HTTP 503
Create a series of Flash banners
Using Adobe Flash, create a series of four Flash banners advertisements. The banners could promote a cause, advertise an event or a product, or be of any subject you want.
The four banner ad sizes:
- the "skyscraper" banner (160 x 600 px)
- "leaderboard" banner (728 x 90 px)
- "big box" banner (300 x 250 px)
- "Messenger" banner (234 x 60 px)
(All dimesions are width x height, in pixels.) These and the following specifications are all industry standard guidelines by the IAB. Read more...
Please follow these requirements when completing this assignment.
- Each one of the completed banners (the SWF file) should no larger than 40KB
- Animation should not be longer than 15 seconds long, but not shorter than 10 seconds
- Frame rate should be set to no lower than 24 fps (frames per second)
- A clear call-to-action should be present at the end of the banner telling the user, to "Find out more," or "Learn more," or "Click here to view..." This could appear in the form of a button, or text, an arrow, etc.
- Create a static JPG/GIF banner for each Flash banner you create. This static banner is usually held in place in case no Flash player is detected on the user's browser. (This is common practice in the industry, and since it is not animated, it should sum up all the important points listed in the banner in one frame.) Again, this static image must only be 40KB or less.
- Images may be used, but should be optimized for filesize and image quality. But don't forget, images could significantly increase your SWF file size.
- A completed banner would be appealing enough to entice a viewer to want to click on the banner.
- Any animated text is best displayed concise and to the point, and appear long enough for the viewer to read it.
- Feel free to use any version of ActionScript (1, 2, or 3) if needed. stop(); actions could come in handy —(You may find that setting up your file using ActionScript 2 and Flash Player 8 will produce lower filesizes.)
Although you are building five banners, graphic elements could be shared between the five Flash files to rebuild the other sizes. Obviously, some animation adjustments and reworking may be needed for the graphics and animations to fit within the different dimensions. Copying and pasting frames from one Flash file to another can also help aid in this process. It's probably best to complete one banner to your liking and then build the other banners based off of this one. From my experience, I think the "skysraper" or "big box" banners are best to start with.
Additional tips:
- Adobe Illustrator or Fireworks files could be exported as an SWF file, and then could be imported into Flash. But be careful, Illustrator graphics carry a higher curve quality which could increase filesize.
- Be careful when animating images with a lot of movement as the result may not be as smooth as you'd like.
- JPG image quality could be adjusted in Flash Library panel - (Right-click library item for options)
- Excessive use of gradients or Movie Clip filters could also increase filesize
- You are not limited to basic typefaces because fonts are embedded into the SWF files. For text to appear correct, it's probably best if you use Static text in your FLAs (rather than Dynamic text).
- Flash Player 10 could cause your SWF file size to be higher than expected. Try exporting the SWF as a Flash Player 8 or 9. In Flash, go to File > Publish Settings > see Flash tab > Flash Player...
Please submit any Flash source files (.fla files), SWF files, and static JPG/GIF images. So if you've completed everything, there would be 12 files in all.
Due: December 7, 2011. Submit this assigment via Blackboard.
« Go back