LiveMotion 2.0

The big-box program looks much like other Adobe products when it's installed and running. The main editing screen uses separate panes for the graphic itself and for a timeline to help sequence images in an animation. Additionally, there are palettes to control animation parameters and a toolbox on the left containing the primary drawing tools.

LiveMotion 2.0 can animate text and graphics and you can lay down complex sequences of movement over time using the program's comprehensive toolset. While there may be tools for just about everything you want to do, you will need to practise and learn how to use them. Integrating objects onto the timeline and specifying how they move is not completely intuitive.

The big new feature of version 2.0 of the program is ActionScript, a scripting language which enables you to program your animations. ActionScript is a miniature programming language in the C++ and Java tradition, but aimed at its particular task of animation. There are plenty of samples scripts and good paper manuals included with LiveMotion 2.0 to help you learn how to use ActionScript, but it's fair to say it's not the work of minutes to learn.

Once you have got the hang of it, though, the scope of the application is greatly extended and you can produce all kinds of attractive but economical applets for anything from swanky Web site intros to mini-games and interactive multimedia content. You can even extend the feature-set of LiveMotion itself, by programming in extra menus and options. This is a comprehensive animation design application which will reward continued study. --Simon Williams

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