Review: Flux Time Studio (Animation for Children)
Skwigly
A new animation toy/tool has arrived on the internet waves from London-based, FluxTime Inc. One can now log on to www.fluxtime.com, and create personalized animation clips, which can be sent from within the site’s internal mailing system to friends and family, posted in the FluxTime gallery, or entered in one of many of FluxTime’s many contests.
Using Java technology, this tool can be used by anyone with internet access and a web browser that supports Java 1.3.1 or later. The interface is extremely easy to navigate, so as to make the program easier to use for younger users. This is by no means a powerful animation tool in which you can expect to make broadcast quality animation, as it is geared more towards younger users to the site, giving them an opportunity to experiment with making objects move.
To get started, a user would want to come up with an idea as to what he/she would like to animate. FluxTime offers within one of its menus, different “themes” or backgrounds which you can select from. Then the user can then choose objects or characters from another menu and place it in the background in the position and at the size needed. Objects can be used alone, or combined with others to give the character or object an original look and they can also be modified by selecting points within them, and dragging them to where you would like them to be, thus changing the its shape.
Once the object is finished and the action is planned, the user simply clicks the “record” button, grabs the object with the cursor, and moves it as necessary while the program records every move made automatically. Once the action is finished, the work can be seen instantaneously with the click of the play button. If any adjustments are necessary, it is possible to do so by moving the time slider at the top of the screen to the part of the animation in which the position needs to be adjusted, and dragging the object to its new position. Unfortunately, it appears that it is not possible to adjust the timing, but then, how many children are concerned about the timing of their work, as long as it moves the general direction that they want it to?
Once finished the animated piece, and the user is happy with it, the film can be sent to anyone with an e-mail address with the push of a button. It can be sent with a message or not, as sort of an “e-card”, or postcard.
The best thing with this site is that anyone can experiment and play with it for free. You do not get access to full member privileges such as advanced features which enable you to make more advanced animation, and saving and exchanging your clips, but you can play with the tools, thus seeing if the program might be something you would be interested in paying for all the full features in the future.
If you are a student who might be interested in experimenting in 2D animation, or a teacher who might like to teach your young ones how to animate basic pieces, FluxTime is a great tool for the kiddies to play with and let their creative instincts run free. Pricing of full memberships for individuals or educators can be found on their web site, as well as past pieces animated by other members, which you can view.