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Using the hotspots in a VR
I'm using eZediaMX as my authoring environment where I'm going to take
all of my bits and pieces and mix them together to create something unique.
In this next frame you can see that I have a document frame open (File >
New > New Document). I know I'm going to drag in a picture for the background
that I will make slightly transparent. The predominant color in that picture
is going to be green. To enhance that color effect, I'm going to also color
my frame green. (Frame > Frame Setup > Color). I've already decided
to create my title as a text box which I then made transparent (single
click!) and converted to a graphic image. I'm now ready to bring in my
background photo.
When I clicked on the graphic icon (3rd from the left in the picture
above, the Open dialog box pops up so I can navigate on my hard drive to
where the file is located. Your computer will be different from mine. In
fact, it is most likely far less cluttered with projects of every type than
mine!
My picture has been located and is now on my frame. I'm dropping the
transparency level of my photo so the vr will stand out on the frame. Remember
to right-click on the picture, choose Edit Graphic and then choose the icon
on the bottom to fade out the entire picture. A slider bar will immediately
appear on the left of the picture (you might have to slide the Edit Graphic
box out of the way), and you can slide the button down until you get the level
of transparency that you want.
If you choose the icon on the top, you'll get a cross-hair when you move
into your photo which is asking you to pick a single color to fade. You
also won't get a slider bar until you do pick a color. That's a good cue
that you went the wrong direction. Even if you did pick the wrong command,
don't worry. Just click on the other icon instead. It's that simple!
With the graphic in place and still "selected", click on Objects >
Add to Background. This will put our large graphic in the background with
our title on top.
Adding our vr to the frame was quite easy. In eZediaMX, pretty
much anything that "moves" - movies, sound files, vr's - you bring in by
clicking on the first icon that looks like a piece of movie film and then
navigating to where your file is on the hard drive. You can see my mouse
cursor over the movie icon in this next picture.
Our faded image in the background makes an interesting contrast to the
vivid color of the vr we've added to our document frame. However, when
I brought it in, I thought that the contrast wasn't great enough, so I
created a rectangle with the shape tool, right-clicked and went to Edit
Graphic and then clicked on Fill to change the color to a dark green. Once
I was certain where I wanted the rectangle and the vr, I added the rectangle
to the background.
By itself,
this would be a nice frame, but I want to make use of the hotspots. I'm going
to drag out the corner of the frame so I have a larger work area and I can
place my next few objects out of the way. In this next picture, you can see
the frame expanded. Later, we'll drag the outer edge of the frame in to be
tight around the background picture.
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Our first step is to grab
a container object (10th icon - looks like a jar). We want to double-click
on the container object and using the drop-down menu next to Type, choose
VR HotSpot Collector. Notice that we've left Visible checked. I'm presuming
that you don't know where all the hotspots are and this little container
is going to help find their code numbers. You'll use those numbers to control
some actions. Click OK when you've finished making the changes to this dialog
box.
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Run or Preview your project.
As you cruise around the vr with your mouse, you're going to see the numbers
for the vr hotspots show up in the container object. Write those down. You'll
need them in a minute. Pay attention to both the number and what part of
the graphic in the vr had that number.
Look at the picture above. We've got our container and now I've added
a branch object. (It's the icon next to the container in the toolbar.) We
want to do a couple of things with the branch object. First, we're going
to double-click on the branch object and put in the code numbers for the
vr hotspots we found. Before I forget, the most frequent error I find that
I make when doing this is to type a period, instead of a comma between the
numbers. Check that first if you run into problems.
Next, we'll draw a link FROM the container object to the "empty" part
(the input area) of the branch.
It's not going to matter if you fill in the code numbers in the branch
object before or after you link to it. eZediaMX isn't fussy that way.
Here's how this is going to work:
1. Information will flow down the link from the vr to the container object.
2. Information will flow from the container object to the branch object.
3. The branch object will check to see if there's a match anywhere.
At the moment, we don't have any actions attached to the code numbers
in the branch object even if we did find them. Let's take care of that.
I've brought in MP3 files (remember to use the movie icon to bring in
sound files) that are narrations of what's significant at each hotspot.
Notice that I've drawn a link FROM the particular hotspot in the branch TO
the MP3 file that I want to play when people click on the hotspot.
