Found it,

[gdstudios]

I agree. Of all the threads I have seen on Flashkit, this is one of the best! This type of thread is precisely what makes Flashkit such an amazing tool for Flash developers.

[nessi_r]

First I would like to congratulate you on the excellent work you have done, music is amazing, I downloaded a few of them to hear at work, (they are so realxing!). Your site is very well though of, and works wonderfully.

I admire people like you, who have talent yet they are down to earth and so giving. I have not met a person who creates awesome stuff such as yours and give it out for free. Seems from previous posts that you help a lot of people create stuff; most talented people keep things to themselves. I hope you will always be very successful in whatever you do, and good luck!

Again your work is amazing regardless of what others think

[pbleper]

Edgen, I also do music first, then animation.. I don't know how someone could do the animation first, and then the music.. What if its off by a few seconds once they sequence it? Change the whole animation, or change the beat of the music? Sounds crappy to me..

You put your sound fx with the music? I find it easier to put sound fx on a seperate layer (or in MC's that have the animation), so you can easily edit the position instead of having to open a sound app again :-P

[edgen]

Originally posted by nessi_r
First I would like to congratulate you on the excellent work you have done, music is amazing, I downloaded a few of them to hear at work, (they are so realxing!). Your site is very well though of, and works wonderfully.

I admire people like you, who have talent yet they are down to earth and so giving. I have not met a person who creates awesome stuff such as yours and give it out for free. Seems from previous posts that you help a lot of people create stuff; most talented people keep things to themselves. I hope you will always be very successful in whatever you do, and good luck!

Again your work is amazing regardless of what others think

wow.
thank you. At work of all places? I really appreciate your support and spread the word !

But.. as for intros... I used to put in individual music clips.. but.. that adds to the file size. If you have one long "streaming" piece of music, its more likely to be smaller. If you have 4-5 sound fx, and no music.. sure.. that's the way to do it. You just have to change each .wav's kbps according to how it needs to be heard in your movie. some sound fx will require the stereo option.

Basically, it all comes down to trial and error. Sometimes you just get lucky and it all lines up in the end.

-j

[karnog]

I know I am a day late and a dollar short on this thread but I also have to comment on how this thread has been one of the best I have read in quite a while.

Edgen, your work is terrific. I am new to this stuff (my main experience is in back-end and data programming) but have been pouring through the boards and various flash-related sites and have seen quite a few great sites in the last few months...your work ranks up there with the best. The sound is certainly it. I can't believe the impact that proper selection and use of music can have on the end result. It is without a doubt a huge missing factor in many otherwise good sites.

Also, I agree that it is a rare trait to see a designer so free with sharing his craft. You are one of the few who may realize that sharing is only going to help propagate this industry to a larger audience, thus contributing to the success of all. And while freely distributing your source code and "secrets" opens the door for reproduction, truly great work requires an aritstic quality that one is born with and can not be learned.

Looking forward to more!

~K

PS Pbleper, go to school man. I kick myself frequently for not having rounded out my skill set by finishing school. Yeah, there are a lot of BS courses you will have to endure, but the foundation that is built in general is worth it. Just my 2 cents.
[Edited by karnog on 04-01-2002 at 09:18 AM]

[pbleper]

Well the thing is, I really want to be sure that if i goto school, I won't waste my time.. I'm still 14, and have 2 years left before post-secondary education.. I can pretty much say that I'm quite proficient with Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Java & Actionscript, various sound programs and hardware synthesizers, video apps... and learning, but already have a solid foundation of a few 3d apps. I'm releasing my new "Flash Concerto" within about a month, and I'm hoping it'll out-do derbauer and redox's stuff.

Now... I live in a small crappy town, in Northern BC, Canada. The college in my town is bs, and the university only teaches technical courses, not multimedia. If I want to take any art or multimedia courses, then I'd have to move to Vancouver or something, and have a lot of expenses.

I still can't find what useful things I can learn in a school.. If I want background and theoretical knowledge, I'll pick up a book on that from the library. If I want to learn a program, I'll purchase a good book or two at the bookstore/amazon. This'll cost MUCH less money than a college education, and they say that colleges and universities are getting overcrowded because of baby boomers..

Well that's just what I think of it, but possibly I'm thinking immaturely? What other things could I learn in college? Is a diploma useful? I don't really think gmunk's clients ask him for a diploma..

[karnog]

There is something to be said for your arguments, so let me take a shot at responding. Hopefully without getting to philosophical.

For good or bad, there are still some companies that won't look at you unless you have a university degree. Then again, maybe you don't want to work for a company that has that kind of requirement. In fact, the education many schools offer today compared to, say, 20 years ago seems...well different, for lack of a better way of describing it. Let's face it, most universities are primarily in the business of making money and poorly masquerade as educational institutions. It seems to me, 3.0+ averages are doled out more easily to get better rankings and attract students (read $$$.)

