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Subject:Re: web animation From:SteveFJong -at- aol -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 15 Mar 2002 13:05:37 EST
I agree with Rebecca Stevenson <Rebecca -dot- Stevenson -at- workscape -dot- com> that Web
animation has its place. Like any technique or rhetorical device, it can be
used or abused. (Some responses have equated Web animation with advertising,
which I think is abuse, but wait a year or two and we'll reach
equilibrium--advertisers will strike an eye-catching balance between
unnoticed and unpleasant.) Mouseover actions, which are a beefed-up version
of tool tips, are an excellent device; if you count them as animations, I
think they clinch the deal by themselves.
Peter Newman <pnewman1 -at- optonline -dot- net> reminds us that "a lot of folks have a
slow connection" (currently I'm one), but generalizes that because of users
like us, animations cannot be used. I think it depends on the value of the
animation. I'll gladly wait for an illustration to download if it's something
I want to see. And we're not necessarily talking about large files here. I
animated the graphic on my home page. The original GIF file was 315x183
pixels, 16 colors, and occupied 50Kb. The animated version, created in Flash
and output to a QuickTime movie file, is bigger and has sound, yet occupies
only 18Kb.
One useful trick is that you can capture and save a single frame of an
animation with practically no effort. You could display a static image, and
let the user know that clicking on it starts an animation. ("Here's your
cake, sir. Would you like to eat it, too?")
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