1 Comment// Posted in Online Tools, Web services by Jeremy Rue on 05.19.08.

Okay, I feel like I have been waiting a very long time for this. And now it finally has happened. Someone has built a completely Web-based Flash application over at http://sproutbuilder.com.

This is a momentous occasion for me. I feel like over the last two years, I have been wishing for this very thing to well, sprout up.

OK, enough with the puns. But this application is really really cool. It is, for all intents-and-purposes, Adobe Flash ultra-simplified, and it’s on the Web! And it’s FREE. You launch the Web app without having to download any software (except Adobe Flash Player, but there is a 97 percent chance it’s already on your system) Once inside, you can choose from a number of template themes, or opt to create your own. You don’t even have to setup an account to start using it.

Boy, did I put this baby to the test. I teach an Advanced Flash course at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and one of the first things we do is create a Flash template. A Flash template is simple but powerful. Basically it’s a Flash project with three sections, one that takes you to a Soundslides sections, one that shows a map mashup, and another that plays a video. I was utterly shocked when I found that I could do ALL of this, and MORE, with Sprout.

The interface is very much like Flash. You have a property inspector, tool pallet and a components window.  Building the project was absurdly simple. I didn’t have to click a help button once. Though, this is coming from someone who is quite familiar with Flash. I would imagine someone who has never touched Flash might need a few references to understand how the program works.

You can create buttons, multiple pages, add video, mashups, news feeds, twitter feeds, calendar components… and the best part of all, you never even have to touch a lick of ActionScript. I think that learning code is the by far the biggest challenge for people wanting to really do amazing things on the Web. And now the tools are making is just so much easier.

I tried looking for some of the fall backs to this program. And from what I can tell, there are very few. The major one is that the Flash file is hosted on Sprout’s Web site. They will give you the embed code to put it on your own Web site or blog, but you still are relegated to having hosted on their servers, which seems to be a major issue with news organizations that want branding. It would be nice if they let you download the .swf file — much the same way Picnik.com (a sort of online photoshop) lets you download the photos you edit.

Also, in the Sprout editing environment, there is no timeline. It only works with pages — which is how most advanced Flash projects are made these days. No one uses tweens anymore, unless you’re an animator. Flash has evolved to be something so much more; a non-linear storytelling platform.

It also lacks layer arrangement, which can be frustrating. If one element gets lost underneath another element, you are left using a set of “bring to front” tools to rearrange the layers. It’s a little finicky, and I wouldn’t doubt that a person could get left with a malfunctioned project, especially if it’s complex. But Sprout doesn’t seem like it’s the best platform for overly complex projects. It’s easy and simple. It’s all about User Interface, and that seems to be the emerging trend in software these days.

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One Response to “Sprout is Flash for everyone else”

1. Joseph Hollak says:

   June 4, 2008 at 8:30 pm

   Great post Rue.

   With so many digital journos wanting and needing “flash” packages it was probably just a matter of time before the gigantic Flash experience was automated down into something like Sprout.

   Have you used it for a published piece yet?

   Keep up the good work Rue,

   Joseph Hollak