Josh Sager Media: Creative Technologies Blog

A big thanks to Bittersweet Harvest for shooting and posting this video.

Here are the slide I promised. I hope you enjoyed the session.

Creative Interactions: Flash Experiments Slides

If you don’t mind, please let me know how I did.

http://speakerrate.com/talks/1563-creative-interactions-flash-experiments

Slides for the Intermediate ActionScript 3.0 Workshop

Tomorrow is FlashPitt 09 and I’m totally pumped!

My slides are ready, my jokes are horrible, and I’m all prepped and ready to go. I’m boiling with excitement over geeking out with some of the greatest people in the world. I’m really looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.  And I’m especially looking forward to the geek debates that I’m sure we’ll have over primanit sandwiches. So Cheers to FlashPitt eve, and all of the wonderfulness that is about to ensue.

P.S.

This year I’ll be doing a workshop on Intermediate ActionScript 3.0 and a session on Creative Interactions: Flash Experiments.

I hope to see there.  There’s an excellent line up this year and it would be insane not to come

I’ve been experimenting with new workspaces in Flash CS4.  Although I seem to make slight adjustments every few days this is the workspace I’m going with right now.

Timeline

I like having my timeline at the bottom, because it’s similar to my workflows with sound, video, and especially after effects.

Actions Window

I need a larger area for my code and this works well. I used to have this to the right, but I got a little claustrophobic.

Stage

This will change if I’m building the layout, or creating detailed animation. But if I’m just developing. I don’t need the stage to be huge. I just need a thumbnail of what’s going on.

Tools

I still wanted the tools to be visible and near the top, but not take up a lot of space. This just seemed like the natural place for them.

Properties Inspector

I use this panel a lot so I put it in the upper right hand corner just above the stage. So often they go hand and hand.

Libray

At times I’ll need my library, but not often enough to look at it all the time. So I’ll just command + L that bad boy when I need him.

Output messages

I have those tucked away under the stage. They’re going to pop up regardless. So I might as well have a home for them.

I may have spoke too soon in my last post. Adobe has a demo of Flash running on the iPhone as a tool for app development.

It still doesn’t solve the lack of flash content in the iPhone web browser, but it’s a good first step.

How Is It Possible?

They got clever. In Flash CS5 you can export to a .ipa (iPhone application). Brilliant. Instead of waiting for Apple to support Aodbe, Adobe has bridged the gap. Interesting move guys. (man I love this industry!)

Ohh and the best news yet. You can develop using AS 3.0 to make the apps.  Now that’s what I’m talking about.

(Shoutout to Ben for the tip)

A few weeks ago I was involved in an interesting conversation with some super smart people debating the future of Flash.  Everyone seems to have a different perspective ranging from not worried, to OMG the writing’s on the wall can’t you see it!? I must admit I’m a little concerned. But mostly due to the hype of HTML5.  I keep hearing that HTML5 is supposed to do a lot of things the Flash Player is already doing, and that it will minimize the need for a plug-in like Flash.

Plus that Goolge, Apple, and Mozilla are the major players in developing the HTML5 spec and so far Adobe has stayed out of it.  None of those companies really have a stake in the Flash Player so you can’t help but wonder where Flash fits in with the future of web content.

This week is Adobe Max 2009 and there’s a lot of buzz and questions floating around as to how Adobe will respond to HTML5.  Despite that fact HTML5 is not released or even completely speced out. I really hope Adobe makes a statement. Or a decloration of their future of the web and how Flash will be apart of it. But in all likely hood there will probably be a whole lot of no comments.

I don’t think it’s time to panic just yet, but it makes me really wonder about how the future will look.  It wasn’t that long ago that shockwave was the way to deliver “Flash Like” content, and Director has since then gone the way of the Buffalo.

Adobe seems to be focused on other areas at the moment. In this article Kevin Lynch was interviewed about Adobe’s take on HTML5 and where they see Flash. It appears that Adobe see’s a great need to secure the mobile environment. They appear to feel secure about Flash’s role in web content delivery, for today and tomorrow. I dig that Adobe is aggressively persuing the mobile market, there are a lot of users there, but I just worry about where the Flash Player will fit in with tomorrow’s internet. I’m sure they have something up their sleeve and will reveal it when it’s appropriate, but it just makes me wonder about a fractured market. Flash’s strength is it’s ability to deliver cross platform content easily, and if Adobe secures mobile delivery will they have to sacrifice the desktop internet market?

I don’t know… It’s something to keep an eye on.

In the very near future Adobe has the  Flash 10.1 release, rumored to take Flash Mobile content to that next level. What about the iPhone? Well Apple’s not on board with that. So we’ll have to wait. Apple is in no hurry on inviting Adobe to the party.  I just wonder if Apple will shut Adobe out for good.  Not just with the iPhone, but with HTML5.

It feels like the winds are changing and I’m really interested in what lies ahead. Adobe seems to think it’s a mobile world.  Which it may very well be and for now  we can still develop and enjoy Flash content. But I just hope Adobe hasen’t put all of their eggs in the Flash Mobile basket. The life cycle of a phone is much quicker than a computer so the climate of the mobile world could change at the drop of the hat leaving Adobe in the dust.