Comment: This is another place where eZediaMX becomes
an extremely powerful tool. I've chosen to add narrations that talk about
the plantation. Someone else might use the hotspots to talk about vegetation.
Still another individual into literature might use the vr to point out common
landscape features that might have influenced an author's choice of setting.
With eZediaMX, you have that flexibility to swap out a few voice files and
reuse your existing resources in new ways.
Next issue:
I've got 5 MP3 files I'm putting in this project that
will fire off individually when people click on the hotspots to which I've
assigned the audio clips. We're going to add a couple of other eZediaMX
objects to our mix so that after each file plays, it stops, the hotspot
is cleared from the container, and clicking in the vr won't cause anything
to play unless you click on another hotspot.
I've clicked on the control object (9th icon from the left and right next
to the container object) and dragged it near the MP3 files. (I know I talked
about having 5 files, but I'm only showing 2 in this example.) I then double-clicked
on the control object and changed the properties to Stop Movie. I know we're
using an audio file, but remember that to eZediaMX, an audio file and a movie
function pretty much the same so it would have been redundant to make up
separate commands when one thing does it all.
Here's where we select "Stop Movie" in the Control Object.
Notice that visible is unchecked in the control object box. We don't need
to see it for what we're doing.
With the control object in place, I then make a link FROM each
MP3 file to the control object. Notice that I only need 1 control object.
Also, notice that "Activate" is set to Link Only. You can choose that option
from the drop-down menu or eZediaMX will automatically switch to that when
you draw a link to it.
Pay attention:
In this next image, I've removed some of the other elements so you can
pay attention to the link going from the MP3 file to the control object labeled
"Stop Movie." This is one situation where you can use the extra power
of eZediaMX to do something that normally would have required programming
previously. If you double-click on the link going from a movie or an audio
file to a control object, you will get the Link Object information box that
I show in the image after this one.
Link Object Information Box:
Notice that we want to refine our logic just a little more. We're going
to change this link to activate when the movie/sound file ends. That will
send the information to the control object that it is definitely time to
stop the movie/sound file.
My next move is to bring in the second container object I mentioned earlier.
Notice that I am setting it to be a standard container and not one that collects
hotspots. This container is just going to pass information from the control
object back to the hotspot container and tell it clean house every time
the control object stops an audio file.
Here you see our final setup. Let's walk through it one more time:
1. Information flows FROM the vr TO the container object that is collecting
hotspots.
2. The hotspot container object sends that information to the input area
on the branch.
3. The branch searches for a match among the codes it contains.
4. Finding a match, such as code 1,1, it sends information down the link
to the MP3 file named "Home" and says play.
5. The link connecting the sound file to the control object knows that
as soon as the audio file quits playing, its supposed to tell the control
object to make sure it doesn't play the audio file again.
6. When the control object receives the information that the audio file
is finished playing, it sends a notice to the other container object that
is just sitting there collecting information sent to it.
7. The "Empty" container object has been set to "Start Empty." So, it
passes that command to the VR Hotspot container object and says clear the
decks!
The result is that just clicking on the vr after an audio file plays will
prevent it from playing again unless you deliberately click on that particular
hotspot to make the audio file play a second time.
Now the only thing we have left to do once we are all finished is to drag
in the corners of the frame to hide our logic activity under the carpet.
Don't worry. Even if it was on the frame, you wouldn't be able to see any
of the bits and pieces when it plays UNLESS you had not unchecked the "visible"
option on the items. If something shows up on the frame you weren't expecting,
the most likely reason is that you forgot to uncheck visible.
That's all there is to it. To summarize,
1. Bring in a vr
2. Get a container object - set it to collect hot spots and make sure
it is visible - and draw a link from the vr to the container object.
3. Play the project and locate the code numbers for the vr hotspots. Write
them down.
4. Bring in a branch object.
5. Draw a link from the container to the input area on the branch object.
6. Double-click on the branch object and put in the hotspot codes.
7. Bring in your audio files or whatever.
8. Draw a link from the vr hotspot code in the branch object to the appropriate
audio file.
9. Add in a control object.
10. Link the audio files to the control object.
11. Set each link object to fire when the "movie" ends.
12. Add in another container object. Uncheck visible. Make it a standard
container. Tell it to start empty.
13. Draw a link from the "start empty" container to the vr hotspot container.
That's it!
Don't forget to save your project.
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