The term project that I set out to complete this semester dealt with the creation of a Macromedia Flash photo slideshow for the Setonian Online. Prior to this project I had worked briefly with Flash in the class New Media Projects and created a very basic slideshow including five photos. During the beginning of the semester various staff/class members had expressed a need for the incorporation of new media elements on the Setonian Online’s website and a Flash slideshow was the idea that everyone seemed to like the best. The slideshow was actually one of several ideas that I first pitched to the class regarding new media. There is also an evident need for color photos on the website.
I feel that this project would have been somewhat more successfully executed had it been a group activity rather then an individual one. I do have to give ample credit to Chris Ulicne for his help on this project, but we often had a hard time coordinating schedules. He worked on a drag and drop basic template for a slideshow. There is a lot of planning and coding that goes into a project like this and unfortunately I feel as though I overcommitted to produce something that I couldn’t do by myself. The project kept getting put on the back burner because it was giving me a lot of frustration. I used the book Flash Journalism by Mindy McAdams in my attempts to create a good photo slideshow, and also used online tutorials as resources.
If anyone attempts to replicate this project in the future there are a few things that I would recommend that they do differently. It is important to follow the schedule that you have set as far as deadlines for the project are concerned. I felt like I had plenty of time and wasn’t strictly sticking to my schedule. I would also recommend that one person doesn’t try and complete this project by themselves because it will only leave them pulling their hair out. I know that if I had to do this again I would set more realistic goals for myself as far as the final product is concerned. I only really ended up with the shell for a slideshow and I wanted a completely finished one with transitions, effects and more photos. If this project is ever going to be re-visited I would recommend that it be immediately after the semester when New Media Projects has been taught.
I have gone ahead and also included a link to an entry I posted about the top 5 Flash tutorial websites.