synchronize with the actions on Stage. Then, add a stop action (using ActionScript) to keep the movie from looping back to the beginning it ends. 1. Select the Sound layer. 2. Select frame 47, and press F7 to insert a blank keyframe. 3. In the Property inspector, select Corny_birthday.wav from the Sound menu. The WAV file is already in the library. 4. Select Stream from the Sync menu in the Property inspector. Note The Sync option forces the graphics to sync to the audio, so that animation appears at the points you expect in the sound file. [View full size image] 5. Select frame 253 on the Actions layer, and press F7 to insert a blank keyframe. Frame 253 is where the audio file ends on the Sound layer. 6. Choose Window > Actions to open the Actions panel. You type ActionScript in the Actions panel. 7. In the Actions panel, type stop(); [View full size image] 8. Close the Actions panel. Using Tweens to Animate Objects Tweening is a quick way to create animation, whether you're moving an object to a new position, changing its brightness, or increasing its size. You set up the objects and their properties in the first frame, set up the final properties in the last frame, and then apply tweens to create all the steps in between. There are two kinds of tweens in Flash: motion tweens and shape tweens. Motion tweens affect movement or shifts in properties; shape tweens actually morph an object from one shape to another. For this project, you'll use motion tweens to gradually change the brightness of the background at the beginning of the animation, and then to move the cellphone and hand onto the screen. Tweening Brightness The background sets the stage for the greeting card. You'll tween the brightness so that the background objects gradually appear during the first ten frames. First, you need to convert the objects on the Background layer to a single movie clip symbol so that you can apply a motion tween to them. Note You could also tween alpha (transparency) values, but tweening the brightness is less processor-intensive and can therefore occur more quickly. 1. Select frame 1 of the Background layer. All the objects on the layer are selected. 2. Press F8 to convert the objects to a symbol. Name the symbol background_objects. Select Movie Clip for the Type, and click OK. 3. Select frame 10 on the Background layer, and press F6 to insert a keyframe. 4. Select any frame between frames 1 and 10 on the Background layer.