Software Review: “Adobe Flash CS4 Professional”

I know my drawing leaves a lot to be desired, but I did throw this together quickly enough to show off this new features. Just imagine what you could do if you actually took a little bit of time to develop an animation. I can see exceptional development for Flash animators who are making motion based animations. Before, you had to intricately draw and move every joint and then make each of them move in sync. With the Bones Tool, join as many joints together as you want. Then move the whole set of joints as one movement or individual joints at one time! I had so much fun drawing this guy I’m considering developing an animated cartoon, because the Bones Tool is so much fun!

Of course, that’s not all the new Flash has to offer. These are just my two favorite new features. Here is a list and description of all the other new things you can do in Flash CS4 Professional:

3D Transformation: Take any 2D object and move it the way you would a 3D object. Justin also has a lesson on moving 2D objects through 3D Space. It’s a free lesson, which is featured on his blog. Check out the free lesson at Cartoon Smart. This really is going to be a beneficial site for you to learn how to use all of the new Flash CS4 features, and no, he isn’t paying me to promote him (I promise!). I just owe him so much in the way I’ve learned how to use Flash and want to help others who want to learn how to use Flash, too! He truly is a great teacher!

XFL Format Support: In order to get other Adobe users more familiar with InDesign and AfterEffects into using Flash, this file format has become supported. This is going to be a gradual integration that will allow designers more involved in Print Media the chance to develop their Flash skills!

Adobe Air Authoring: I know many fans of Adobe Air are excited about this feature. I haven’t used Air very much, so I can’t really say how thrilling this feature is, for me. What this does allow is the ability to create web applications for your desktop through Flash. All I can say is that I’ll definitely be working with this when I get more experience with Adobe Air.

Metadata (XMP) Support: The XMP panel that is present in this version allows you to add information such as keywords, author title, author name, descriptions, a rating, and more. Again, I didn’t have much use for this new feature, as of yet, but if I ever do need it, I’ll be glad that this was included, for sure.

H.264 Support: Considering the type of work I do and the things I review the Media Encoder H.264 support features have been used more than any other in Flash. I’ll be writing a bit more in depth about this feature a little later in this review, because I’d like to focus on how much easier it is to encode a wide variety of media files when I discuss the ease of use of this new version of Flash.

Deco and Spray Brush: From vines to stars to complex geometric patterns, you can use the deco and spray brush to spray repeating designs on an image. This can be used to provide an even layer. While this might be useful for landscape images (making the sky starry), and creating pattern pieces throughout your artwork I haven’t found much use for this feature, as of yet. I am looking forward to becoming more familiar with this feature the more I actually get to use Flash CS4. I don’t see this as being a feature I’ll use a lot, but I do see it as something that can be used occasionally with great benefit during those moments of use.

Note: I know that I have sung the praises of Cartoon Smart, but Adobe also has some excellent resources for learning Flash and other Adobe programs. You can visit the Adobe Training and Certification page for courses, ways to get Adobe Certified, books, workshops and more. These are all taught and/or written by Adobe experts, so you can be sure these options are worthwhile!

I received Adobe Flash CS4 Professional in the Adobe Master Collection, so I also received a DVD filled with helpful information on how to use the various products included in this box set. While I didn’t rely on this DVD too heavily it may be useful to newbies to these programs!

Features:

Using the Product:
I didn’t have that much trouble using Flash CS4. There are some definite changes to the program, such as the inclusion of Actionscript 3, which can be a little confusing if you’re used to creating files a certain way in Flash. When it comes to Actionscript, if you are comfortable using Actionscript 1 or Actionscript 2, you may want to save and create your files as these types of files to avoid any type of confusion. Of course, the option for creating Actionscript 3 is there if you prefer using it and it certainly is something worth learning. I should note that if you want to use the Bones tool you have to use it in an Actionscript 3, Flash file.

One of the changes I like the most is in the ability to import and create movies within your Flash files with ease and flexibility. I metioned the H.264 Support Media Encoder previously, and now I’m going to discuss why I like this upgraded feature so much The new Flash is more compatible with a wide variety of video formats (even Quicktime .mov files). There is a new structure for importing videos that is much easier to use than in previous versions. It’s pretty much point in click, after you encode the file into a FLV extension and from there you can either use the video externally or insert it into your Flash movie. There are pre-developed play, stop, pause and volume buttons that you can include with every movie and the entire importing process seems to go much smoother than I remember in CS3 (and earlier versions of Flash).

Overall, the Flash interface hasn’t really changed all that much. It’s sleeker and more compact, but if you look around you will discover all of the features you know and love have been combined to make the interface cleaner, more efficient and a bit easier to use. This also made sure that new icons could be created for new features to be clickable on the sidebar. All in all, once you learn how to take advantage of all the new features Flash offers, using this program will be a snap.

I believe that the goal with this product was to make it more accessible to newer Flash users. That’s why there are easier ways to animate. Object-oriented animation, for example, is pretty revolutionary for a program of this caliber. I can see loyal Flash users and new, interested animators alike using this product for a wide variety of purposes. I do think, in many respects, Flash has taken the effort out of animation. In some ways, that’s amazing and in others it really shows how far animation and illustration have evolved. Essentially, Flash is letting the average user accomplish things only well trained animators and illustration developers were capable of a few years ago.

Functionality:
Ease of Use:
Newbie Friendly:

Bottom Line:
The new features in Adobe Flash CS4, with innovative movement and 3D techniques highlighting all of the incredible things the program can already do, definitely make Flash CS4 worth the upgrade. If you choose any of the new CS4 products to buy this is the one to get. While all of the new CS4 products have been updated, Flash is by far and wide the most exciting in the bunch. You can purchase Adobe Flash CS4 Professional on its own or in one of the Adobe design collection packages, such as the Adobe Master Collection. However you choose to buy the new and improved CS4, this program is well worth the money you will spend and then some!

Reuseability:
Visually Pleasing:

Flash System Requirements:

Windows

-1GHz or faster processor
-Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and Windows Vista)
-1GB of RAM
-3.5GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices)
-1,024×768 display (1,280×800 recommended) with 16-bit video card
-DVD-ROM drive
-QuickTime 7.1.2 software required for multimedia features

Mac

-PowerPC® G5 or multicore Intel® processor
- Mac OS X v10.4.11–10.5.4
-1GB of RAM
- 4GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on flash-based storage devices)
-1,024×768 display (1,280×800 recommended) with 16-bit video card
- DVD-ROM drive
-QuickTime 7.1.2 software required for multimedia features

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Adobe, Flash, Flash CS4, Adobe CS4, Software, Web Designer, Graphic Design, Animation, New features, illustration

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
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Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.