"Mr. Dude, where in the world do you live?"
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

"Mr. Dude, I want to make some cool text effects, but it takes so LONG! Do you know of any programs that will do all the work for me?"
I sure do! Check out "Swish", an AMAZING program that creates amazing text effects literally within seconds. It's very reasonably priced, too!
**Please Note: I am not the creator of Swish, and do not give technical support for it. Click here for Swish tech support. I do also not give free registration codes. It's only thirty bucks! BUY IT!

"Right on! Swish rocks!"
It sure does. However, keep in mind that fancy text effects are no replacement for site design and content. Swish will increase your movie's file size, so be strategic when using it.

"Did you use Flash or Swish to make "The Dough"?
All typing effects in "The Dough" were done with masking in Flash to keep file size to a minimum. I only used Swish to break a few lines of text into individual characters; now that Flash does this natively, I no longer have a use for Swish.

"Mr. Dude, how can I set up a preloader for my Flash page?"
Nowadays, I use Armen Abrahamyan's Loader Component.

"Mr. Dude, how do you incorporate 3D into Flash?
It's a long, laborious process. Or, it WAS, until these alternatives arrived:

• "Vecta3D", a plugin for 3DS Max that exports wireframes into Flash.
• "Swift3D", a standalone program that creates 3D specifically for Flash.

These programs work great; still, getting 3D to look perfect requires that you:

• Import an image sequence.
• Manually trace over all lines.
• Manually fill in the spaces.

I learned how to do it by going through Mano One's 3D tutorial.

"Mr. Dude, how did you make that exploding button/lightning animation during the Lucasfilm letter?"
It was all drawn in Flash! It's quite simple, and uses radial gradients with shape tweened lines. Like I always say, having fun and experimenting is the only way to create anything cool.

"Cool. Can I have the source?"
No way.

"Mr. Dude, how did you do that typewriter effect?"
Using masks! Check it out here.

"Mr. Dude, would it be OK for me to link to your site?"
Of course! Be sure and grab one of these logos:

As well, if you'd like to share my site with the folks you chat with on AOL Instant Messenger, you can use these icons, thanks to Alex Micek!

Due to an increasing mass of questions and URL submissions I receive daily, I can no longer give tips to everyone who asks. Please read these tips in full! Here are some common suggestions I give quite frequently:

Color Theme
Before you start getting REALLY into your design, it's best to pick your favorite 2 or 3 colors as a color scheme and stick to it. Too many sites use black backgrounds with a sentence in purple, then blue, then yellow, then a rainbow, then.... ugh!

Fonts
Flash will use just about ANY FONT IN THE WORLD. For this reason, avoid using standard, every day fonts like Arial and Times New Roman.
Want some cool fonts? Click Here!

Sound

• Make sure if your site has music, it either fades out or has an "Off" feature!
• Try and avoid using the small collection of sounds that come with Flash. Click here for more information.

Speed
I don't care how old or slow your computer is, using the default frame rate of 12 fps does NOT look good. I recommend a frame rate of at lease 24 fps, and prefer 30 fps myself. This makes animation a lot smoother.

Animation speed
If the animation of your movies seem slow, file size actually has nothing to do with it! Complex symbols, such as a word with gradients, masks, numerous layers and lines will move across the screen slower than simpler symbols. Objects animate faster when they take up a smaller portion of the screen. Read about the cacheAsBitmap function for more tips on how to increase your movie's speed.

Optimizing
"Mr. Dude, I have a Flash site. How did you optimize yours so good? My file sizes are HUGE!"
Here are some tips:

• Optimize every single object in the Flash Library (Ctrl+L). This is done by:
  • Removing unused lines and fills in the object.
  • Using the "smooth", "straighten", or "optimize" commands.
  • Setting specific compression levels for all bitmap images.*
• Avoid bitmaps unless absolutely necessary.
• Play with the export settings of each sound in your movie (see Sounds)

*Consult the manual for more information.