I still believe there is a huge need for our content to live and breathe with use.  To be as dynamic in it’s creation as it is in its engaging. Right now Flash gives web developers the best tools to content design in temporal space and as long as that is the case Adobe has the upper hand. But be weary there are uncharted waters ahead.  This might be the beginning of a climate change in the ever evolving internet landscape.

I’ve been getting more and more requests to put some of my music online. So by request I’m launching a music section chronicling my material over the last ten years. Although most of the listings are covers, I was surprised to discover I had a fair amount of originals. So as of today I’ll be releasing those originals for download.

At this time I’m not releasing any of the recorded cover songs for obvious reasons. However, you can hear me perform them live at various venues around Pittsburgh.

If you haven’t really heard any of my material before, I’ve been described as “fun and very nerdy”. Or once someone told me it was “borderline comedy”. I’m not really sure what that means, other than it being almost funny. Well I guess you can be the judge.

So without further delay Josh Sager Media - Music.

Yep This is Pretty Much a Tradition Now.

This past weekend Rachel and I took our now annual trip to SPX (Small Press Expo) in Bethesda Maryland.  It’s a not a bad drive from Pittsburgh and it gave us an excuse to see Justin Kownacki who now resides in Balitmore. Last year was our first experience and it was awesome! ( thanks to Joe Deferari and his lovely wife ) This year was even more amazing.

So What is it?

It’s a conference centered around short runs of screen prints, graphic novels, comics, hand made toys, zines, mini comics, t-shirts, and other various warez. Okay, before you glaze your eyes over you need to understand one thing. It is not a comicon! Nobody dresses up like bobafett. Instead its more like a graphic artist Saturday market.  There are tables and tables of hand made, self published, and small run materials. And most of it is very well put together.  You just can’t find anything like this anywhere else.

Not only can you buy lots of cool stuff, you can interact with the artists.  I love this part!  Everyone is so nice. They take the time to talk with you, answer questions, and sign merch.  Despite it being a customer service roll I found many of my favorite artists to be very charming, well spoken, and thoughtful.  Making me love them even more.

Okay So How Much?

The conference is only $10 for one day admission.  You can stay for both days, but Sunday loses a lot of moentium.  Most everyone is tired and maybe a little hung over from the after party the night before.  The good thing about Sunday is there is less traffic, but the bad thing is most of the really good stuff is all gone. So pick your poison. I prefer Saturday.

My Guide To SPX

Most of the materials break down like this

Graphic Novels

Establish artist will sell there books for around $20

There are lesser known artist with limited run materials typically made by hand that will go from $8 - $15

Prints and Various Artwork

Prints of artwork go from about $20 - $75 depending on the artist and the size of the work.

Mini Comics (my new favorite thing!)

These are small version of comics that fit into the palm of your hand

Typically created via home printer of copy machine

They range from they are $1 - $3

NOTE: Some artist will package all of there mini comics together in an anthology and sell that for about $10 - $15. SO KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Toys and Hand Made Warez

Many tables also offer hand made art in the form of screen prints, toys, and other hand made objects

This is a wide range. Anywhere from $5 - 50 depending on the object

Honestly you can’t bring enough money for all of the amazing things you can buy. If I sound crazy and excited, it’s because I am.

This Years Goods - And My Awards Go to…

By awards I really mean money

• FartParty by julia wertz volume 2  - (2009 Most Enjoyable)
• Carnival of comics vol2 by Jim8ball - (2009 caught my eye)
• atom bomb bikini by Robert Ullman - (2009 Best Line work)
• adrift by jpcoovert - (2009 Best use of blue)
• Rocketo by Frank Espinosa - (2009 Best Bargain $5)
• House print by Many dunn - (2009 Most Impressive package)
• Living is easy #1 by Jesse Lonergan - (2009 caught my eye)
• Crush all hu-mans by R stevens - (2009 Charmed me into buying a book)
• Pictures for sad children by john campbell - (2009 Surprise of the Show)
• American Eh by Heather Bryant  - (2009 caught my eye)
• Please Please by Nate Powell - (2009 solid material and all around nice guy)
• Sounds of Your Name by Nate Powell - (2009 solid material and all around nice guy)
• Breathers by Justin Madson - (2009 So glad they were there cause I took a risk on them last year)

Conclusion

This trip is like the kickoff of the fall time creative season.  I’m not sure what it is, but for me there’s just something in the air when it gets a little crisp.  It happens right around the time that you notice… HEY! Where’s all the sunlight.  All of my outside activities fade away and my brain starts seeking out creative projects like screen printing, painting, drawing, graphic novels, and writing.  My gears shift and I just want to hermit away making things all night long and into the weekend.

Maybe it’s the buzz after the trip. Maybe it’s the great conversation from the road trip. Maybe it’s the plans we make to “get a table next year” every year.  Whatever it is I’m hooked. This is one of my favorite events of the year.  As I read each of my treasures I get a little sad, but then also happy because tomorrow is one day closer to next years SPX. Somewhere out there, there’s an artist just as excited getting their material ready for next year. I just hope that I’ll be one of them.