Snorkl.tv is here to inspire and train you to take your basic Flash and ActionScript skills to the next level. Since my early days as a Flash enthusiast back in 1997, I’ve always been enamored by how much can be done with Flash once you have a moderate understanding of a few basic techniques and code concepts. There is simply no singular tool / technology for creating such rich, dynamic, and interactive multi-media experiences than Flash. Period.
I get great satisfaction from seeing my readers experience that “light-bulb” moment of “I finally get it” or “”Wow, this is so easy, I can now finally build that thing I’ve been dreaming of”.
There are a lot of Flash blogs out there that do a tremendous job of teaching timeline basics or advanced ActionScript concepts. Snorkl.tv aims to help the tweeners (between beginner and pro) get that turbo-boost to Flash stardom.
If you’ve taken an introductory level Flash course, or perhaps have been tinkering with Flash for a few months, I have a bunch of tricks up my sleeve that I would love to share with you.
I’m Carl Schooff and I’ve been developing websites and rich media advertising for over 12 years. I started my career as “image optimizer” back in the dial-up days at Frankfurt Balkind where I got to work on some high profile projects for Goldman Sachs, about.com, Informix, RCN and others.
My role had me smack-dab in the middle of many talented designers and developers. It was a great opportunity to experience what happens on both sides of the project-creation fence. I quickly found I had a natural inclination for problem solving and building things.
My next big career opportunity was at an interactive start-up called atmosphere which was on its way to being BBDO New York’s official interactive partner. I was hired as a developer to build Flash and HTML websites.
Being part of the “founding 31” of the world’s third largest advertising agency’s North American headquarter’s interactive branch in New York City was an amazing experience. Not only did I get exposed to many diverse Fortune 500 clients, but I got to work alongside some of the most amazing people.
The clients I worked with included GE, Frito-Lay, Financial Times, NYSE, Office Depot, Cingular, AT&T and many more (portfolio coming some day).
Within a short time at the tender age of 29 I was promoted to Technical Production Manager where my responsibilities shifted from development work to management. It was a wonderful job “on paper”, but I wasn’t really well-suited for it. My day-to-day shifted from building cool stuff with ridiculous deadlines to being cc’d on over 100 emails pertaining to multiple projects and sitting in countless meetings. Ugh.
After 5 years of being in the literal trenches of “the client needs this now” battle I was totally shot. Done. Finished. I left atmosphere to pursue a short career of manual labor, low pay, and a work day that ended at 5:)
During that time of mindless employment I found myself meddling with Flash in my spare time and having a blast re-learning all things I had gotten rusty on. I forced myself to build things just so that I could learn exactly how things should be done. I was basically putting myself through my own Flash-school gearing myself up to take on some freelance work and also try my hand at teaching.
I’ve spent the last 4 years teaching literally hundreds of people Flash and Dreamweaver classes at Noble Desktop in Soho while also doing a great number of freelance Flash jobs. The balance of teaching and doing freelance work has been a refreshing shift from the brutality of agency-life. Most importantly, I get to work from home and see my family while servicing my clients in New York, Virginia and as far away as Switzerland.
In the past year I’ve had two projects that have consumed many hours. One is a baby human and the other is a baby blog.
Snorkl.tv has been my way to give back to the Flash community and to also build my credibility as a developer and instructor outside of my network of clients and co-workers. For my entire career, there have been a number of sites and forums that would provide the exact information I needed on a project. I figured it’s my time to contribute a bit and see what kind of content I can produce on my own.
I remain amazed that after only a short while I’m getting around 10,000 visits per month from all over the globe. I couldn’t be happier with how well this thing has taken off. I really look forward to growing this blog and building up the community that has been forming around it. I have some amazing readers that go to great lengths to participate in what’s happening around here and also spread the word to other folks.
I’m tremendously grateful for all the people who have kept me going and the new ones I meet every day. There is so much more to come.
Thanks for stopping in.
Carl