Preloaders
"Mr. Dude, how is it that most of your Flash pieces don't need preloaders?"
I try and avoid preloaders at all costs! If I don't want to sit and watch a "Loading" screen when I access it online, why should I make others suffer? Don't be lazy when creating a Flash movie! Think it out first, and follow these tips:

1. Use mostly vector-based graphics in the beginning (no photos).
2. Use a short music clip for the opening loop.
3. Space all other graphics and music clips far apart from each other in the movie, at least far apart enough that each piece will be loaded before it shows/plays.
4. The Bandwidth Profiler (in Flash) is your friend!

Coordination
"Mr. Dude, how can I synchronize Flash's sound and music to the action on the screen?"
No Flash movie will display at the exact same speed on any two machines, or even on the same machine at different instances. What may appear to be synchronized on your computer may lag noticeably on another machine. Your only option is to use the "stream" event, like I did with The Perfect Storm. However, Flash will drop frames in the animation to keep up with the sound, which may result in visual skipping. The solution: be strategic when designing your Flash movies.

"Mr. Dude, how did you manage to bring Surround Sound to the Web? Can I find a tutorial somewhere on how to make 3DSX sound effects?"
Nope! 3DSX was developed by me, and for now, I ain't givin' away my secret!
"Mr. Dude, I want some FREE sound effects! Gimme!
Many of the sounds I have were taken from the web. Sites work one day and are gone the next, but here's what's left:

• Free sound effects! Links to over 700 sound effects sites.
• WavCentral

"Mr. Dude, I've searched high and low for those record scratch sound effects you have in 'The Dough.' I haven't been able to find them. Can you send them to me?"
If I had obtained them for free, I would. However, since I paid for 'em, I'm gonna make you do the same.

1. Go to http://www.soundfont.com/
2. Search for "scratch."
3. Buy any one of the SoundFonts you want.

Oh yeah - you'll need a Creative Labs sound card and will have to read the manual it came with to figure out how to use SoundFonts. :)

"Mr. Dude, I don't feel like surfing for hours to get the sound I want. Can you recommend any sound effects CDs?"
Here's a list of sound effects CDs, listed in order from smaller budgets to larger ones.

• Sounds Of Machines, Movement &... $5.67
• Hollywood Sound F/X $7.57
• Best Of Cartoon & Movie Sound Effects $7.57
• 300 Spectacular Sound Effects $11.49
• 400 Sound Effects $13.49
• Authentic Sound Effects, Vol. 1 $13.99
• Authentic Sound Effects, Vol. 2 $13.99
• Authentic Sound Effects, Vol. 3 $13.99
• Authentic Sound Effects, Vol. 4 $13.99
• Real Hollywood Sound Effects $13.99
• 505 Digital Sound Effects $26.65
• Lastly, for those with larger budgets, I very highly recommend Sound Ideas.

"Mr. Dude, how do you get such good sound quality on your site?"
I don't always use the MP3 method of compressing my sounds; in many cases, ADPCM sounds better. Each sound has different limits as to how much it can be compressed, and the only way to know for sure is to play with each one's export settings in the Library (Ctrl+L).

"Mr. Dude, How can I add some MP3 music to my site?"
Flash imports MP3 files directly, but I recommend you use WAV files for quicker export speed and to avoid overcompression. I use Winamp do to my MP3 to WAV conversions.
Open the file you want in Winamp, go Ctrl+P and under Plugins > Output, select "Disk Writer." Select the output drive.
**After you're done, remember to change it back to "Winamp Wave Out Plugin" or all the MP3s you'll try to play from then on will be converted to WAVs!

"Mr Dude, once I convert an MP3 to a WAV, the file size is HUGE! What's up with that?"
An MP3 is basically a WAV that's been compressed up to 10 times or more. Naturally, when you decompress it, it'll get bigger. To cut out the loop you want, try CoolEdit, Goldwave, or SoundForge.

"Mr. Dude, whenever I try importing MP3s (and sometimes WAVs), I get the error message 'One or more files were not imported because there were problems reading them.' What's up with that?
This will usually happen if you have the file open in another application, such as Media Player, Winamp, or your sound editor. Make sure your other programs don't have any files open and try again. If the problem doesn't go away, either log off or reboot and you shouldn't have any trouble.

