Difficulties: As the deadline for the final project approaches, my group launched into full force Flash Catalyst experimentation for our interactive collage. With no knowledge of Java and other programming coding, we had to explore the options we had with Flash Catalyst, searching and learning from online tutorials from Youtube and Adobe. Our biggest challenged proved to be the state transitions.
Our initial idea was to have the first collage zoom out (become smaller) while the second collage zoom in (become larger) at the same time, giving rise to the transition from one scene to the next. We tried to use state transitions within Flash Catalyst to achieve this effect. However, several problems arose with this effect. The method only worked for two states, and the program automatically adds effects which cannot be deleted. As a result, undesired effects like "resizing" and "shifting" of the images would occur when the program is run. A smooth transition between the collages also proved to be difficult because the compositions of our collages are not uniform. We decided to scrap the idea and went along with just having the second image zoom out to the users, but the problem with this was the whole interactive collage appeared flat. It was like images were just thrown at the user, and the sense of traveling through time is lost. Besides that, because the size of our collages are too big, Flash Catalyst would often crash, unable to handle the many state transitions. Buttons were not working because there were too many layers of images in each collage. These issues prompted us to arrange consultation sessions with Jing.
Consultations: The consultations proved to be extremely helpful. There, Jing showed us methods and videos that would help us make our collages more 3D. She also helped us solve the issue with the buttons by suggesting we move the buttons onto the top of the layers panel. The issue with the state transitions was also solved because we decided to incorporate several images within one state. The "flatness" of the interactive collage was also solved by having Alice shrink in size as she travels through the portal, before resizing to the original size and position as she appears in the next scene.
Other Problems: During the course of our project work, we also encountered problems like having Flash Catalyst crash because the interactivity of the individual collages, combined with the interactivity between the collages, proved too big for the program. Thus, we had no choice but to show the interactivity of the different collages in a separate folder. Besides that, the difference in artistic styles was also an issue. My group members' artistic styles varied and that showed through the collages. This issue was also brought up by the class during one of the critique sessions. The difference in style would result in the overall collages looking disjointed. To solve this problem, we settled with a single member's style, and using her collages as a point of reference, tried to modify our individual collages to fit her style. The idea of making Alice the main button for navigation was also impossible now because making her a button would mean she cannot be resized. A separate button at the bottom right hand corner of the finished collage had to be created.
Despite these problems, we managed to work as a team and finish the task on time, uploading it into the server folder. The first scene of our final product, as well as the finished collages are as shown below:
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