Kudos to publishers Friends of Ed for figuring out exactly what a beginning, intermediate, or advanced user of Flash needs, and writing books that deliver the appropriate material to each level. This entry in the Studio series is aimed squarely at intermediate Flash creators--those who are out there already "doing it"--and promises to perfect their techniques and hone their skills.
Calling upon a talented group of over 20 cutting-edge "Flashers" (working Flash professionals) to helm different chapters, Flash 5 Studio covers advanced site management, content creation (like Smart Clips, cartooning, video, and sound), dynamic content (interactive movies that feed content dynamically from separate data sources--for example, news headlines), ActionScripting, and issues that are crucial to partial or full Flash Web sites (like preloaders or optimizing Flash for search engines). The motto of the book: "deeper, more serious, more fully explained."

Each chapter teaches a specific technique or concept through examples that capitalize on the particular talents of that chapter's Flasher/author. For example, Nikhil Adnani is a talented and humorous cartoonist/animator from Canada...,and his chapter walks you through practical steps for creating charminganimations (such as making a cow strut), while dispensing good advice oncharacter design, making convincing movement, and optimization. RichardMapes ... provides an introduction to ActionScript principles; if coding seems beyond you, this might just clear the fog. From there, readers can explore scripting used in 3-D effects or object-oriented games... The CD-ROM contains project FLAs and SWFs, as well as color images from selected chapters, and trial versions of software.

The advantage of learning from a book many designers and coders have had a hand in writing is that you're guaranteed a discussion that includes real-life goals and pitfalls. Also, if the style of one chapter's author doesn't quite jibe with yours, perhaps the next one's will. You're sure to come away with a deeper understanding of Flash and ActionScript, and a whole mess of new ideas to try. --Angelynn Grant

Topics covered:

Site design principles
Content creation, including working with Smart Clips, combining Flash and external 3-D applications, cartoon animation, using video in Flash, sound, transparency, masking and text, buttons, and menus
ActionScript principles and creating with ActionScript, including simple and 3-D visual effects and simple and object-oriented games
Combininginteractive Flash movies that draw data from outside sources, including usingXML
Efficiently integrating Flash into a Web site, creating a preloader, and optimizing for search engines

I am fairly good at actionscript and the first 3 or four chapters were on design and variables, arrays, which I already know. Along the way they were giving other (not too great sites) a plug also. The best part is the actionscript that is already there. For one thing, I don't like to work in expert mode and this book demands it. Therefore you have to watch your syntax very carefully and it is a painstaking process. This book seems like there is only one way to actionscript in Flash (EXPERT) and I found that annoying because everything could be done in normal mode. I must admit the game is very cool and some of the code within the book is worth the money, but it leaves you lost in between. The XML for beginner section and some of the sound tips are good but be prepared to work in expert mode throughout this book which can be a real pain in the butt.

I am fairly good at actionscript and the first 3 or four chapters were on design and variables, arrays, which I already know. Along the way they were giving other (not too great sites) a plug also. The best part is the actionscript that is already there. For one thing, I don't like to work in expert mode and this book demands it. Therefore you have to watch your syntax very carefully and it is a painstaking process. This book seems like there is only one way to actionscript in Flash (EXPERT) and I found that annoying because everything could be done in normal mode. I must admit the game is very cool and some of the code within the book is worth the money, but it leaves you lost in between. The XML for beginner section and some of the sound tips are good but be prepared to work in expert mode throughout this book which can be a real pain in the butt.

This book is fantastic and will help get you started - but it does little to keep you on track. The steps are clear and concise, but I found myself with a pen correcting many things the authors left out. Simple things that will hinder your progress is left unnoticed. The authors are also very vague on some of the more advanced techniques.

The latter chapters are worthwhile however the tone of the book is annoying and condescending. This seems trivial but one wonders why the author(s) deliver content in this manner.