"Mr. Dude, what music did you use in the 'Lucasfilm Letter' intro?"
1) Crystal Method's "Keep Hope Alive".
2) BBE's "Flash".
3) Rammstein's "Tier."
"And in the 'Summer of 2000' teaser?"
1) Tekara featuring Lucy Cotter: "Breathe In You",
2) Sunflower: "Cold Turkey".
"How about the September 2000 teaser?"
Dream Wave's "Lift Off".
"What'd you use for "The Dough?"
A few clips from AK1200's "Lock and Roll" and Dieselboy's "System Upgrade."
"What music did you use for the Any Given Sunday Flash piece?"
Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba". The opening and finishing clips are mixtures of a few songs Warner provided me with; I have no idea what their titles were. Don't even think about hacking the SWF, though-- the music is extremely copyrighted. Speaking of which...

"What's the law on copyrighted music? How long of a clip can I use, 10 seconds? 15? 30?"
Zero. It is illegal to use copyrighted music on a site if you haven't paid to license it, regardless of length. If you're using copyrighted music on your site, especially if you make money from your site, watch your back!

"Ok! Where can I get some royalty-free music clips?"

• Shockwave Sound has some of the BEST freakin' stock music I've ever heard, and their prices are extremely reasonable.
• Sounddogs.com - 235,000 sound effects and production music tracks online, immediately available in MP3, WAV and AIF! Since 1997. Money-back guarantee and toll-free support!
• killersound, Inc. has an extensive library of music soundtracks for licensing. Each piece is customizable to fit your presentation!
• Musicube Multimedia not only has a cool site that's fun to navigate, they also have a huge collection of music clips! Order pre-made loops online or contact the webmasters to have them create custom clips for your presentations.
• Media Tracks has hundreds of different production tracks and loops for immediate download. While you're there, get free sound effects and free sample music!
• Get royalty-free music at Wicked Wavs: loops created for maximum impact! Choose from an ever-growing range of music loops. Subscribing gives you your login details so you can download the files you need. Custom audio done on request!
• The Loops -a- GoGo! site uses a unique interface to bring you a collection of extraordinary looping soundscapes composed by Duke Leto. Great prices! Custom audio done on request.
• AA Media Music offers royalty-free CD compilations of 30-second themes with matching short loops based on the main groove of each theme. Each CD contains 25 themes from multiple genres! All tracks can be auditioned on the site and individual tracks and/or longer versions of themes are made available upon request.
• Sound Of The Web features the Soundeffects.Shop - 1000's of musical loops and effects for you to audition online and download! The site is also home to the 'Sample-ROM', the Ultimate 'Digital Media Dedicated' Sound effects CD-ROM. Soundoftheweb also offers custom sound design and voice overs!

"Mr. Dude, I know Flash, Freehand, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver. The only problem is I have no creativity. What should I do?"
I have no idea. Become a pop musician?!?
(Yes, folks, I seriously do get asked this question on a regular basis.)

"Mr. Dude, I am 13 years old and I love your site. Please make me a Flash site. I cannot afford to pay you."
That's OK, because it doesn't matter if you pay me $10,000 or not. I'm still not going to do it! Flash can be easy to learn. Be patient! Rome wasn't built in a day. If you are having difficulty, please read this entire page. There are more than enough learning resources listed here!

mr dude i have an [enter your favorite online game here] clan and i need a good flash intro and ur the best and i dont have money 2 pay u but i know ull love 2 have it in ur portfolio
NO

"Mr. Dude, please send me the source files of your site."
No way!

"Mr. Dude, which HTML editor do you use?"
This page and all others on this site were created and edited in Dreamweaver 8, Crimson Editor, Notepad and Frontpage 98.

"Mr. Dude, where did you learn web design?"
On the job and at home. I've been doing web design since January 1999, and have no formal design training. I've sacrificed many, many hours to the Flash Gods and learn best through experimentation.