Creating a Flash 8 CD-ROM

Is this you? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then read on.

• Are your cd-rom production costs crippling your budget?
• Are you unable to meet schedules or timelines?
• Do you actually know how to create a CD-ROM?
• Do you know the hidden pitfalls of creating a multimedia cd-rom?
• Are you pulling your hair out because your boss has given you the job of creating a Flash 8 cd-rom and you have no idea how to do it and you have 3 months to do it in and you will get the sack if you don't get it done?
• Are you an educator who is working on getting your course content into a digital format?

Well then, read this article and find out how to cut costs by saving time and not re-doing things 5 times. Learn how to do it right the first time. In this article you will understand the need to structure the topics and create a product that is seamless, with pluggable components and self-contained. You need to create a cd-rom that is maintainable, has a well-built structure, won't fall down and is very easily updated. So let's get into step numero uno.

Planning the Flash 8 CD-ROM

The secret ingredient for success and stress-free CD-Rom Production is Planning. Make sure that you write, plan, storyboard before you get into the production or the creative process of actually building the CD-ROM in Flash 8. Don't go anywhere near that computer until you have a solid plan in place. I have seen it so many times. And I have redone projects so many hundreds of time because this rule has not been followed. Get the plan done first.

It is OK to do a few prototype tests to demonstrate to stakeholders what it may look like and how the different components may fit together. Sometimes you have bosses or clients who have no clue what you are talking about or how multimedia products fit together so you may have to demonstrate with a demo that shows the main elements such as video, audio, drag and drop, animation, navigation, etc etc. Or show them an example that someone else has done so they know exactly what you are talking about. But do not get into producing the cd-rom yet. Also, before i get off this rant, make sure that you do a proper timeline and a schedule. I know that it is very difficult to estimate how long a job takes but I usually estimate roughly and then double it. I still have difficulty estimating times and I have been doing it for years. If you have a deadline, say 3 months or 6 months, just divide the different jobs up and stick to the schedule, whatever happens.

Flash 8 CD-ROM Navigation Structure

While you are doing your plan, make sure that you have a very simple navigation structure. KISS is my guiding principle here. I always, I repeat loudly and even scream it out so that you pay attention, Keep it Simple!! Don't go having really complex navigation structures that have about 4 levels and that are like a spider's web and are neurotically interconnected. Have a very simple hierarchical structure of no more than 3 levels. Let me give you an example if I can.

Say you have a topic such as computer training. The top level is computers. Level 2 may contain such topics as File Management, MS Word and Printing. Level 3 of MS Word may contain such elements as Creating a New Document, Editing, Saving a document, Copy and Paste, etc etc. You get the picture. Chop the main topic into sub-topics and then if you need to chop each sub-topic into categories. And that is your navigation structure. Don't complicate things and don't get too clever. This modular structure will help immensely when you are producing the Flash files. You can follow OOP programming edicts and make your Flash 8 files modular and these units will be self-contained, easily replaceable and maintainable.

Do your Research First

Make sure that you do your research first, before you start writing and planning. This will make your life a lot easier if you do your research and then collate all your research findings into a well-structered plan that will help you develop the navigation structure. If you do this then you won't have to go changing the navigation structure later on in the creative Flash 8 cd-rom production process. Which will cost you(or your boss) time and money.

Storyboard your CD-ROM

Create a storyboard from the script and put everything in it. Storyboard everything. This will allow you to check that you have allowed for all contingencies or eventualities and allows you to plan and execute much more easily. While you are doing the storyboard you are collating a list of assets that you will need such as photographs, graphics, audio, video, animations, drag and drop exercises, etc. These lists allow you to organise the acquiring of these assets and to make sure that you have not left anything out and have to run around at the last minute like a chook with its head cut off trying to find a photographer to get those pictures that you forgot about.

The storyboard also allows you to think on another level and while you are going through this process, your brain is sorting, analysing , brainstorming, etc. I always to a storyboard and i have lists, and make notes about ideas, things to do and just whacky creative flights of fancy that I note down while I am doing the storyboard. For me, the visual process seems to unlock a lot of analytical power in my brain.

Create a Schedule and Stick to it

Make sure that you work to a schedule and stick to it! Sometimes it is difficult to estimate how long a job takes but you have to make some type of a timeline with milestones along the way and keep to that Flash 8 cd-rom production schedule. Make sure that all the stakeholders know what that schedule is and explain to all concerned what each of the sections are and what they entail. Invariably, you will learn from doing the job that your schedule may be out of whack, so throw the old schedule away and make a new one and stick to it. But make sure that the team knows what is going on. Communicate the new schedule to all team members and explain the reasons for the changes honestly.

Make sure that the team members understand what their roles are. If you are a Flash 8 producer and you have a writer that has no previous experience with Flash 8 or multimedia, then let them sit with you while you produce a little sub-section of their writing and let them see the process so they know exactly what they are writing for and that they know how things are done and what the possibilities are. There is nothing worse than getting a script that is an undoable(sic) nightmare. The project manager needs to understand all the processes and elements of the whole process and keep a strict eye on the schedule from start to end.

Flash 8 Resources

Hollywood 2D Digital Animation: The New Flash Production Revolution - Digital animation using Flash, is primed to take Hollywood and TeleVision by storm with two feature films and three television shows underway. This book describes why Flash is the future of broadcast animation. As the future of 2D animation, the knowledge provided to the reader by this book will be a necessity for animators.