Can somebody make something pretty in Flash that isn't a flashing black dot?

January 24, 2006 12:33 PM

Well, I realize that this might be a horrible breach of online etiquette or some other unspoken rule, but…well…here goes. Theatre artist and musician here about to create a website for the first time. Hoping for something simple, sane and eye-catching. Now, here’s the thing-we were hoping to get a wee bit o’ flash to open the site. So, we purchased a do-it-yourself book on the subject. Well, let me just say its all horribly daunting. I had to lie down after reading just the prologue. Next step, take advantage of talented friends/acquaintances. This, however, proved unsuccessful as all my webbish friends simply replied along the lines of, “Um, gee, sorry, Flash is kinda tough and specialized. I might be able to make a flashing black dot…will that work?” Okay, so this brings me to this post, my final step. I send out a cry for help that will hopefully fall upon the ears of some benevolent arts supporter. Is there anyone out there who might help a fledging production company and donate a sliver of time and come up with a flash animation for the front end of our site? We have just recently been incorporated (Chaotic Industry is our name), we are not-for-profit, and we mainly focus on music and theatre. Thanks for listening. Peace all.
posted by ChaoticIndustry to Computers & Internet (21 answers total)

Yeah, I think this breaks the guidelines of AskMe. FYI.
posted by agropyron at 12:39 PM on January 24, 2006

Plus, you should use the "more inside" feature.
posted by agropyron at 12:45 PM on January 24, 2006

I cannot help you, as I do not know Flash. However I can tell you that as a user of this interweb thingy, Flash animations welcoming me to a webpage are just barely above pop up ads, animated GIF advertisements that never stop and distract me from the real content on the page, and spam. Rather than finding someone to do this for you, I'd suggest giving up and simply making a good looking logo or webpage design that doesn't involve animation.
posted by pwb503 at 12:46 PM on January 24, 2006

I agree.
posted by agropyron at 12:50 PM on January 24, 2006

Try Craigslist.
posted by Uncle Glendinning at 12:54 PM on January 24, 2006

I agree with pwb.

Also, this question will soon be deleted, I'm sure. I'll second Uncle Glendinning, head over to craigslist.org and find someone. They have plenty of flash people looking for gigs there.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 12:56 PM on January 24, 2006

I know quite a bit of flash, enough to reccomend that you not use any kind of splash page at all and simply go straight to your content.
Seriously, if the first thing I see is a Flash animation, the tab closes in 0.05 seconds.
posted by signal at 12:56 PM on January 24, 2006

If you use a splash page, Jack Bauer will come to your house.

This is why you don't see many splash pages anymore.
posted by selfnoise at 12:59 PM on January 24, 2006

A better use of this site might be to ask people to tell you where such a question might be appropriate (they're already answering that way).

Also, though not a designer, I work on Web stuff for a living and everyone I know would say the Flash splash page is a bad idea. Theoretically it could be used to improve the visuals on the navigation or something, but I have rarely if ever seen a Flash piece that improves a site. Mostly it makes a site harder to use.
posted by lackutrol at 1:05 PM on January 24, 2006

No one likes Flash. Don't use it.
posted by cribcage at 1:08 PM on January 24, 2006

Where are you based? I might be interested if you're local (UK)
posted by BobsterLobster at 1:12 PM on January 24, 2006

I had to lie down after reading just the prologue.

Welcome to the club!
posted by iconomy at 1:12 PM on January 24, 2006

You're saying "GIVE ME FREE".

How about a trade? Yeah, Craigslist does more along these lines...both for flash and for 'trade'

But seriously. Offer to make the designer a patron, a donator in some printed program.

Just because you're volunteer/nonprofit doesn't mean you even want free - you get what you pay for.
posted by filmgeek at 1:13 PM on January 24, 2006

Well, I too run a not-for-profit arts company. We are in NYC and always looking for rehearsal space. If you too are NYC based (you don't have any info in your profile), we might be able to work out a trade of some kind. I'm a Flash developer. My email is in my profile.
posted by grumblebee at 1:17 PM on January 24, 2006

Please don't use a splash page! It doesn't catch a user's eye, it just annoys them.

I had a client with a splash page and to prove to him how bad they are, I setup a tracker that shows how many hits he gets to the splash page, and then to the home page. 50% of people didn't make it past the splash page! That means he was losing half of his visitors because of his insistence on a splash page.
posted by meta87 at 1:17 PM on January 24, 2006

Response by poster: Okay all, thanks for the feedback. I think we'll most assuredly nix the flash idea at this point. I'm glad, in retrospect, I made the post. Good opportunity for feedback. Peace.
posted by ChaoticIndustry at 1:20 PM on January 24, 2006

If you really want to use Flash: Flash has great built in tutorials (at least they used to, way back when)

Just go through those - you'll pick up what you need
posted by soplerfo at 1:23 PM on January 24, 2006

Glad you got answars, even though it might get deleted! and good luck with your venture.
posted by By The Grace of God at 1:25 PM on January 24, 2006

No one likes Flash. Don't use it.

This is true among a certain audience on the web, but probably a minority audience. And even then, it depends on how it's used.

Making a splash page is often a bad idea. Making an entire site completely flash-based is sometimes a bad idea. Using flash to create specific presentations, games, in-browser applications, or just some nice dressy graphics on the page can be a good choice.

Flash has its place.
posted by weston at 1:27 PM on January 24, 2006

You should see if there are any web-savvy people in your area to help you with these kinds of decisions. Preferably ones with blue hair.
posted by Jairus at 1:30 PM on January 24, 2006

Favorville?
posted by Soliloquy at 1:34 PM on January 24, 2006