As the Internet expands, software and hardware companies are fighting for standards. In the realm of animation for the Web, there are quite a few formats that have seemed to pull away. Zapa Digital Arts, a company based in Tel Aviv, Israel and California, U.S.A., now offers an animation solution aimed at small companies called MicroSites. The idea is to provide an easy-to-use program that develops sophisticated, Java-based animations for use as banner ads.

Here's a quick overview of animation on the Web. The main formats are Gif89a Animations, Shockwave, Java, and newcomers Flash and Dynamic HTML. Gif89a Animations are the most simple and crude of all categories, but require no plug-in and have zero complications. Shockwave produces sophisticated interactive animations that stem from the multimedia authoring of Macromedia's Director. However, they require a plug in for your Internet browser. Java-based animations, which is what MicroSites uses, are built on the programming language of JAVA, a highly powerful and complex programming code. Java support was integrated into Netscape and Internet Explorer so the problems that result from an "after-market" plug-in do not manifest themselves. Flash is another format offered by Macromedia, and uses vector-based objects to create multimedia animations. It also uses a plug-in, and so conflicts and browser crashes are a very real possibility. Dynamic HTML (DHTML) is a new scripting language based on HTML, that is extremely impressive and powerful. Unfortunately, it only gets support from the latest 4.0 versions of Internet Explorer, and limited support from Netscape.

In a broad comparison, Java is a good format to go with for now. By choosing Java, MicroSites makes a compromise between the complexity of Shockwave and Flash, and the simplicity and reliability of a Gif89a Animation. Java is a useful programming language and will probably never disappear.

MicroSites' Library of animation and clip art.

Getting Started
When I opened MicroSites, the first thing I noticed is its Director-like interface. It has a stage, where you layout your elements, and a cast, where it lists your elements with a thumbnail. It also has an effect menu, where you control--you guessed it--any special effects you apply to your cast. All other options are accessed through pop-up windows. Visually the workspace is very uncluttered. I do not know if the Director-style interface is the most intuitive, after all, this product is aimed at small businesses. Most small business owners have no familiarity with a professional multimedia authoring tool like Director so the idea of making it synonymous to make it easy to use is lost. It would be interesting to see a tool that strayed from this type of interface, but standards are standards.

If you feel totally lost when you open up the program you can always choose a template from which to build your animation. Zapa also provides a few tutorials to get you started. I think a good effort has been made to help an inexperienced user get through the program until they arrive at something they like. After all, this software is created for people who cannot afford to hire an outside artist/programmer or take the time to use a program like Director or learn Java code.

Zapa Digital Arts provides technical support for any problems you may have in using the program. Along with the updated graphics and banner templates available on their site, they also provide information on where you can place your new banner ad. I would not be surprised if this "turnkey" concept, an expression used to describe a complete system that covers all aspects of a process, catches on. This would be a good way for software developers to gain leverage over their competitors. After all, the less a customer has to do for himself, the more valuable the investment in a certain piece of software becomes. This is a good strategy for Zapa.

Rolling Up the Sleeves
Now to the good part; building an actual banner. With a quick glance through the tutorial, I was able to begin my personal MicroSite, an ad for Animation World Magazine.

My idea was to pose the question, "What do you read to keep up on the animation industry?" Then have my banner answer, "Animation World Magazine." A simple concept, and a good way to see how functional a program really is. How will I know what the program is truly capable of if I just follow the tutorial? I started with my copy. Adding a text item was easy. A mere click on a button brings up a dialog box, just like one we've seen millions of times before, into which to type the text. You can then choose your font, size, etc. Importing a graphic is easy too. One can choose from large collections of pre-made images and animations which are included with the program, as well as import your own. You can also obtain free updates from the Zapa web site. I tracked down an animation included with the program. It was a man in a suit reading a newspaper. How convenient. One can also include sounds for an enhanced multimedia experience, but I decided to keep it simple.