Tengo cerca de dos años desarrolando contenido web hecho en Flash, pero nunca pase mas alla de la simple programacion basica, pero este es el libro hecho para los Diseñadores Graficos que quieren -sin entrar en los problemas que nos puede dar el programar- intentar entender un poco mas el funcionamiento del programa, simplemente excelente!!!!!!!!!!

I already know actionscript (Foundation Actionscript by the same publisher is a better book if you don't know actionscript) and by that I know how to use duplicate moive clip, arrays, manipulate movieclip properties, pull dynamic content from a server. If you don't know that stuff, try another book, this one will just frustrate you. Also the first four chapters are absolutely worthless and should have been left out. Although they are written by Flashers with alot of notoriety, the authors of those chapters should be ashamed for writing in such condescending tones. Judging by the experience level required for the rest of the book, the authors of the first four chapters probably thought they were writing for a different book (for complete novices). If you skip past that waste of paper and get to the good stuff, there is some of the best actionscript code around- although I don't think some of authors go far enough (especially the chapter on interactive 3d) probably for fear of giving away their hard earned secrets! Its a very good book, just not the same caliber that Foundation Actionscript was.

Just buy this one. Ignore the first review with 3 stars, it caused me to not purchase the book first time. After returning 3 other flash 5 books, this is the ONLY one to own. It is clear and thorough. Real world examples and 3 chapters of data and xml (instead of 2 pages in the other).Great Website support that is actually online..

If you are a flash graphic artist and want to learn programming in flash, this book is for you. If you are a experienced graphic programmer with background in assembly language, Turbo Pascal (BGI Lib), C++ or DirectX/Direct3D wanting to use ActionScript to make flash do what you already know how to do in other graphics environment, this book will put you to sleep! The author spend too much time discussing the program logic than how to TELL FLASH what you want to do. For example, the author gives you a WHOLE program discussion in how to draw a bouncing ball in the screen. If you are a graphic programmer I'm sure that all what you need to know is where to put your main( ) function and how to tell flash where you want the sprite in the screen. Well, to learn that, you have to go to the several pages of explanation... "This is the ball, this is the width and height, the center of the ball is at height/2, this is the gravity variable, this is the ground _Y coordinate, this is the direction and velocity of the ball, when heigth/2 is the same or greater that ground _Y, change the _Y direction of the ball, blah, blah...". Don't take me wrong, if you don't know anything about programming graphics with math this is your book. If you are looking to learn ActionScript so you can port your existing graphic routines to flash to do the creative stuff you do in DirectX, this book can be quite too simple and annoying.

"flash 5 magic" is a good book because its the only one up until now which effectivly deals in any way with actionscript...but i think this one is better...the examples are cooler and the explanations are better and more thorough . if you got "new masters of flash" and thought it was kind of lame - a bunch of self proclaimed gurus trying to sound self important [okay one or 2 were very good] - you wont think the same of this book which sort of is what i expected "new masters" to be - tutorials... not some phony philisophical bs...i mean do we really care about mano's world view?

as i Flash developer, i own almost all the Flash book available in the market. After read and done the tutorial in this book, i found that this book really improve my knowledge on Flash(theorically and practically). The section i like most is the "3 D interactivity" part which i consider as one of the highiest skil level which all the flash developer should look into it(unless you already master it).It teach you from the theory behind the 3d and explain all the step in clear and understood. After finish this part, i am able to create my own 3d interactivity which you mahy only could see on the top flash designer site(eric jordan, James Paterson, YUGO Nakamura and etc).(ps: not do forget that the "3d" is not merely mean to draw and rotate a 3d box in Flash, nbut it lead you to the next dimension of space in Flash --the Z axis) besidethat, there are so many other useful and advance topics inside this book. If you are a advance user and already have many Flash book, missing of this book in your book shelf is your biggest mistake. if you are a intermiate user who wish to improve your skill to advance or master level, then no need to waste your money anymore, this is the only book you need(advice from a expereince user who hav buy a lot of book on Flash, and finally come to this book) hope my review will help you in the process of learning Flash...and save your money if possible.