Macromedia Flash - people either love it or hate it. As its
popularity has spread on the Internet, so too have certain
misconceptions that I hope to either clarify or outright dispel
through this article. I prefer the phrase 'myth-conceptions'
(with a nod to Robert Asprin, fantasy author), since so many of
these half-truths have passed into the 'common wisdom' of
Internet lore, with only a slight or distorted basis in reality,
their origins shrouded in mystery.
The Myths I'd like to debunk are:
1. Flash animations are too slow and take too long to download.
2. Flash animations are nothing more than eye candy, and ugly besides.
3. No business serious about making money uses Flash on their site.
4. You need to go through a long download process to get the Flash
runtime files.
5. Anyone can build a flash animation - it's easy.
1. Flash animations are too slow and
take too long to download.
With all myth-conceptions, there is a grain of truth here, IF the
flash developer is not careful and considerate about bandwidth
and streaming issues. As a streaming technology, Flash can begin
displaying an animation the moment it has downloaded enough
relevant content.
In other words, I can create a flash movie that begins to tell
its story within a second or two of streaming download, if I
carefully limit myself to some initial text and simple graphics.
The rate of playback is usually slower than the rate of download,
so as one set of actors appears on stage and does their thing,
more 'actors' and 'scenes' can download in the background,
patiently waiting their turn 'behind the scenes'.
If the developer is not paying attention to these design
considerations, they can foist upon an unsuspecting browser a
long delay (and blank screen!) while a stage full of 3d rendered
objects, large bitmaps and a complete musical score all try to
download over a thin pipe.
Certain Flash movies may require some heavier actors to appear
from the first frame. The trick then is to provide some sort of
preloader, or 'opening act', which keeps the audience occupied
while the main show loads in the background. A true master
integrates the preloader as a branding experience, or message,
that literally and figuratively sets the stage for later action.
But even a simple 'progress' bar would be better than a blank
screen.
Is Flash to blame for this? No more than Photoshop can be blamed
for those wonderful HTML-based sites that cram half a meg worth
of unoptimized photos onto the home page.
2. Flash animations are nothing more
than eye candy, and ugly to boot.
Actually, I might agree with this one, in so far as saying that
most amateur Flash developers equate Flash with "flashy": lots of
spinning text, driving techno-dance backbeats and psychedelic
transitional effects.
The reality is that Flash is a tool, not a solution. The
'coolness' (or conversely, 'crappiness') of a given Flash
animation is a direct result of the developer's experience,
capabilities, vision and wisdom. If someone creates an ugly
HTML-based site, with really bad graphics, does that make
Dreamweaver or Fireworks a bad tool?
Flash itself supports a host of high end functionality:
connectivity to back-end databases, support for CGI & Javascript,
XML, sockets, and of course, interactivity and animation. And
while many folks will continue to inflict upon us Yet Another
Spinning Logo, others will see the wisdom of knowing when to do
something and when not to, and produce such wonderful sites as
www.disney.com, www.barneys.com, www.gucci.com, or www.turbonium.com.
!!! INCREASE YOUR WEBSITE TRAFFIC, use WebPosition !!!
Submitting alone is not enough. You now need to track and
maintain your website's position in the Search Engines.
3. No business serious about making
money uses Flash on their site.
This is one of my favorites (usually espoused loudly by the
mavens of the Text-Only Society). Do you think Disney is not
serious about making money, driving traffic and closing sales? Do
you think Coke really needs to charge 75 cents for a can of soda?
Is Calvin Klein underwear worth $18 a pair? (actually, I do!)
They spend millions and millions on BRANDING experiences (store
designs, marketing, image building, levels of detail that make my
head spin) that are incredible, and make shopping/purchasing that
much more luxurious and rich. And yes, their prices reflect that
level of sophistication. Armani would not be Armani if it took a
bare-bones, warehouse approach to its look, feel and client base.
These firms collectively spend billions of dollars on marketing,
creating the very best of branding experiences for their
customers. They know that an effective brand evokes certain
goodwill, a positive feeling that reinforces (and is reinforced)
by consuming their product. They work hard to make you feel good
about going to Disneyland, or buying a Coke, or shopping for a
handbag. This type of effective branding and image management is
almost impossible with a text-only campaign.
Flash provides a relatively low-impact, high-payback means of
creating compelling, entertaining and effective customer
interactions, whether they are rich-media emails, banners,
animations, games, navigation systems, how-to manuals, CDs or
entire web sites. And yes, I am very serious about making money.
4. You need to go through a long download
process to get the Flash runtime files.
Another bit of truth warped out of proportion over time. Yes, you
do need a runtime (plug-in or Active X control) to view a Flash
movie. No denying that. But any major browser after v4.0, as well
as Win 98 and Mac OS 9, ship with the very small Flash runtime
engine. According to Macromedia, 96% of all computers can see
Flash movies.
If a developer chooses to use a newer version of Flash (currently
version 5) than you have a run-time for, the download of the
latest version can occur automatically (with the proper code on
their website) and takes about a minute to complete. While this
may be viewed by some as an inconvenience, it is a far quicker
solution than some other popular browser add-ins, such as
Quicktime, Real Player, Acrobat & Shockwave. In fact, this
particular myth probably has its origins in the downloading of
the Shockwave player, (also made by Macromedia - think Flash's
big brother) which is several meg in size, and takes considerably
longer to download than the small (under 200K) Flash runtime.
5. Anyone can build a Flash animation - it's easy!
Anyone can learn the basic moves behind chess in about 15
minutes, but that doesn't make them a Grand Master, ready to take
on Gary Kasparov or Deep Blue. With the latest release of Flash,
I have noticed a marked increase in the number of "Flash 5 for
Fools in Five Minutes" books. Sigh - more bad Flash coming your
way!
The basics of Flash are relatively easy to grasp. It's these
basics that most amateurs begin and end with, churning out those
'sites' that fuel the fire for these myth-conceptions. The more
challenging (and rewarding) option is to move beyond the basics,
in both skills and aesthetics. It's about finding your vision,
your voice, your style and learning the wisdom of when to use a
particular effect and, more importantly, when not to (spinning
text, anyone?)
As with any tool, it's all in the execution. Anyone can pick up
the basics of HTML, and slap together a few pages over a weekend,
calling it a site, and a day. Which one do you want representing
your business - the amateur or the professional?
Conclusion
As an emerging Flash developer, you could say that I
have a vested interest in the 'spreading of the good word' about
Flash, and you're right! But I am not a 'Fla-natic' who would use
Flash in every site and situation. I certainly would not try to
create Yahoo! or Amazon with Flash technology. It's all a matter
of scale and appropriateness.
As I have stated several times, Flash is an extremely powerful
tool, with an amazing set of features and functionality. But it
is only a tool (and therefore neutrally blameless) - not a
solution. It can be a wonderful addition to an experienced
developer's tool chest, whether used to create an accent piece, a
site intro or an entire web presence. It has great power, which
also comes with great responsibility, to be used for good or
evil.
Use that power wisely, and you can become one of the mythic 'new
masters' of Flash - the gods to which I pay homage daily. Abuse
it, and your sites will fade away into the obscurity of time,
their passage marked by a collective sigh of "thank goodness
THAT'S over with!"
Article by Michael Truese
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