A frame represents
the content of the movie at one moment of time. So far, an animation is nothing more
as a succession of frames. You can control all these from the
Timeline, but
not all the frames have the same behaviour and can be treated equally. Let's see
what types of frames we can find and its characteristics.
KeyFrame They are frames with specific contents that are created to insert into the movie inexistent content. You can identify them by the black point that is in the center or by the black vertical line.
In the example of the "globe" that bounced on the ground, there are 3 Keyframes. One is for every different position of the globe.
Normal
Frame (Normal frame): These
frames always follow the keyframes, they do not represent new content and they are
gray.
The ultimate frame of a sequence of normal frames is represented by a white square on the gray background.
In the example, the frames from 2- 5 are normal frames, its content is not new, it is the same as the frame 1. As we see, its objective is to extend the length of a keyframe.
Frame
Container: They
are not exactly frames; they represent a place inside the Timeline where you can
insert one frame. By default, they fill the entire movie and Flash will not take
them into account during the publishing of the movie. In the previous image, there
are
frames
container
all
the frames starting from 12 (included). One from every five
frames container is
gray, the rest is white.
Empty
Frames: They
are frames with no content and their color is white.
In the image, the frames from 6 to 11 (included) are empty frames. We must not confuse them with the container frames, the last ones are limited by the gray vertical lines (not the black ones). If you insert something in these frames, they become Keyframes.
It is important to emphasize that Flash does not ignore these frames and will just show a blank image. So far if we want that one object appear in the frame 1 and after one more time in the frame 10. The frames from 2 to 9 might be empty frames because in this way the object will "disappear" and will appear again.
Labeled
Frame
Labeled
Frame: It has at the top a red "flag" that indicates an associated name.
This name is set from the Panel “Frame”. If the length of the frame is enough
you can read the name (or label) that identifies the group of the frames.
Frames
with Actions
Frame
with associated Actions: At
the top there is one "a" that indicates an associated action. These
frames are especially important, because these actions are "hidden" at
the beginning (in order to see them you must access the Actions Panel) they can
change the behavior of the movie. In the image, the action that existed in the frame
1 also affects the 2 and 3 frames (for being normal frames). The frame 4 has no
actions and the frame 5 does.
Animated
Frames: There
could be one of those two types:
1) Movement Animation Frames : They are characterized by a purple color and represent the move (with or without effects) of one object that becomes an inicial or final Keyframe. In order to represent this animation appears an arrow.
Movement
Animation Frame.
This image represents the example of the "globe". From the frame #1 we will pass to the frame #6, (Flash would represent the movement between both positions at the final movie) and from 6 to 11. Another movement.
2) Frames of Form Animation: They are characterized by a green color and represent a change of objects form that passes from its first initial form to its final. In order to represent this animation an arrow appears between the end forms.
Frame
of Form Animation.
This example is similar to the previous one, but represents the change of the globe form. In the 1st frame it would have the original form, in the 5th frame the form of square (for example) and in the 11th another different form.
In this final image almost all types of frames appear. Do you recognize them?
