Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
What Is Your Goal?
The very first thing you'll need to think about is the goal of your
movie. If, for example, you are creating a demo to sell a product, you'll
want to take a very different approach than if you're creating an
e-learning course that students use to get a certain type of certifica-
tion. One is “flashier” with perhaps more animation; the other requires
significant consideration of things like minimum passing scores and
integration with other learning systems.
You can use Captivate to create a complex, interactive movie that
plays only the sections that are appropriate to each user and tracks a
variety of user input for grading and integration with a learning man-
agement system. You can also use Captivate to create a quick
demonstration of a specific task that can be incorporated into standard
online Help systems. Captivate has the flexibility to do these things
and more, but this flexibility means that it's up to you to decide what
you need and how to implement it. You'll also save time later if you
make these decisions before you begin.
Note: Throughout this topic, you'll see references to both movies
and projects. Though similar, they aren't quite the same. Captivate
stores the information you enter in project files (with the extension
.cp) that can be used to create a variety of output movies (for exam-
ple, a standard Flash file with the extension .swf or an executable
program file with the extension .exe). When you create or edit a
movie, you are actually creating or editing the project files. The
movie itself (the output) isn't created until you “publish” it (see
Chapter 14).
When you first create a movie with Captivate, you'll need to specify
what type of movie you're making. Though there are other types, the
two primary ones are software simulation and scenario simulation. A
software simulation is primarily a demonstration-type movie that may
be used for training purposes. A scenario simulation assumes that
someone will be interacting with the movie, usually by clicking areas
on the screen or answering questions in a training environment. This
typically includes a grading or assessment component, and may inte-
grate with an external learning management system (LMS).
