A Flash® animator creates interactive multimedia and animated works through the use of a computer program called Flash®. Flash® is a program that allows an animator to create self-contained animated pieces that can simply be viewed or can involve interaction with a viewer. These types of animations are often popular on websites and most work done by a Flash® animator will be found on the Internet, though a few television and feature length programs have been created through Flash®.
Originally developed in the mid-1990s, the program was first called Future Splash and was designed to compete with Shockwave® for use in web-based animations and Internet advertising. The program was purchased by Macromedia®, who had developed Shockwave®, and renamed Flash®. Over the years Flash® has received numerous upgrades and advances in programming and capability. Though it has changed names and owners, Flash® is still principally used for web-based animations and advertisements by graphic designers and webpage designers.
Released more recently as Adobe® Flash®, the program allows a Flash® animator to create content for websites and other uses rather easily and with a fairly impressive array of tools to utilize. Many Internet websites incorporate Flash® animations for advertisements or for video and game hosting. Even some television advertisements have been created using Flash® animation for large corporations looking to create a signature look for their commercials. A Flash® animator creates these images and videos by using the various tools found in the Adobe® Flash® program.
This can include traditional frame-by-frame animation meant to capture the look and feel of classic hand drawn animated features and shorts, or animation that is closer to the work done using three-dimensional (3-D) animation programs. With these sorts of tools an animator can position a character in certain key frames and the program will then fill in the motion between those frames. While fine tuning and the addition of more key frames is often required to complete the sequence and make motion seem more fluid or lifelike, this process is still usually more streamlined than creating hundreds or thousands of individually drawn frames.
The Flash® animator will then typically render out the video or animation as a Shockwave Flash® (.swf) file for play on websites and Flash® players, or as a Flash® Video (.flv) file for use with other players. A Flash® video in these file types can be played through a variety of different video players or embedded into websites for viewing or interaction. The work done by a Flash® animator can even create immersive animated features that are as interactive as any video game.