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Total Training for Flash 8 and Flex 2
Review Date: October 2006
Reviewed By: John Dalziel
Product Reviewed: Total Training for Flash Professional 8
Product Reviewed: Total Training for Flex 2: Rich Internet Applications
Earlier this year I picked up a copy of the Adobe Production Studio. Being a video newbie I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of features in the more mature products like Premiere and After Effects. What made the learning curve a little easier was the inclusion of a fantastic set of training DVDs from Total Training. When we were approached to review their training DVDs for Flash and Flex 2 we jumped at the chance.
All the DVDs in the series share a similar interface and delivery format. A brief installation sequence installs the app and a block of source code that you can use to work alongside the tutorials. Starting the app pops up a 1024x768 window in the centre of the screen.
The window is split into three sections. The middle is dominated by the video playback of the application that you will watch and work along to. The host explains everything that is going on and what you need to do to achieve it.
The global navigation controls along the top let you jump between and bookmark all the lessons and topics. The panel along the bottom handles local navigation like video playback and the volume controls. If 1024 x 768 doesn't work for you then the window can be scaled down to 50% or up to full screen. If it all gets a bit much for you then I'd recommend the fast forward button as it makes the host sound like he's been sucking down helium balloons.
The interface is well thought out and very professionally presented. The controls quickly feel familiar so you'll get to grips with them in no time. Some of the nicest features are also the most subtle. For example, the navigation controls eventually darken down during video playback which really helps focus your attention on the tutorials.
Total Training: Macromedia Flash Professional 8
Price: $299.99
DVDs: 3
This is the largest of the packages we reviewed and at nearly 24 hours of video it comes packed onto a whopping three DVDs. The tutorials are well paced and the host John Ulliman is very engaging from the beginning.
The initial tutorial (an interactive dad workout video) serves as a primer for the interface and as an introduction to interaction. Even if you've never used Flash before, after less than hour you'll have created and published your first SWF file.
There is a lot of content here but what really impressed me was the attention to detail. The host makes a point of encouraging best practices from the beginning. Simple habits like naming your layers and symbols as you go will be much appreciated by your fellow developers later on in your career. If there is more than one way to do something then you will see each way to do it including those all important keyboard shortcuts.
Each of the tools, concepts and features are introduced and thoroughly explained. Total Training for Macromedia Flash Professional 8 is a fantastic place to begin if you are just starting out with Flash.
Total Training: Advanced Flash Professional 8 Actionscript
Price: $179.99
DVDs: 2
John Ulliman is your host again for this the Actionscript training DVD. There is obviously some crossover between the beginning of the Actionscript course and the end of the Flash Professional 8 course as they both address the fundamentals but they come at the subject from different angles. The focus in this course is very much on coding.
Again we see best practices being taught right from the beginning: Adding comments, the F9 keyboard shortcut and giving timeline actions their own layer. This is all good solid stuff that will serve you well in years to come. You should be happy hiring any developer who applied these practices as a matter of course.
I have one word of warning about the scope of this course though. I was quite surprised to find it doesn't cover Actionscript 2. What you get is 11 hours of video tutorials that explore Actionscript 1 in great detail. You will cover the AS1 syntax, how to work with components, Screens and working with external data. This course follows on naturally from the Flash Professional 8 DVDs we reviewed earlier but it stops short of covering object oriented application development.
Total Training: Adobe Flex 2 Rich Internet Applications
Price: $149.99
DVDs: 1
Like many Flash developers I had played around with Flex 1 and I really liked it but had never had a chance to use it on a client project. This was not because Flex was a bad product but more down to the comical and often unfathomable pricing structure imposed by Macromedia. Things have changed a lot with the release of Flex 2 and it's definitely a good time to revisit the product.
Our tutor for this course is James Talbot, a stalwart of Adobe/Macromedia sales engineering and training teams. He's a very knowledgeable host and in his 5 minute introduction we are given an avalanche of information that sets out the new Flex 2 development landscape.
You'll learn the difference between the Flex Builder 2 IDE and the Flex SDK, about the Flex Data Services 2 and Flex Charting 2 add-ons, and the advantages of the AS3 AVM2 JIT compiler in Flash Player 9. This onslaught of information might leave you feeling a little shell-shocked (that is a lot to take in, in 5 minutes) but it's well worth familiarising yourself with this architecture before you go on. Hold on tight, you've got another 8 hours to go.
If you are used to developing RIAs in Flash then you are in for a bumpy ride. The workflow is entirely different. If you've come from a traditional programming language or have worked with Eclipse in the past then you'll find the process a bit more natural.
The first thing we do is familiarise ourselves with the Flex Builder 2 IDE. You'll learn how to write and debug an MXML document and how to switch between Source view and Design view. The course goes on to introduce the components, the event model and the various forms of data i/o.
By the end of the DVD you will have built yourself a fully working Stock Photo application, and more importantly you'll be very comfortable working in the Flex environment. I learned a lot from this course and I'm sure I'll learn more from repeated viewings. If you are looking for affordable Flex training then the Total training DVD is well worth the investment.
View original at www.flashmagazine.com
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