Using interactivity, animation, and audio

Table of Contents | Learning by Doing

Using the Move and Zoom effects | Using interactivity, animation, and audio | Using video in your multimedia | Compressing Video and Audio

Using interactivity, animation, and audio

Create a new movie by choosing New from the File menu. Set the new movie dimensions to 468x400 and include a sprite track, so the movie can be interactive.
This movie will be used on a web site with a purplish background, so the sprite track background should be changed to match. Click the sprite track to select it and choose the Sprite Track Options from the Content menu. Click Choose to pick a new background color. Choose the HTML picker from the list and set the color to #330066. Click OK to close the color picker and again to close the Sprite Track Options dialog box.
In the Finder, click the background image for the page and drag it to the Electrifier Pro movie window. The image is saved as a QuickTime vector graphic, which provides full-size high-quality antialiased images in millions of colors without making the download time unmanageable. The image was placed in the sprite track so we can composite it with other interactive elements.

In Electrifier Pro, click to select the background image, and drag it to the center of the movie. The centered image should cover the movie exactly.

Tip: If you prefer to move the actor to a specific and exact location, you can enter the numerical coordinates in the Inspector palette. The Horizontal Position of the center of the movie is 234 (half the width), and the Vertical Position is 200.

In the Finder, click the 'All She Wants' audio clip and drag it to the Electrifier Pro movie window. The clip is compressed using the QDesign Music codec, which provides high-quality streaming sound, even over a 28.8 modem.
Click the Preview tab in the movie window to listen to the audio. The background disappears after 10 seconds because its default duration hasn't been changed to match the 4 minute and 13 second length of the audio clip. To edit the background's duration, click the Layout tab, select the background image, and type 253.8 seconds in the Duration field in the Inspector palette. Click Apply to set the duration.
In the Finder, click the Milagro Saints logotype and drag it to the Electrifier Pro movie window. The logo should be placed between the text elements on the background, so click and drag it to the right position.
The logotype should appear after 3 seconds and persist for the duration of the audio, so click to select the logotype and type 3 seconds in the Start Time field in the Inspector palette, and 250.8 seconds in the Duration field. Click Apply to set the start time and duration.
The logotype should fade in and slide over to the center of the screen over a five-second period, so click the Effects tab of the Modifier palette and drag the Fade effect onto the logotype. In the Inspector palette, type in 5 seconds for the duration. Click Apply to apply the effect. Now drag on the Move effect, again using 5 seconds for the duration, and moving the actor from a horizontal position of 175 and a vertical position of 103 to a horizontal position of 225 and a vertical position of 103. Click Apply to apply the effect.
In the Finder, select the Link 1 and Link 2 graphics and drag them to the Electrifier Pro movie window. The two links should be placed below the "pick a song" text on the background, so drag them both to appropriate locations in the Layout view. Select both links and set their start times to 6 seconds and their durations to 247.8 seconds.
The buttons should take the user to a new movie when they are clicked, so click the Actions tab in the Modifiers palette and drag the Open URL action onto the Maybe button. In the Open URL Action dialog box, enter the URL of the Maybe movie on the Electrifier Pro web site, <http://www.electrifier.com/Products/ElectrifierStudio/Showcase/milagrosaints/maybe.html>
In the Finder, click the Photoshop file from the Milagro Saints CD and drag it to the Electrifier Pro movie window. The image should be centered over the purple "M" on the background image, so click to select it, and drag it to the correct location. Set its start time to 9 seconds and its duration to 244.8 seconds.
Spinning the image would give some extra visual interest to the animation, so click the Effects tab on the Modifier palette and drag the Spin effect onto the CD image. Set the image to spin 30 times, and leave all the other settings at their preset values. Click Apply to apply the effect.
To view the movie that you have created, click the Preview tab located at the top left of the Movie window to see the Preview view. Then, click the Play button in the Movie controller below the Movie window to run the animation.

For more information

For detailed information about Electrifier Pro's effects and actions, see the Modifier palette section of the Window and Palette Reference.

Using the Move and Zoom effects | Using interactivity, animation, and audio | Using video in your multimedia | Compressing Video and Audio