Interactive QuickTime: Authoring Wired Media

Interactivity is one of the most captivating topics for today’s online community. It is a fast-growing field pushed by the rapid development and dispersion of Java, Shockwave, Flash, and QuickTime. While several good books are available about the interactive capabilities of Java, Shockwave, and Flash, until now there hasn’t been a book about QuickTime interactivity. A logical follow-up to QuickTime for the Web, this eagerly awaited book by Matthew Peterson details the power of QuickTime’s wired media technology and provides a resource for professionals developing and deploying interactive QuickTime content. This content can extend far beyond simple movies—it can act as application user interfaces, educational multimedia, scientific display panels, musical instruments, games and puzzles, etc., and can interact with you, your browser, a server, or with other movies.

Contents

Foreword by Steven Gulie
Preface
What This Book Is and Is Not
How to Read This Book
Explorations
Acknowledgements

Part I Background Information

Chapter 1 What Is Interactive QuickTime?
Explorations

Chapter 2 How Do You Play an Interactive Movie?
Explorations

Chapter 3 The Stuff QuickTime Is Made Of
What Are Atoms
Tracks
Samples
Sprite Track Samples
Sprites
Scripts
How to Make Interactive Sprite Tracks
Explorations

Part II Wiring Existing Movies

Chapter 4 Getting Familiar with the Tools
Explorations

Chapter 5 Customizing the Presentation of an Existing Movie
Explorations

Chapter 6 Digital Rights Management
Explorations

Chapter 7 Adding DVD Features
Explorations

Part III Sprite Worlds

Chapter 8 A Simple World
Explorations

Chapter 9 Talking with Sprites
Targets
Properties
Actions
Custom Actions
Custom Properties
Rotation Behavior
Explorations

Chapter 10 Collision Detection
Bounds Overlap
Radius Overlap
Point Testing
Explorations

Chapter 11 Cel-Based Animation
Picasso
Interactive Door
Looping Images
Inchworm Technique
Onionskinning
Coordinated Animation
Cel-Based Pushing
Cel-Based Dragging
Explorations

Chapter 12 User Interaction
Pop Quiz
Mouse Event Definitions
Checkbox
Mouse Hit Testing
Mouse Enter and Mouse Exit
Mouse Moved
Drag Manager
Double Clicks
Focus
Key Events
Keyboard Managers
Click Anywhere Keyboard Manager
Key Polling Manager
Explorations
Answers to Quiz

Chapter 13 Scripted Motion
Linear Interpolation
Easing In and Out
Motion along a Mathematical Function
Circular Motion
Paths
Spline Interpolation
Explorations

Chapter 14 Scripted Stretching
Bar Graphs
Drawing Lines
Perspective
Explorations

Chapter 15 Cloning Sprites
Making New Sprites
Cloning Sprites with Behavior
Disposing of Sprites
Explorations

Chapter 16 Modeling Physics
Forces
Friction
Collisions
Explorations

Part IV User Interfaces

Chapter 17 Buttons
Simple Buttons
Checkboxes
Components
Radio Buttons
Explorations

Chapter 18 Sliders
Explorations

Chapter 19 Text Input
Filtering the Input
Text Field Component with Border
Recursive Connections
Multilined Text Areas
Password Fields
Explorations

Chapter 20 Menus
Explorations

Part V Multimedia

Chapter 21 Audio and Video
Audio
Video
Loading Linear Media
Explorations

Chapter 22 Effects
Codec Effects
Explorations

Chapter 23 Image Overrides
Explorations

Chapter 24 MIDI Instruments
SoundFonts
Sampled Instruments
Explorations

Chapter 25 Text Tracks
Scrolling Ticker Tape
LCD Clock
Text Links (Hotspots)
Searching Text Captions
Explorations

Chapter 26 Flash Tracks
Controlling QuickTime from a Flash Button
Controlling a Flash Button from QuickTime
Controlling Flash Movie Properties
Explorations

Chapter 27 QTVR
Controlling VR
Multinodes, Hotspots, Cubics, and Maps
Explorations

Chapter 28 MovieTracks
Explorations

Chapter 29 Third-Party Tracks
Explorations

Chapter 30 Other Tracks
Video Tracks in Disguise
Text Tracks in Disguise
Timecode Tracks
Modifier and Tween Tracks
QuickDraw 3D Track
Streaming Tracks
Hint Tracks
PDF Tracks
Fast Tracks (FT)
Cursor Tracks
WorldWideVariables Tracks
Base Tracks
Explorations

Part VI Communicating with the World

Chapter 31 XML and QTLists
QTLists versus XML
Working with QTLists
Explorations

Chapter 32 Loading Data
Explorations

Chapter 33 Setting Up a QTList Server
About Tekadence Magik
Setting Up the Test Server
Explorations

Chapter 34 Sending Data to a Server
Launch the Server
Explorations

Chapter 35 Exchanging QTLists
Explorations

Chapter 36 Communicating with the Browser
Passing Data into a Movie
Explorations

Chapter 37 Dynamic Media
Explorations

Chapter 38 Intermovie Communication
IsMovieActive
Explorations

Chapter 39 Communicating with Applications
Explorations

Appendices

Appendix A Useful Numbers

Appendix B Math Functions

Appendix C String Functions

Appendix D QTList Functions

Appendix E Programming Techniques
Spatial Programming
Breaking a Loop
Exception Handling and Error Detection
Functions, Methods, and Subroutines
Calling Functions across Tracks and Movies
Recursion
Numerical Correction
Floating-Point Precision
Dividing by Zero (Epsilon Correction)
Random Number Generation
Custom Random Generator
Dictionaries and Lists
Debugging
DebugStr
Profiling
Lazy Constructors
Parallel Processing
Sustainable Hacking
Dynamic Script Evaluation
Collaboration

Appendix F Sprite and Track Geometry
Coordinate System
Spatial Properties
Distance between Two Tracks
2.5 Dimensions
Screen Updates
Matrix Transformations
Area of Sprites
Sprite Center
Two Points
A Point and a Line
Two Lines
Regular Polygons
Triangles
Circles
Spheres

Appendix G Graphics Modes

Appendix H Codecs

Appendix I General MIDI
Instruments
Drum Kits
Controllers

Appendix J Components

Appendix K QTText Tags

Appendix L HTML Embed Parameters
Embed Attributes

Appendix M Wired Actions

Appendix N Wired Constants

Appendix O ASCII Table

Appendix P Wired Sprites with Java

Appendix Q Web Links

Appendix R Contributing Developers

Appendix S CD Contents

Glossary
Index
About the Author
QuickTime Developer Series