Sadly, I know many uneducated and ignorant college grads (yes, I know that is redundant...I meant it to be.) They crammed for tests and papers, getting nothing into long-term memory, and forgot nearly everything they learned long before they were handed their diplomas.

All that aside, there are definitely good schools out there and some better than others, but it is mainly what one chooses to make of it.

What could you get fom college that you couldn't get on your own? Well, there is no discounting the fact that good schools probably would create better curriculums and text selections than you could for yourself and they could provide the setting for classroom interaction. Also, the inevitable social aspect outside of the classroom (how you deal with it) and networking with fellow classmates and professors is more important than you may realize.

Ultimately, only you and those around you know what is best for your situation. There are positives and negatives to most decisions in life and you must weigh them carefully.

Hey, you have 2 more years to go, so don't worry too much about it yet. For now, just keep Flashin'!

Looking forward to seeing/hearing your Concerto.

~K
[Edited by karnog on 04-01-2002 at 05:47 PM]

[edgen]

Another thing about college.

Face it.. it's all about the fun. The people you meet and the experiences you have that will last forever. Its not like you have to do school work the entire time. It's about time management, and learning what you want to in the meantime. Improve your Flash skills while you are inbetween breaks in class... Drink a beer or three while you develop your photoshop skills and later head to the bars. Or while waiting for your date to get ready and to show up for your Fraternity formal, sit down for 30 minutes and read up on scripting and video editing.

Granted.. some people cannot afford college and they have to work on the side to support themselves. But if you are lucky enough or smart enough to have your college paid for... pick a fun one. Some lame small private school will only piss you off, and will make you want to drop out.

It's taken me 6 years now to finally get finished... but in the meantime, i've built my portfolio, learned skills not taught in college courses, and I had a blast doing it. Now i'm ready for the real world, and it's been handed to me on a silver platter. Might as well try for platinum?

14? hell dude.. You may change your mind by then. My little brother said the same thing and he's just 12. He has no idea what it's like until you get to that point.

I'd encourage anyone to push harder and further and get some stoopid piece of paper saying you know how to off center a photograph, or do a color overlay on multiple .jpgs in a photoshop document and at the same time prove to everyone you know how to write a 14 page paper that flat out sucks ass and pisses you off just thinking about it.

-j

[gdstudios]

If I may share my story. I am 24 years old now. I attended George Washington University in DC and obtained a degree in International Relations. My initial goal was to be an US Intelligence, but that didn't pan out the way I wanted it to. In fact, I ended up meeting a girl in school and my grades went down. I ended up not graduating the GPA I would have hope for (around a 3.0). Once I realized that Intelligence would no longer be an option for me, I quickly learned HTML. My roommate at the time showed me a website that he made for one of his business classes in Netscape Composer. I knew I was always a creative person. I also knew that I always had an interest in computers. When I was younger, I drew as a hobby. Web design just seemed like the thing for me to do. It was my years in college, albeit not the most academically productive years of my life, that helped me decide what I wanted to do. I never did, and still have never taken any classes in what I do.

I will now show you guys something of mine that I have never showed anyone on FK before. It is my first website ever, made in Netscape Composer in 1998, I believe. http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~gsandler Yes, I know, garbage. But this is where it all began for me. From there, I started up an online news service called policywatch.com, which has since folded. Now, in 2002, I am a Senior Web Developer for a respectable company in DC called http://www.globescope.com My portfolio has expanded to over 40 websites. And remember, I am completely self-taught. I now have skills in HTML, JavaScript, Photoshop, Flash, and most HTML editors.

With all this being said, I cannot underscore the importance of getting that undergraduate degree. I matured more in college than at any point in my life, regardless of my academic output. Go to college, DEFINTELY! I may regret deciding to major in International Affairs, but I do not regret going to college, because of the experience I gained. The moral here is that even though you can be self-taught, as I am, going to college is essential to developing the skills needed to go out there an compete.

Oh and please, keep that original site of mine secret, I don't want that getting out too far from this thread. I hope my story is inspiring.
[Edited by gdstudios on 04-01-2002 at 10:28 PM]

[pbleper]

Thanks everyone.. this is a damn good thread! I guess I should consider going to a school.. What do you guys think of Vancouver Film School? http://www.vfs.com ..I have room and board free right beside that school (family).. Someone said something about private schools being bad, what do you think.. VFS?

[dunnright00]

Ok, I hope nobody already asked this, because it's late, I'm tired, and I didn't feel like reading the whole thread(I'll come back tomorrow ).

Wait,

First off, great job edgen, I liked your intros a lot. My question is, how did you make the browser expand after the end of the intro? I'm sure it's javascript, but I've never seen that before, and I thought that was the coolest!

