Information Systems and Multimedia

Tutorial 1

Creating Multimedia Programs Using Macromedia Director – Part 1

Macromedia Director 8.5 is a multimedia program that lets you easily create
animations, movies, interactive training, marketing presentations, technical
simulations and multi-user games. Here we will introduce you to basic Director Skills.
First, you’ll learn how to start Director and identify Director Window elements. Then,
you’ll learn how to open and save a movie, how to move around the different
Director windows and how to get help. Finally, you’ll learn how to play and close a
movie and exit Director.

The arrows identified by the labels in Figure 1.0 below are the 5 important elements,
A – E, in Director.

A Stage Window B – Cast Window

To position the media elements To assemble the media
elements

C – Score Window D – Control Panel E – Property Inspector

To sequence the media To preview and test the movie To add additional feature to
elements the media elements
Figure 1.0

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A – Stage Window
To position the media elements

B – Cast Window
To assemble the media elements

C – Score Window
To sequence the media elements

D – Control Panel
To preview and test the movie

E – Property Inspector
To add additional feature to the media elements

1) Click on Start button and move the mouse pointer to Programs

2) Locate Director 8.5
3) Click on Director 8.5 in the submenu
4) Click File -> New -> Movie
5) Click on Property Inspector -> set the Stage size to 640 * 480
6) Change the background colour to your preferred colour
7) From the Tool Palette, click on the Text icon and go to the Stage window and
start drawing the outline for the Text (left mouse click and drag to the right)
8) Start typing in the Text “WELCOME to Macromedia Director”
9) To make changes to the Text, right click on the Text written and select the Font
property
10) In the Font property, the Font Type, Style, Size and Colour can be changed
11)Another way to create a Text is by clicking on the Text Window and typing the
Text there
12)If you want to type more than one Text, just click on the “+” icon & the Text will
be added to the Cast Window
13) Once, you have added all the Text required into the Cast Window then you can
go to the Cast Window and start dragging & dropping the Text’s to the Stage
Window
14)Click on the Window menu and on the sub-menu click on the Paint
15) When the Paint window appears, draw a simple picture and click on the “+” icon
which is the New Cast Member
16)Then, close the Paint Window and open the Cast Window
17) In the Cast Window, the drawing which you drew will appear in the second Cast
as the first Cast is the Text which you wrote earlier
18) Click on the second Cast which is the drawing and drag and drop it at the centre
of the Stage Window
19) Resize the picture
20)Create a Text using the Text Window & type “This is my Drawing”
21) To make the Background colour of the Text to be the same as the Stage
Window’s Background colour, you have to select the Text, press the Ctrl key, left
mouse click & select the Background to be Transparent
22)Download a Flower Picture from the Internet & put it on the Desktop
23)Click on the File -> Import & select the Picture file and click the Import Button
24)Automatically, the Picture will appear in the Cast Window

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25)Click on the Picture, Drag & Drop it on the Stage Window
26) Readjust the layout to look like Figure 1.1
27)Click on the Score Window to open it
28)Play the Movie
29) Notice that the Play Head keeps on repeating/looping from left to right
continuously in the Score Window
30)But, in the Stage Window there are no movement
31) Left mouse Click on second (2) Sprite & drag it to the Right slightly to position it
at the number 10 frame
32)Now, Play icon the Movie
33)You are able to see the Texts & Pictures looping from left to right continuously
34)Click on the Stop icon
35) So, to stop the Playback Head from looping again & again, double-click on the
Frame where the Last Frame of the second (2) Sprite and the sixth (6) Line which
is for writing of Script Crosses each other as per Figure 1.2
36)Type the code to look like the below:
on exitFrame me
go to the frame
end
37)Again, Play the Movie & notice the Movie Stops after Playing once without
repeating it
38)Go to File & Save as Tut1 and click on the save button
39) Click on File -> Exit to exit Director

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 Figure 1.1

Double-Click here to key in the Codes

Figure 1.2