by , 2:45 PM EST, February 25th, 2002
After announcing Photoshop 7 and releasing GoLive 6, both for Mac OS X, one might think that Adobe had done enough. One would be wrong, however, to do so. Adobe has also announced LiveMotion 2.0 for Classic and Mac OS X. LiveMotion is Adobe's Flash and animation development tool, and the new version includes many new features. From Adobe:
Adobe Systems Incorporated is now shipping Adobe® LiveMotion™ 2.0 software, the company's professional Web graphics and Flash™ (SWF) animation tool. This new version moves beyond basic Web animation with expanded content creation features, improved integration with Adobe's Web and dynamic media tools, and powerful new scripting capabilities.
Web professionals are increasingly using animation to attract and engage Web audiences, but creating sophisticated animations has traditionally been time and resource-intensive. As companies look for ways to differentiate their sites, they need cost-effective tools that enable their designers to create engaging content, while ensuring content can be repurposed and deployed for other electronic delivery platforms such as CD-ROM interfaces, promotional kiosks, and handheld devices.
LiveMotion 2.0 speeds production time through tight integration with Adobe's professional Web design and dynamic media tools, including Adobe Photoshop®, Illustrator®, GoLive® and After Effects® software. Through a new After Effects plug-in available on Adobe.com, registered users of After Effects can transfer their skills from film to Web by exporting complex animations from After Effects 5.5 to LiveMotion 2.0 using the XML-based Adobe Motion Exchange (.AMX) file format, where they can add interactivity and optimize for web deployment. Additionally, interactive content created in LiveMotion can be exported to SWF with streaming MP3 audio, and QuickTime videos for Web delivery.
With support for ActionScript, LiveMotion 2.0 fits easily into existing Flash workflows, enabling developers to easily transition back and forth between LiveMotion and other Flash authoring tools without having to learn a new scripting language. LiveMotion 2.0 now lets Web professionals move beyond basic Web animations to dynamic Flash applications, XML-based chatrooms and high-end interactive content.
In addition to supporting ActionScript, LiveMotion 2.0 includes the ability to automate and extend the entire authoring environment through automation scripts. Web professionals with minimal coding experience can use the new Live Tabs feature to apply complex scripting to quickly create interactive, dynamic animations without writing a line of code. In addition, automation scripts and Live Tabs can be shared using the Adobe Xchange site, allowing greater collaboration and benefits for designers and developers worldwide.
LiveMotion 2.0 is available now. The full version is priced at US$399, but Adobe is offering an introductory price of US$199. Upgrades are available for US$99. LiveMotion 2.0 works with OS 9.1 and above and Mac OS X. You can find more information on LiveMotion at Adobe's Web site.