Video Tutorial: Meet LoaderMax
If you’ve been wanting to try LoaderMax but you weren’t quite sure how it works or where to dive in, you’ve come to the right place. In this video tutorial series, Rich Shupe will walk you through the basics as well as some of the more advanced parts of the LoaderMax system. Rich is one of the most well-known authors and speakers in the Flash community, so it is quite an honor to have him doing the presentation. His most recent book is Learning ActionScript 3.0 (second edition) which I highly recommend. All videos are recorded in HD.
Here are the first 6 parts (each broken into 2 videos) in the series which will ultimately consist of about 12 parts (24 videos). Keep checking back for more, and make sure you follow @tweenlite on Twitter to get notified when new videos are posted.
Source files
Download the source files here
Videos
2:19
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Part 1 of the Flash on the Beach 2010 presentation
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2:08
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Queue loading, pause, resume, max connections, priority
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2:20
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List of core classes, plus learn to instantiate via the “new” keyword
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1:18
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Use the simplest syntax and get an image loaded quickly
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4:56
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Learn about the common properties and methods among loader types, optimize for interaction, set properties using simple inline object
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3:11
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Take ImageLoader to the next level by setting convenient properties with the “vars” parameter, auto-add to display list, center the registration point, scale and align
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3:22
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These slides explain the event system in LoaderMax and introduce the optional data classes like ImageLoaderVars, LoaderMaxVars, etc..
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6:15
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Create event listeners simply by passing a handler function name to a loader at the time of instantiation. Use a strongly typed data class, instead of an object, to customize a loader–taking advantage of method chaining in the process.
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1:24
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These slides explain how to simply feed an array of paths to LoaderMax.parse() to automatically crete a queue of loaders.
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3:39
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This video demonstrates the use of the parse() method to automatically instantiate loaders from an array of filenames.
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2:13
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These slides explain how to use the static getLoader() and getContent() methods to find your loader/content from anywhere. Also learn how to control playback of videos and MP3 files.
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5:51
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This video shows how to reference a specific loader or its content using getLoader() and getContent(), and how to add simple video control using nothing but VideoLoader’s built-in methods and properties.
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(more to come…)
More resources
Don’t miss the LoaderMax Tips & Tricks and Learning Resources pages. Looking for the LoaderMax class files? See the main LoaderMax page.
Is this helpful?
These videos actually take a lot of time and effort to put together – I’d love to hear if folks are finding them to be helpful or not. Post your feedback below.
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Comments (16)
FIRST AGAIN!
Thanks for the videos guys. Totally helpful! I’m already looking forward to the next batch. Rich I just ordered the 2nd edition of your book on Amazon. The first one was really helpful with my migration from AS2!
You guys really kick ass!
Thanks again
this is exactly what i was looking for. Thanks for the post.
Can I just say that LoaderMax is absolutely awesome, especially when concerning videos.
I’m currently working on a project with tonnes of bitmap assets, external swfs and videos and I would say the implementation of LoaderMax in the project has cut development time in half at least.
Great code, detailed documentation and fantastic support videos like these are what make Greensock great, my hats off to you gents, yet again.
Hey,
I am on a huge project with BBDO/Proximity working on a project called the ultimate Family reunion (Check it at http://www.togetherisamazing.com) And on this project I made extensive use of LoaderMax. I have worked with it and after some fighting really to say it is a great product, a lot lighter than Bulkloader (which still has a few methods I prefer of LoaderMax) but I find both together work in a seamless integration. Where this product shines is in long heavy loads of Thumbnails and larger images. I used via the Facebook connect API to retrieve user thumbs and photos from their facebook albums and it was great and easy to implement. In the end it works great and easy to control, and easy to clean up because no one likes to leave all those listeners hanging around.
Anyhow great job and I will send in some info on a few changes I think could be added to take this over the top soon.
Cheers My brother’s in FLASH ARMS,
Aaron James
LoaderMax is just great.
Great Rich, after seeing you presenting this in FOTB, now I really get it. Thanks for the videos and demo files.
@joaopapin
[...] Home: http://www.greensock.com/loadermax/ Video Series: http://www.greensock.com/loadermax-video/ Tips and Tricks: http://www.greensock.com/loadermax-tips/ Learning and Resources: [...]
I have done some experiments with your classes and i have to say they are really simple implementations of what would otherwise be very complex flash actionscript coding. Which is a good thing. Being an AS3 newbie and with no prior programming experience, would you say that using the gs at this stage is detrimental to holistic learning of the AS3 language and might reatrd my learning?
Somebody please give me an honest response.
No, Victor, using GreenSock tools like TweenLite/Max, LoaderMax, etc. shouldn’t be detrimental to your learning process. In fact, I think quite the opposite. One of the more discouraging things for beginners (especially designers) is the fact that it can take so much effort to do so little initially. Attention spans only last so long, and if you’re not seeing results, you can start to lose interest. Plus, the GreenSock tools are AS3 just like the built-in classes from Adobe (Tween, Loader, URLLoader, etc.). Either way, you need to learn an API and work with AS3. A lot of people just think GreenSock tools are more capable and easier to use than the basic classes that ship with Flash. If you’d prefer to use the more basic ones, go for it. But the trade off is that you need to be mindful of several bugs (especially in loading) that exist in Adobe’s stuff (which LoaderMax works around) and you’ll probably be writing a lot more code to do the same thing.
When it comes to tweening especially, almost no well-respected professional developers use Adobe’s Tween class. Virtually everyone uses something like TweenLite or TweenMax. So why burn a bunch of time learning the API and getting used to a class that you’ll eventually dump anyway when you realize its limitations and move to industry standards? Not that it’s bad or wrong – just seems a bit wasteful to me.
I know of several professional educators who make their classes use GreenSock tools, so that indicates (to me at least) that they must not be not detrimental to the learning process (after all, these guys get paid to teach ActionScript). Of course my opinion is biased, so hopefully others will feel free to chime in here and offer their opinions.
I’m loving these videos! I can’t wait to see what’s coming next. GreenSock rocks. Upstanding tools is all I have gotten from GreenSock packages.
I started with ActionScript 1 when flash 5 came out in 2000. Animated gifs was all the web had at that time in terms of animation. There are 4 special moments in my relation with flash: AS2 release, AS3 release, when BitmapData class came out with flash 8… and when I create the first Tween using GreenSock tools.
Thanks for the hard work,
A
This is great, perfectly understandable tutorials that you really grasp whatever it is you’re trying to do. Excellent!
LOVE these videos. I’m dying to see one where you dig into the XMLLoader class and get into all the crazy stuff to be done there…
The LoaderMax is so perfect as Tween, help me a lot, the dispose for all loading and event listeners are so usefull to manage the memory !
Thanks so much for these! They really help me to get started and take away that overwhelming feeling after looking at the download.
I definitely second the XML video production next!
LoaderMax is a revelation for those who have experience using the built-in Adobe classes!
Thanks for all your hard work Jack.
Thank you! These videos were very helpful. Well done!