newbie question re transition effects 1

[Chance1234]

first time i have used flash, so would be greatful if someone could step us through what i need to do,

http://www.henryv.co.uk/

basicaly what im an trying to do in flash is the above, but on the fade down, changing to the next line of the speech,

this is what i habe done so far

1. created teh O for a muse of fire
put down 45 frames in the time line
then on frame 46 to 120 adding the next line
which is that would ascend from heaven

play it through no problem, but how do i add in a effect like on the original to transit between the two




Chance,

Filmmaker, gentlemen and buccaneer

http://WWW.5YLAC.S5.COM

,

http://WWW.HOWTOBESPOOKY.CO.UK,

http://WWW.HENRYV.CO.UK

 

[wangbar]

Straying into enemy territory Chance? ;-)

Loads of ways you can get that effect but the easiest is probably this one:

Create an empty layer above the layer which contains your text.

Add a new graphic to that layer which is a circle filled with a radial gradient. You get the radial fill option from the 'color mixer' panel - create a gradient that goes from black to black but then select the colour picker for the inner part of the gradient and drop its alpha setting to zero so you have a circle which fades from transparent at the centre to solid black at the edge.

Then you can convert this circle to a graphic symbol (F8) and use a motion tween to move it across your text.

 

[Chance1234]

and so the evil web begins to unfold....

is it best to do the changes in text as seperate scenes or along the time line ?

Chance,

Filmmaker, gentlemen and buccaneer

http://WWW.5YLAC.S5.COM

,

http://WWW.HOWTOBESPOOKY.CO.UK,

http://WWW.HENRYV.CO.UK

 

[wangbar]

For simple stuff which is thematically linked I'd keep it all on one timeline which makes editing and previewing the whole animation easier.

I tend to split things up into scenes when there are big changes in the look of one scene compared to another or if the movie is code based I separate things like loading screens off into their own scene.

 

[Chance1234]

Aha ! behold it begin to lives !!! dead clever this flash malarkey

Just two final questions before i can be on my way,

1, cant seem to change the number of frames of something i already have down before something else, i have tried draggin droppin , cursing to no effect :-(

2, again on the same lines as the motion of the "spot" light is going to be the same throughout the animation, is there an easy way to ust duplicate it along the time line ?

Chance,

Filmmaker, gentlemen and buccaneer

http://WWW.5YLAC.S5.COM

,

http://WWW.HOWTOBESPOOKY.CO.UK,

http://WWW.HENRYV.CO.UK

 

[wangbar]

You should be able to drag keyframes around but there's a knack to it - click on the keyframe to select it first then reclick and drag.

Alternatively add frames by clicking in the timeline and hitting F5 (shift F5 to delete).

Easiest way to reuse a sequence of frames is to turn them into a MovieClip and then drop the clip on to the timeline where you need it.