I apologize for what must seem like a basic question here, but can someone explain the chief differences between the programs Swish and Swift3d? Advantages, disadvantages? All of the animation work I have done to date has been for .avi, .mov, .mpg, .rm or for film and/or NTSC broadcast. I am not at all familiar with Flash animation but have become interested after seeing some of the work being done for the web. These are two programs that seem to get mentioned quite a bit. Any help and/or advice is most appreciated. Take care and be well. casamerica

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The little I know about the Swift ones are scaled down versions of the Bigger Flash programs...anyone jump in and correct me if im wrong...I've been trying to learn it better myself do do websites with...seems easier and more flexible...more fluid...still a newbie with it my self...

Swish is a program that automates creating .swf content, the format that Flash creates. Swish is great for quick text effects that are time-consuming to create within Flash, but they can then be imported for further integration with a larger Flash website. Swift3d is a program for turning 3D content into .swf format, usually for including into a Flash designed web site. I haven't used it, but have heard that it can work well, with some limitations on how 3D content is created. Flash is for designing low-bandwidth web animation. It can also be used for more demanding applications, like full web sites, dynamic web catalogs (usually using Dreamweaver, also from Macromind, for creating the back-end links to live databases,) games, and sometimes for video, (titling usually.) Flash has a timeline/layering interface with a scripting language in the backround that more advanced users can access and write in, similar to javascript. The latest version allows for importing certain types of video files directly. Director, another Macromind software, can also create .swf files as well as it is well known for stand-alone applications. (i.e. CD games and multimedia pieces.) Director can also import some 3D content and create some as well. Director has a STEEP learning curve, but is also comparably EXTREMELY powerful. 3D content can be linked to live databases, and dynamicaly be transformed according to the info contained there. (Think of a 3D Wall St. ticker, with the various companies stock prices changing size, position, color, etc. as the prices fluctuate.) Hope this helps.