The Macromedia Flash man looks to LEGO for a System
When it comes to computer technology it is often the case
that it takes a large number of people working together
to create something new and ingenious. However, we do know
from experience that sometimes it is an individual human
being who 'cracks the code' that leads to a new way of
doing things. For isn't that what technology is, new ways
of getting things done? In the case Of Macromedia Flash
we have look to one person in particular, Jonathan Gay.
This one guy pretty much revolutionised the way animation
and sound can now be manipulated to reflect an artist's
vision via contemporary computers and the Internet.
Here
are a couple of Flash examples that just so happen to
have been drawn up for articles that I've written in
the past (Is this shameless self-promotion?): ezinearticles
.com/?Internet-Dating:-Future-Internet:-Human-Collaboration-Example-2&id=76006
This is the article, m6.net/articles/images/article2 .swf
is the accompanying animation, and gavinillustration.com/
is the website of the artist who collaborated with me at
the time. Here's another one: searchwarp .com/swa32978.htm,
with its Flash created by the same graphic artist: m6.net/articles/images/neopet.swf.
What do you think? Well, this is the simple side of Flash.
It gets a lot more detailed, diverse, and can reach great
visual depth as you probably already know. sqcircle .com/
is an example of some pretty good Flash creativity.
So
what's all this got to do with LEGO then? Well I was
reading an autobiographical article by the Flash man
himself
at adobe.com/macromedia/events/john_gay/ and
he tells simply and frankly how his whole method of developing
ideas comes from the same process he used as a child when
he played with plastic coloured blocks of LEGO. Is he a
genius? Maybe...but most probably he's not. The higher
probability lies in the idea that he's a human being like
the rest of us, but who has worked very hard throughout
his life (sometimes for fun, sometimes for survival/paycheques,
sometimes for both) and he's found a system of evolving
ideas that works. This is the system he used to develop
both Flash recently and LEGO when he was a little younger.
1.Choose a problem: Build a LEGO ship. 2.Develop a vision:
What sort of ship will it be? How big will it be? What
will it carry? 3.Build: Build the framework of the ship.
4.Fill in the details: Design and build the details of
the ship, ramps, doors, etc. 5.Test: Drive the cars (Matchbox,
Hotwheels) around the ship and sail the ship while exploring
the house. 6.Refine: Take parts of the ship apart and make
them better. 7.Learn: Take what you learned from building
this ship and use it to build a better one next time. So
what can hopeful web developers and graphic designers get
out of all this? Well, you could get the realisation that
creating something new isn't as hard as you once thought.
You might just need a system...and could it be that you've
already subconsciously built systems throughout your life
just by being alive and interacting with the world around
you? Or possibly you might remember that you don't need
to be a genius to build something that helps human beings
have a better existence. You just need to be someone who
works diligently with focus, perseverance, and a goal in
mind.
Do
you remember that friend in Elementary School who had
built their own LEGO creations? Sadly, I wasn't one of
those kids. I was happy just to build the designs that
were explained with instructions and a picture on the side
of the box. It always blew me away when a kid would show
me how they had built an entire football stadium, race
track, or airport. Then there are the grown up kids like
Google co-founder Larry Page who built a functioning inkjet
printer out of LEGO blocks while at University. Check out
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEGO under the 'Fan culture
and community' section and you can read more about incredible
LEGO inventions and the people who envisioned and then
created them.
Just remember, it's human beings that created LEGO, built
amazing things from it (fully functional padlocks, pendulum
clocks, and a harpsichord to name but a few), and it's
human beings who create the Internet, websites, and computer
technology. It could be time to have a little bit more
faith in yourself and in your personal systems of work
and production...You could be the next creator of something
that changed the world as much as Macromedia Flash...or
even LEGO! Find a system that works for you, let your imagination
run wild, and let us all see what can come from your personal
interests and unique individual perspective on life.
by
Jesse S. Somer
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