WEB
The Gist: Animation Authorship By The Numbers
$199
You have an idea for an animated Web site with "All Your Base" potential, but you balk at paying $399 for Flash authoring software (never mind having to learn how to use it). The quick-and-dirty alternative is Balthaser:Fx, an online site-building tool that works through a regular browser and stores your project files for you. The system combines a user-friendly design environment with a great mix-and-match selection of graphics, sounds, and 3-D renderings. Access is free for 30 days, and you can author all you want, but it costs $199 to post your creation on the Internet or download it to your hard drive. It's a good deal for one site, but if you're going pro, invest in Flash or Dreamweaver.
After entering the Balthaser:Fx site, I went through some rudimentary tutorials, then began to build. The design stage is a black screen with tabs that open to become windows labeled Controls, Layers, Objects, and Scenes. I dragged a background image from the Objects window onto the stage, and tweaked its size and transparency in Controls. Then I typed in a title and applied a spinning, shadow-peeling effect. Although I know Flash, these tools are simple enough for beginners. I laughed to myself when I imagined how long it would have taken me to create the same text effect by hand in Flash. Then I tried some 3-D graphics and animations. They consisted mostly of cubes and arrows, but they stood out nicely. Flash can do 3-D only by calling out to separate software, like Swift 3D.
The system also offers audio clips that range from classical to techno, and stock images from Corbis and PhotoDisc, available royalty-free. But you aren't stuck with Balthaser's library, extensive as it is. You can import JPEGs, GIFs, and PNGs, plus SWF Shockwave animations. Unfortunately, you can't directly import sounds. One workaround is to make an SWF containing the audio loop and then upload that - but doing so means you must author some Flash.
Since everything is stored on Balthaser's servers, you don't need a large hard drive to use this tool, and you can access your files anywhere you have a broadband connection. Furthermore, any changes you make will go live quickly. You can save your creation onto a hard drive or burn it to a CD in compiled, executable form, but there's no FLA source file because it's in a proprietary format - which means you can't crack open your animation and reuse any of the elements for future projects. But perhaps Balthaser:Fx is just another shortcut to the artist's experience: As with other cultural innovators, you might create something great, but your work is still owned and controlled by the studio.
Balthaser Online: +1 (415) 395 2800, www.balthaser.com.
STREET CRED
airFX
Twisted Metal: Black
Sony DCR-TRV830
Extensis
Intoxicating Minds: How Drugs Work, by Ciaran Regan
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
Serials 2000
ReadMe
Music
The Mummy Congress, by Heather Pringle
2ner and 2nerxmitter
SunPal
Just Outta Beta
Sniper Scope
Balthaser:Fx
Contributors
