improve things over there.
 

Drtooth

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Flash was Macromedia but it is Adobe now. Brief history:
Flash originated with the application SmartSketch, developed by Jonathan Gay. After developing other graphics software for Silicon Beach Software, Gay created his own company, FutureWave, in 1993. SmartSketch was a drawing application for pen computers running the PenPoint OS, created by Silicon Beach Software.[2][3] When PenPoint failed in the marketplace, SmartSketch was ported to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Once the Internet became more popular, SmartSketch was re-named first as CelAnimator, and then as FutureSplash, a vector-based web animation application competing with Macromedia Shockwave. In 1995, SmartSketch was further modified with frame-by-frame animation features and released as FutureSplash Animator on multiple platforms.[4] FutureWave approached Adobe Systems with an offer to sell them FutureSplash in 1995, but Adobe turned them down at that time. FutureSplash was used by Microsoft in its early work with the Internet (MSN), and also by Disney Online for their subscription-based service, Disney's Daily Blast. In 1996, FutureSplash was acquired by Macromedia and released as Flash, contracting "Future" and "Splash". Flash is currently developed and distributed by Adobe Systems, as the result of their 2005 purchase of Macromedia.



I have so many problems with Adobe Flash player.... it crashes more times than Launchpad McQuack. I'm sure it's a Windows bug thing too... but this play on an internet meme I did vents my frustraition

Other than that, computer flash vs. television "flash" animation (truth is, a variety of programming is used to make those). Flash is a great internet tool, but when it comes to television animation, it's too often the go to. And in most of those cases, we just see sloppy motion tween based movements that give a rigid, uncartoony movement. Whereas something like Spliced or Fosters used the tools flash has to make the movement even more fluid than television animation of the past with ink and paint and cels.

It all does indeed stem from creativity and willingness to work hard to get a good product. But some of it relies on too many motion tween short cuts and easily recognizable libraries of few expressions.
 

Sgt Floyd

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I have so many problems with Adobe Flash player.... it crashes more times than Launchpad McQuack. I'm sure it's a Windows bug thing too... but this play on an internet meme I did vents my frustraition
I can't even get flash to work on internet explorer. On occasion it crashes in chrome, and a few times it got corrupted and I had to reinstall it -_-
 

Drtooth

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I refuse adamantly to use Internet explorer. Firefox is barely tolerable as it is. But IE just... I hate IE so much...

Adobe Flash Player is just very clumsy on both programs, and I'm wondering if it's a Windows thing. Or just a buggy upgrade. It keeps making me install the SAME upgrade a hundred times, and nothing's ever improved. I do blame a LOT of crummy, poorly encoded ads for the easy crashitude, but it's probably a mix of all three.
 

Sgt Floyd

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I think its something with flash. Flash used to work on internet explorer, but then they updated it and it just suddently stopped working. But I'm ok with that. I found chrome. Chrome makes me happy. Its fast, and its not cluttered by annoying toolbars, and is overall simple and nice to look at. Your RAM isnt too happy though :stick_out_tongue:

You know, I have more issues with shockwave than flash...
 

D'Snowth

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IE is the only thing I use because I hate Firefox, the page content and everything looks so wonky, plus there's certain fonts that won't work in Firefox... not to mention newer versions of IE actually smooth out the text and fonts on a page, so they don't look so... well... digital...

I think I tried Chrome once, but found it far too plain and simplistic,plus I'm not going to continue to support the Hitler of the internet.

And... WAIT A MINUTE... Macromedia's been BOUGHT OUT?! So what has happened to Fireworks?! Does that mean Fireworks is no more? Macromedia Fireworks was always superior to Adobe Photoshop, in my opinion, does this mean that since Adobe bought out Macromedia, Photoshop is our only alternative for image editing/graphic design programs now? What in the world am I going to do?!
 
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