Free technical help for digital creators - music, video, art, photography, graphic & web design

Director pre-flighting by Matt Ottewill

First let us say this ...

TEST TEST TEST TEST ... how many time should we say it! YOU CANNOT TEST A PROJECT ENOUGH!!!!

Now then ...

Before you create your projector and master your project you must must! MUST!! check ALL the following ...

  • Have you set a Tempo in the Tempo Channel in the first frame of your movies of between 15 and 30 frames per second (depending on end-user system)?

  • If you are using looped playback, have you turned off movie looping in the Control Panel and made alternative arrangements in frame scripts?

  • Have you positioned the stage using the Modify > Movie > Properties menu / dialogue box?

  • Have you set a stage size of 800 x 600 pixels (to ensure maximum compatibility between Mac and PC systems worldwide) using the Modify > Movie > Properties menu / dialogue box?

  • If you have used JPEG images are you certain you haven't attempted to animated them? (JPegs must decompress to be viewed)

  • Unless you need transparency in your images (requiring 32-bit Photoshop files), you should ensure that your bitmap images are at as small a bit-depth (and therefore file size) as possible.

  • Have you included scripts in a stopMovie handler to turn off any sound files currently playing?

  • Have you included navigation devices to allow a user to Quit?

  • Are your complete project files (projector, movies, media folder and files, README.TXT file, Xtra's folder, QuickTime installers) inside an appropriately named folder (eg "music_cd") which you will drag into Toast to burn as a CDROM?

  • Have you named your projector "Start"?

  • Have you created a custom icon for you projector file?

  • Are your movie file links working?

  • Are you individual movie files no bigger than 20Mb each? If so have you tested how fast they load?

  • Have you initialised your variables (either emptied them or given them initial values) in a prepareMovie or startMovie handler?

  • Have you used preLoad scripts with on screen warnings to let and end-user know that pauses in playback are not crashes but due to cast media loading as you navigate between markers and movies?

  • Are your media and movie files named according to ISO conventions?

  • Are you movie files named with the ".dir" extension?

  • Have you protected your movies? (".dxr")

  • Are your QuickTime and linked media files in a folder entitled "media" and have you double checked that they are still linked?

  • Do your QuickTime files run OK from a CD-ROM?

  • Have you included a PC stand alone QuickTime installers? Click here to download one

  • Have you linked, rather than imported, any audio files over 1Mb in size?

  • Have you embedded any fonts used in Text and Field Text cast members using the Insert > Media element > Font menu?

  • Have you either embedded all the Xtra's your movies need in the first (projector) movie or placed copies of any Xtra's you've used during authoring in a folder named "Xtra's" on the same level as your projector?

  • If you have used animated GIF's, is the correct Xtra in your Xtra folder or embedded in your projector movie?

  • Have you entered Director copyright details into Movie properties?

  • Have you followed Apple's QuickTime guideline sand Macromedia's Director guidelines for displaying their logos (Made With Macromedia and QuickTime) and associated copyright text on your CD inlay artwork and on a project "credit" screen?

  • Have you arranged your project folder window so that when it's opened in the Finder only the "Start" projector icon, read_me.txt file and QuickTime installer folders are visible?

  • Have you tested your movies and tested and tested them again?

  • Have you had someone else test your project?

  • Have you tested your finished CDROM on another typical end-user computer?

  • Have you had someone else test your finished CDROM on another typical end-user computer?

  • TEST TEST TEST TEST ... how many time should we say it! YOU CANNOT TEST A PROJECT ENOUGH!!!!