Columbia College Chicago
Programming for Interactive Multimedia I

Review for Test 3

Here are the concepts and terms you need to know, and examples the types of questions that I may use to test what you know. Be ready to comment, debug and write scripts!

THE STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW

I. Puppeting: The Punch and Judy show

.puppet (sprite property)
puppetTransition (command)
puppetSound (command)
puppetTempo (command)

II. Controlling sound

compatible audio file formats (.wav, .aif, RealAudio, SWA(shockwave audio), .mp3, QuickTime)
controlling with the score
the soundEnabled (system property)
the soundLevel (system property)
sound(channel).play(member (optional))
sound(channel).pause(member (optional))
sound(channel).stop(member (optional))
sound playFile channel, filename&path
cuePoints, cuePointNames and cuePointNumbers (what are they good for?)
optimal sampling & quantizing rate for Director
benefits of linking versus importing sound into cast
parameters of a sound file (loop,

III. Controlling video

compatible video file formats (.mpeg, .avi, .mov (QuickTime), RealVideo, ASF (Microsoft's Advanced Streaming Format)
video properties --what they are (Direct to Stage, loop, crop/scale, show controller, paused, streaming, play sound) and what they mean

controlling with the score

movieRate -- (sprite property-- play, pause, reverse at normal/fast speeds)

movieTime--(sprite property--units, what's the beginning of the movie, why might you use it (other than to get to the beginning of the movie))

IV. Programming structures revisited again
(No, you can never escape)

single selection structure--if . . . then
double selection structure--if . . . then . . . else
multiple selection structure--case . . . otherwise
condition controlled repetition -- repeat while
counter controlled repetition--repeat with

QUIZ QUESTION TYPES

I. For the content described above you will either need to fill in the blanks

Examples:
A. The suggested sampling rate for audio files to be used in Director is ___________kHz.

B. If the __________________________ property is selected, the video will always be the top sprite(layer) on the stage regardless of it's channel number.

II. . . . or you will be asked to identify sections of code

Examples:
A. In the command
puppetSound 5, "k-k-k-katy"
-- What does the 5 represent? --Answer: the sound channel number
--What does the "k-k-k-katy" represent? --Answer: cast member name of the sound to be played

B. In the command
puppetTransition 11, 1.5, 10, FALSE
--what does the FALSE mean

III. . . . or you will be asked to debug code

Example:
A.
repeat while i= 1 to 10
sprite(i).visible = FALSE
end repeat

the proper repeat structure is repeat with i = 1 to 10

B.
on mouseUp me
sprite(3).movieRate = 1 --plays movie in reverse at normal speed
end mouseUp

to play in reverse it should read sprite(3).movieRate = -1

C.
on enterFrame
if sprite(3).locH < 60
sprite(3).locH = sprite(3).locH + 3
end if
end enterFrame

missing the "then" -- first line of statement should read if sprite(3).locH < 60 then

IV. . . . or you will given several lines of code and asked to comment them

Examples:
A.
repeat while sprite(3).locH < 300 --while the horizontal location of sprite 3 is < 300 sprite(3).locH = sprite(3).locH + 1 --move sprite 3 to the right one pixel
updateStage --redraw the stage to show this!
end repeat

B.
puppetTransition 37, 2, 20, TRUE (37 is venetian blinds)
--uses venetian blinds transition over 2 seconds in 20 chunks over changing area only

V. Writing code (you will be able to do this in Director and use your book/notes, but time will be limited)

Examples (you'll be able to choose one):
Create a movie with two sprites move across the stage and stop before they reach an edge. Each sprite must change state in a different way on a rollover (either move, change color, fade in or out, or rotate . . . ). Each sprite must take the user to a different marker. You must do this with Lingo in one (1) frame.

Create a movie that controls either a video clip or a sound clip.
You need *at least* a play button and a stop button.
The sound clip can *not* be in the sound channel in the score.
The video clip can *not* use the controller.
You must do this with Lingo in one (1) frame.

EXTRA CREDIT

Write a script that displays a random number whenever a button is pushed. (See examples.dir file in zipped file progIMMex.zip 936K)

How would you synchronize events in a Director movie with sound or video?

Add a volume control to the sound file (if you did that one), and a mask to the video (if you did that one). See movie control example in zipped file controls.zip (15+ megs). You can also download the individual .dir file from the FTP site)

References:

Chapters 9, 11, 12, 18, 20 in Director 8 Demystified.

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