December 2008 Archives
We started off using the tutorials in the book, Flash Journalism, which was a useful guide. One of the examples from the book was of an animated eyeball and another was of a narrated slideshow project. These assignments gave us an opportunity to experiment with the Adobe Flash software and a solid foundation to start more advanced projects.
For my final project, I chose to create an interactive map of Seton Hill University. Before the alpha release (11/20) I had used Adobe Photoshop to create the map, but over November break I discovered Google’s SketchUp program. I used the software to create a new map of SHU with multiple views.
By the time the beta version (12/02) was ready to be viewed, I had recreated my project using the new images. This time there weren’t any errors with the finished product. I tried adding popup photos of the buildings, but the finished product was cluttered and messy. The buildings on campus were just too close together. In the end, I removed the popups in order for the map to be clearer and less overwhelming.
After having my map reviewed by a peer (12/04), I realized that the width of the uploaded map was too narrow and had to increase the size of the Flash document.
- To create the map, I followed the tutorial of "Making an interactive country map" on Flashexplained.com. I just altered the code in order to use my own images and buttons instead of the ones they used to create the map of Croatia. To hear more about the coding, watch my Developer's Commentary Screencast.
- The photos I used were screenshots of a replica of the Seton Hill University campus map, and it was made with the Google SketchUp program. With Google Sketchup, you can make 3D models with ease. It was great software to use and really enhanced the images.
I wanted to learn how to make an interactive map using Adobe Flash since it seemed like a tool that was often used in new media. My goal was to create a map that would show labels for the different buildings on campus and have an option to show which buildings were dorms. I have accomplished all these tasks, and using Google Sketchup I was also able to show a 3D close-up of the University and a reverse view.
I created a new map and several new views over break, so I decided to redo my project from scratch. It’s finished and works without error. I just need to add popup images, which I will save to work on in class tomorrow.
