While having a nose around the BETT Show this year I met the developer of Fluxtime Studio.

Fluxtime Studio is a web based environment which allows users to edit their animation online and live. How cool is that?

Very cool as an animation portfolio and environment allowing you to create, exchange and publish animation clips. It is fun to use and as easy to use and it does enable the user to be creative.

FluxTime Studio is free, and you can send your animation clips as e-cards to friends. If you like it and want more, then you can sign up and enjoy the more advanced features.

I am very impressed with the functionality of the application, allowing me to create my own scenes, objects and animations on the fly. Basically I can set the animation applet to record what I do and then play it back…..it spits out a saved animation which I can then review and demonstrate to other people.

Platforms & Environments:

Web browsers:
Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
Netscape 4.0 or later
Safari 1.0 or later

Operating systems:
Windows XP, 2000, NT4, ME, 98, 95
Linux kernel v 2.2.12, glibc v2.1.2-11 or later
Mac OS/X 10.2 or later

Hardware:
Intel Pentium processor or better
64 MB system memory or more
SVGA (800 x 600) resolution or higher

I’ve really enjoyed exploring this animation software….

I’ve been showing the application to people I meet, there are a few usability issues with it which I would consider for addressing.

I would…

• Refer to all users as ‘Animators’
• Create a gallery which allowed visitors to comment and debate about each animation created
• Terminology needs to be changed to fit with the younger audience at which this product is aimed & the interface needs to have ‘rollovers’ to allow animators to know what each function can actually do
• ‘Help’ needs to be simplified for the target audience
• It would be good if the reference code for each completed animation could be displayed so animators could include their animations on their websites.
• It would be brilliant if webusers could use this application to generate graphics for their blogs, title banners etc etc etc… this is more than a piece of online coolware for just animation, the possibilities are endless.

Overall, an excellent well thought out product. Try it.