Russdesigns
Project: Shrek microsite for Nick.com. My role: Lead Flash developer.
Nickelodeon came to us needing a Flash microsite for the latest Shrek installment, Shrek4. I was given the role as lead developer on the site, including a majority of the site creation, all the framework development, deep-linking and tracking info. The E-cards and Waffle Shuffle game were developed by my friend Felix.
Apple product launch days always start with a wave of crazy anticipation; tech fans hold their collective breath when Steve Jobs is launching a new mysterious product. But really the only things still mysterious about Apple’s new tablet computer were the finer points: Would the iPad have a webcam for video chat? Would it run Adobe Flash? Would it give you the best web experience ever, with 10 weeks of battery life, all while curing world hunger and giving your car 75 miles to the gallon? Was it going to revolutionize the way we compute? I was hoping for a yes on at least one of those; then I might be able to justify buying one. And I really do want to have a reason.
Got to go to AdobeMAX again this year. Took some arm-twisting by some co-workers to get the expense approved, but it probably helped that it was here in L.A. this year. As expected, it was a total nerd-fest, and as expected I loved every minute of it. I got to go to Flash classes taught by my idols, including Joshua Davis, Lee Brimelow, Colin Moock and Seb Lee-Delisle. John Mayer made a guest appearance. Probably to collect his giant bag with a dollar sign on the side. Even Mark Hamill was there as a presenter (yes, Luke Skywalker), and it looked like he was only there because he heard a rumor there was an open bar. He was looking more like William Shatner.
In short? The White Void portfolio is sick. It’s a simple site in function, but the way it’s implemented is really slick. Using Papervision 3D, they give you a limited camera pan and a sense of depth for each level you open up. You’ll find yourself wanting to explore the whole site. A site like this is a clear example of how good implementation is key.
Unfortunately for me, it seems like the whole Flash world has ditched me for ActionScript 3.0. It’s middle school all over again! 🙁 Feeling constricted… hard to breathe! Last night, at the L.A. Flash Users meeting, everything was in AS3. So a special thanks needs to go out to Lee Brimelow for making that transition a little bit easier with his Event Generator panel, which lets you pick the events you want and – boom – they are saved to your clipboard. Definitely making my life that much easier. Maybe now I won’t get picked last for dodgeball.
Their designs are super clean, unique and they cling to decidedly Euro stylings, which in a post-Ikea U.S., Americans are finally catching onto. Superfamous is a refreshing portfolio site and reminds me that websites can be just as fun to look at as they are functional.
Over the last couple weeks/months, Three Legged Legs has been blowin’ up.
Lots of great work from this animation shoppe. And they are in Santa Monica to boot.
Last week we got back from Adobe Max in Chicago.
It feels like it took a week to decompress all the info we took in. A lot of big things are happening with Flash, and it’s pretty exciting. Some of the most exciting stuff:
1. Adobe Air: Imagine any Flash or Flex web application. Now imagine it running natively on the desktop with no browser, on either Mac or PC.