Cheers!

[edgen]

Originally posted by dunnright00
Ok, I hope nobody already asked this, because it's late, I'm tired, and I didn't feel like reading the whole thread(I'll come back tomorrow ).

Wait,

First off, great job edgen, I liked your intros a lot. My question is, how did you make the browser expand after the end of the intro? I'm sure it's javascript, but I've never seen that before, and I thought that was the coolest!

Cheers!

Thank YOu!! Glad you liked it! Ya.. the browser size increase was javascript. Kinda neat

I'll see if i can look up the coding for ya!

Also, I just got word ealier today one of my tracks was used for a first round trailer for a game called, "Dragon Kind" geared for the Xbox and Playstation 2 and produced by a company called, "TriLunar". goto http://www.edgen.com and follow the link to watch the 3d animation/trailer! I hope you like it! They used the track, "Assault" and the vocals are by LindsayAnne Klemm. Kinda like LOTR style music.

let me know what you think! (even sounds like a cool game)
-j

[pbleper]

Hey edgen, i'm getting into music.. I bought a synth, Korg Karma, half a year ago. What equipment do you use to make your music? Any tips?

[licuid]

That site rocks! I go to that site all the time, the intro gets me pumped & more ready to start learning some kick ass flash !

[edgen]

Originally posted by pbleper
Hey edgen, i'm getting into music.. I bought a synth, Korg Karma, half a year ago. What equipment do you use to make your music? Any tips?

Hardware wise? HA!! I've got an old Casio CT700 Keyboard, a midi cable, Sound Blaster Live Platinum, GigaStudio, Cakewalk, and Nuendo. And of course some good samples. That's it. The Nuendo provides good realtime effects once you've recorded your individual tracks.

You can goto various sites out there, and find out from the "real pros" what they use. Since I do so many other things, I have never really sat down and tried to figure out what I really need to make some kick ass music. Sometimes I just get lucky one night with a track and it turns out to be pretty good. Other nights, i'll compose maybe 3, and trash them all.

Do a google search on Gigastudio.. usually you'll come up with some good sample sites out there that are pretty helpful.

-j

[pbleper]

Gigastudio and Nuendo.. thanks!

[gdstudios]

Unrelated, but seriously, can Edgen or pbleper please point me in the right direction to find sound effects that I can actually use on my website (sounds for buttons, sliding doors, loading sounds) and also music loops that I can actually use (similar to the ones found on http://www.blitzds.com and http://www.2advanced.com/archive/v2/flashindex.htm

I know there are tons of files here on Flashkit, but, as you know, most of them are unusable. And it stinks because I am not an audio expert, myself, so I need to rely on others' sounds.

I hope you can help. Thanks.

[pbleper]

One thing you can do is get a program called Acid, (theres a free version) and take a random song.. for beeps and clicks, you just isolate a tiny section.. a split second of the song.. and play it, if it doesnt sound right, hold alt and drag to hear the different parts of the song.. you can get nice clicks and beep noises.. also you can try shrinking the area to a very short millisecond, and then copy-pasting that small millisecond area a few times, and putting spaces in between the cuts, makes interesting noises.


For other sound effects.. it depends on what you want. My new "Flash Concerto" has a lot of 'whooshes'.. so I found that if you reverse a gun/cannon sound, it sounds like a whoosh.

There are also a bunch of sites on the net where you can get free soundfx.. Flashkit has some, but I haven't found anything I've needed on here yet. Just search for something like "free sound effects" on a search engine.

I usually edit sounds to make them what I want.. for example, take a clock ticking, and slow it down, add some equalizer effects, and you can make it sound like a large sledgehammer.

I use Sound Recorder and Acid a lot. Theres also a program called Sound Forge which sounds nice, but I haven't had the chance to try it.

I also have a hardware synthesizer that lets me edit waveforms and make some synth sound effects.. really good for long ambient things, and white noise.

Hope that helps.

[gdstudios]

thanks pbleper. I have Sound Forge and Acid Pro, but I haven't used them extensively. Like I said, sound editing intimidates me at this point, as I am a designer, not a sound editor. I have only used Acid to cut parts of songs out to use as loops. Perhaps it is time for me to study up on my Acid Pro and Sound Forge so I can make my own sounds. Can do all the things you just suggested using Sound Forge and Acid Pro?

[pbleper]

Oh yeah, and for music.. EJ makes his own music, and Blitz probably does the same.. I love that music on the Blitz site!

If you want to find music loops.. http://www.sounddogs.com has a large archive.. You might be able to use some of their preview ones.. they're not the greatest quality but might work.. or, you could purchase them of course ;-P.. they sell cd's with hundreds of loops on them as well.

I remember seeing another site with purchase-able music.. it was made in flash and showcased here about half a year ago.. but I forgot the URL.