stop motion - double meaning

With two weeks to go until I expect to start user testing you'd think that Flash would be getting attention left, right and centre. Unfortunately not. The wheels have fallen off that wagon for a few days as I have hit the wall that is Action Script 3 and it not doing what I want it to. Nor does it help that I don't know any code, or know what the code can do, so I can't sit at it and work through everything cos I have nothing to start with!!

So, being the intuitive students I'm meant to be, I've turned my attention to the actual contents of the 3 interactive pieces. (This is one noticeable change that I can acknowledge between Narratives and Identities, there is always something that I can be doing).

I've now written the coded message which hides the word associated with me. It took a few goes to try and get something that sounded alright, and not just a random offshoot from my imagination.

-I tried a character profile form, where it basically gave biog details, but I didn't like that. So then
-I tried making an obscure witness statement about a man whose actions aren't clear from the text, but he hints towards the mystery word. But alas, I wasn't feeling that either.
-So in the end, I went back to my former English ways and made a poem. It's not that bad, maybe a bit cliché, but it does represent another side of my identity - my way with words.

I’ve reason to stay, you may not know why,
I’ll stand by you friend, not have you cry.

The new, all inviting, may tempt some away,
But I am devoted, I’m here, I remain.

To boost every high, and replenish the lows,
Friends are forever, never more alone.

I’ll defend, I’ll challenge, any would be assaults,
Regardless of flaws, detriment or fault.

So I’ve got your back, no daggers from me,
The truth remains; this is what friendship should be.

Next, I got round to making my stop motion piece. Secretly, I hadn't been looking forward to it. Memories of 'killer shoes' brought back a sense of frustration, and wanting to bang your head on the desk cos it wouldn't sync with the music, or I the camera work was shaky etc etc. However, this time it took just over 2 hours to shoot and amassed 665 photos, almost double what I'd been anticipating.

Something was on my side this time cos there were no real glitches at all, apart from the macro on the lens not focusing enough on some of the very last shots for a close up. But all in all, it went pretty smoothly. The edit required a couple of seconds of footage to be sped up/slowed down, but the soundtrack I sliced and put together sounds good, it synced almost perfectly on it's own and so now I give you, the final product -



I've sent for help on the AS3 front courtesy of Amazon.co.uk, so in the next few days I'll hopefully have some good news to post.

But for now, chao.

@