|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Training Macromedia Flash Professional 8
Review Date: April 16, 2007
Reviewed By: Dan Richard
Product Reviewed: Total Training for Flash Professional 8
I've recently had the pleasure of receiving some of the Total Training tutorial products from the good folks at Total Training, who have been very generous sponsors of P2L for some time, and I would like to share with you my first experience with this professional training format. In this review, I'm going to be discussing the Total Training for Macromedia Professional 8 package, hosted by the very experienced and qualified John Ulliman. In case you've never heard of John, he's been designing advanced multimedia since 1985, so he's no stranger to design or the progression of Flash technology. I've been using Flash since 1996, so I was definitely interested in seeing what kind of lessons would be offered by Total Training and how John would present his teachings.
First off, the package is a large DVD case containing 3 DVDs LOADED with content and a "Getting Started" pamphlet that describes the content and how to install the required software and lesson packages and projects. The installation is a breeze with their interface and you're up and learning in less than a couple of minutes.
Interface
So once the CD install process is done, you're ready to launch the lessons, so pop in a DVD and away we go! I went through all the DVDs, so I started with Disc 1 and up popped John for a personal introduction and an explanation of what we're going to be learning. John is a great presenter with a good voice that keeps you interested rather than puts you to sleep. He's articulate and well spoken, so listening to him for hours on end isn't bothersome in the slightest.
One of the biggest issues I have with video based tutorials is the absolute HORRENDOUS compression or the resolution of the video is so small that you can barely make out what the presenter is clicking on. Definitely a non-issue here, as you can clearly see everything on the Flash workspace and the overall interface for the video is fantastic.
Here you can see how you can jump around within the Lesson areas on the fly... very easy drop-downs let you zip around between lessons and the sections of each lesson area. I love how you can jump around from anywhere in the lesson area rather than having to exit to a main menu.
Final Words
As someone that has been using Flash products for over 10 years, I can honestly say that these lessons are absolutely fantastic and I would recommend them to anyone looking to start learning to use Flash, or to a seasoned user looking to improve their animation skills. I personally REALLY enjoyed the Advanced Navigation Systems area on disc 3 (hey you know me... I'm a sucker for interface design) and the vector drawing and rotoscoping lessons were brilliant. Any of you "Scanner Darkly" fanatics should check that lesson out if you dug that movie's rotoscoping vector film effect.
The Total Training products are absolutely top notch learning tools, and I highly recommend them based on the hands-on use I've been able to experience with their product. If you're even mildly curious about Total Training lessons, you have GOT to check out their site at www.totaltraining.com and just browse through their free samples and you'll see this is nop-notch material.
A huge thanks to Total Training for sending me this awesome package and I look forward to sharing another review of some additional product I was able to pick out and we'll be looking at giving away some Total Training goodies in the very near future!
Thanks again and if you have any questions about this review, just drop me a note!
View original at www.pixel2life.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
View Cart 
My Account 
