Flash 4! Creative Web Animation - Brooks Patton, Derek Franklin > Reviews > Comprehensive AND easy to read

Author's product rating:   

Degree of Information	Very high
How interesting was the book?	Interesting because I'm interested in that subject
How useful was it?	Very useful
Would you read it again?	Absolutely
Value for money	Good

Advantages:	Easy to understand, useful, has nearly everything you need to know about Flash 4
Disadvantages:	Could do with more examples

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Are you an Flash beginner? Are you a total Flash show-off? Whichever you are, you should have this book on your shelf, as to some people it is a guide through the unnerving new world of Flash, to others a handy reference book.

Published by Macromedia Press, the people who make Flash, F4CWA starts off with the basics - exploring the interface and learning how to change movie properties, etc. - and later on takes you into more and more complex features such as ActionScript, integrating video in projects and making Flash movies interactive. The text is written in simple but not patronising language, so it's suitable for learner-Flashers as well as those who already know a lot.

As well as showing how to physically create movies, the book also guides you on how to make *effective* movies, telling you all about metaphors and audiences. For instance:

"What do you want your audience to think after viewing your presentation? Is it more important to give a visual presentation or a textual one?"

One criticism of this book would be the lack of real-world examples - only a handful are shown in the middle of the book with little discussion of techniques used, and quite a few of the sites displayed have changed since the date the book was written (early 2000). Similarly, the CD didn't offer much apart from the example files shown in the book, although these are useful in themselves, and a few demos of other Macromedia software.

This isn't a book to buy if you're after tips on making your Flash movies flashier - if you prefer a book that showcases cool Flash sites try "New Masters of Flash". It is first and foremost a book that will make you understand how Flash works, as well as being an excellent reference guide for learning Flash from scratch, knowing Flash inside out and improving the efficiency of your movies.