Testing PHP locally in Flash using Mac OS X Leopard

I was working on a project that uses PHP to generate a directory listing of images for use in a Flash slideshow. After working on it for a bit, I realized how annoying it was to have to keep uploading the files to a server every time I wanted to test it.

The big O

Elect this man

Jersey Boys video billboard on display in Chicago

We recently created a new video animation for the incredibly successful show Jersey Boys. This video features motion graphics to let visitors know about the show and give them the ability to download a specially formatted version of the video to their cell phones. The video is prominently displayed at the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago, which is a major terminal on the Metra rail line.

Mercury Rev launches New Site

Curious Minds Media has just launched the new site of the experimental rock band Mercury Rev. This site combines strong design with usability to create an exciting new web presence for the band. The design was based off of the new album artwork for the band’s next release, and captures the mysterious, otherworldly feel of the album. For the Recent News page, we used an RSS feed which was generated from Mercury Rev’s WordPress blog to populate this page with the latest content. Another addition to their site is a customized mp3 player which was designed and created by Curious Minds Media to look like a vintage radio. This mp3 player was created in Flash and uses XML to populate the player with the songs. Check it out at Mercury Rev’s new site: www.mercuryrev.com.

Jersey Boys named 5th best theatre production of the last 25 years

Entertainment Weekly recently came out with their list of “The New Classics”, and named their 50 best plays and musicals of the last 25 years. Coming in at number 5 was Jersey Boys, the hit story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Back in 2005, when Curious Minds created the site for the broadway production of Jersey Boys, we had no idea that it would become a worldwide phenomenon, with shows across the U.S., in London and even Australia. For information on the various productions, check out Jersey Boys Info. Also, look for Jersey Boys near you at Jersey Boys Tour, Jersey Boys Chicago and Jersey Boys Vegas (all sites by Curious Minds).

Curious Minds video work on display in Vegas

This is a shot of the video screen outside of the Palazzo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The hit broadway show Jersey Boys opened at the Palazzo in April for a permanent engagement. The video we created for the show features footage from the production, text animations and spotlight effects to catch viewer’s attention and build excitement for the show. The video screen itself is huge (over 6 feet high) and is viewable from several blocks away on the strip. Check out JerseyBoysVegas.com to watch the video (site also by Curious Minds).

Flash Remoting AS2 vs AS3

One of the new things that was changed in Flash CS3/Actionscript3.0 was the way that flash remoting is handled. In AS2, You needed to create a pendingCall to your service’s method(s) and access them that way. In AS3, you make a direct call to the service’s method.

For details, and code examples on the changes, keep reading.

AS3/PV3D Loading Data

With actionscript3 comes alot of new changes. One of the most often used features of flash is importing/loading and dealing with external data. In actionscript2 you could use a movieClipLoader, or a simple load to achieve basically what you needed to do. With AS3, you have a little more control over the data that is being parsed, and what happens before, during, and after loading.

Jersey Boys Videos for The Palazzo

Curious Minds Media just finished a series of videos for the Las Vegas production of Jersey Boys. This hit musical will be premiering in Vegas in April 2008 at The Palazzo Hotel and Casino.

Papervision3D & Collada’s

So after tinkering some more with papervision, and doing alot of research dealing with importing collada’s, I couldn’t manage to find a working example almost anywhere online.

I finally managed to find a working (papervision3d-ready) model, and decided to setup a simple example of importing collada’s with good source.

View Live Demo