In the spirit of open source I have added the source files for my first go at creating a video mask in flash. The source can be found at the bottom of my post: Inventing Flash Video Masks (Part 2)

A little while back I made an attempt at making dust in flash, and I would basically say I failed at it (though I didn’t give myself much time). I thought I would try it again. I am fairly happy with my first test. The hardest part is that you run the risk of it looking like snow if its falling too fast, but I kept its speed up more so you can see it easier.

Each particle is looking at the background and adjusting their opacity based on the surface they are over. So if it is in a dark area they tend to fade out, etc. Note: I claim no rights to the image used in my test. It is a random grab from Flickr.

Demo (click and hold your mouse down to see the particles over black)

Source

I just flipped the switch on my latest project; The rebuild of the Manifest Digital site. I have to say this is one of the most ambitious projects I have taken on so far, but I am happy with the results (for first launch at least). We have more plans for it in other soft launches, but for the sake of time (and having an actual site up), this is a good place to start.

This was my first use of Papervision 3D, and second (heavy) use of AS3, so it was definitely a fast learning experience. Total working time was about 90+ hours over 1.5 weeks, and the final results was just over 2,500 lines of code. Honestly the amount of code isn’t a bragging point as I would be much more proud to be able to say it was 1 line of godly-efficient code, but the idea that I had to write that much in the past couple weeks even makes myself sick.

Anyway, Take a look for yourself:
http://www.manifestdigital.com

Update Fri 13, 2008:
I was just informed that the site got a spot on NotCot which gave us a decent bump in hits. NotCot is one of my favorite places to explore, and of course the one day I don’t get a chance to go Manifest slips by. Anyway, you can check it out yourself.