Pack your bags for the Lost ActionScript Weekend. In this unique DVD training series, you'll learn how to program in ActionScript 3.0 with world-renowned ActionScript guru and educator Colin Moock. Course 1 starts with the basics and moves into intermediate programming techniques. Sit down in a relaxed outdoor setting with Moock, artist James Paterson, and technologist Hoss Gifford in this unique and intimate learning experience.
Based on his bestselling O'Reilly book, Essential ActionScript 3.0, and his successful "ActionScript 3.0 From the Ground Up Tour," Moock teaches everything you need to know about the core ActionScript 3.0 language, as well as visual and interactive programming topics and code production issues. Share the fun, the energy, and the excitement of programming with Moock and his friends in a relaxed outdoor setting, and get a firm grounding in ActionScript programming.
If you want to delve into the advanced aspects of this language, check out Course 2 of this series!
Course 1 of the Lost ActionScript Weekend includes:
* Introduction to OOP (Object-oriented programming)
* Application structure and design principles
* Classes, objects, and packages
* Methods and variables
* Garbage collection and memory management
* Inheritance
* Encapsulation
Forget classrooms. Forget intimidation. Get inspired -- and get lost in ActionScript 3.0!

1. Introduction 28 minutes
Get to know the world of ActionScript 3.0, the spirit of Flash, and your intrepid instructors.
2. OOP Overview 17 minutes
Enjoy a gentle introduction to the fundamentals of object-oriented programming, including classes, objects, methods, and variables.
3. The Virtual Zoo and Packages 15 minutes
Take the first steps in building a "toy-pet simulation" game.
4. Making a Class (Free Preview) 10 minutes
Learn the syntax and structure of classes, the building blocks of every object-oriented program.
5. Constructor Methods 4 minutes
Learn how to initialize objects, and create a program's entry point.
6. Making an Object 8 minutes
Create new objects from a class using "new syntax" and "literal syntax," with a little help from the "import" statement.
7. Variables and Instance Variables 18 minutes
Use variables to create object characteristics and to keep track of objects, then learn how to isolate parts of a program using encapsulation.
8. Constructor Parameters 5 minutes
Learn a convenient way to give new objects their initial characteristics.
9. Object References and Garbage Collection 25 minutes
Learn to refer to a single object from multiple parts of a program, then study the princi ples of memory management in ActionScript. Remember, values are not socks!
10. Methods 11 minutes
Give objects custom behaviors, such as "jump", "eat", "submit", or "accelerate".
11. Public Methods 14 minutes
Learn why objects should be built like a black box, with controls on the outside and internal functions on the inside.
12. Method Parameters 9 minutes
Use "parameters" to make an object's methods configurable.
13. State Retrieval and Modification 23 minutes
Use "modifier methods" to guarantee that an object won't break when supplied with illegal input.
14. Static Variables 11 minutes
Use "static variables" to keep track of global information and reduce error-prone "magic values".
15. Functions and Static Methods 8 minutes
Create centralized functions for use throughout a program.
16. Pet Digestion and Pet Death 12 minutes
Complete the basic life-cycle of pets in the virtual zoo program.
17. Inheritance 31 minutes
Learn how one class can borrow (or "inherit") the variable and method definitions of another, and how multiple classes can be structured in a hierarchy.
18. A Specialized Type: Wormy Apples 8 minutes
Use inheritance to add multiple types of food to the virtual zoo program.
19. Preparation for First Compilation 6 minutes
Prepare the virtual zoo code for execution in both Flash and Flex.
20. Fireside Chat: Adobe Flash Player Engineer Chris Nuuja and 3D Effects 1 hour 13 minutes
Deep-dive into the world of Flash Player 3D Effects with Chris Nuuja, the Adobe engineer who created them.
21. Colin's Multiuser Adventures with User1 and MegaPhone 25 minutes
Watch Colin push ActionScript to the limit by connecting mobile-phone users to big public screens.

Kick off your shoes, grab some hot cocoa, and get ready for Course 2 of the Lost ActionScript Weekend . With this unique training DVD, you'll learn intermediate to advanced ActionScript 3.0 programming concepts with world-renowned ActionScript guru and educator Colin Moock -- ideal for experienced ActionScript developers and those who have completed Course 1 of this DVD series.
Based on his bestselling O'Reilly book, Essential ActionScript 3.0 , and his successful "ActionScript 3.0 From the Ground Up Tour," Moock teaches everything you need to know about the core ActionScript 3.0 language, as well as visual and interactive programming topics and code production issues. Share the fun, the energy, and the excitement of programming with Moock and his friends in a relaxed outdoor setting, while you learn the technical precision required to write great code.
Course 2 of the Lost ActionScript Weekend includes a brief review of the topics covered in Course 1, along with:
* Datatypes and error handling
* Program compilation
* Graphics programming
* Interactivity
* Model/View/Controller
* State management
* Event dispatch and event handling
* Text output
* Loading graphics
Forget classrooms. Forget intimidation. Get inspired -- and get lost in ActionScript 3.0!

1. Course 1 Review 3 minutes
Get ready for Course 2 with a review of the code and topics covered in Course 1.
2. First Compilation in Flash 12 minutes
Set up a Flash project and run the virtual zoo program for the first time.
3. First Compilation in Flex Builder 11 minutes
Set up a Flex Builder project and run the virtual zoo program for the second time.
4. Data Types (Free Preview) 20 minutes
Detect errors more easily by adding data types to a program.
5. Display 9 minutes
Learn how to cleanly integrate display code into a pure ActionScript program.
6. State Management 7 minutes
Track the virtual pet's current condition with application states: full, hungry, starving, and dead.
7. Code Cleanup 8 minutes
Rearrange (or "refactor") the virtual zoo code in preparation for more complex features.
8. A State Change Event 13 minutes
Add a custom event to the VirtualPet class, indicating to the program that the pet's state has changed.
9. Laying the Display Foundation 16 minutes
Respond to changes in the pet's state from the VirtualPetView class, which will display the pet on screen.
10. A Name Change Event 7 minutes
Get some practice with events and event handling by creating a pet-name-change event.
11. Graphics Programming 20 minutes
Learn how to create visual content in ActionScript. Guest-star appearance by Adobe engineer Jim Corbett, the creator of ActionScript's display API.
12. The Display List 21 minutes
Learn how to place visual content on screen, then rearrange, remove, and manage it with code. Guest-star appearance by Adobe engineer Jim Corbett, the creator of ActionScript's display API.
13. Adding Graphics to the Virtual Zoo Application 16 minutes
Design the structure of the graphical assets in the virtual zoo.
14. Graphics Loading Architecture 23 minutes
Load a series of GIF files from disk, and prepare them for on-screen display.
15. Rendering 12 minutes
Show the pet's state on screen, making sure to first wait until all graphics have loaded.
16. Pet Startup 9 minutes
Trigger the start of the program when all graphics have loaded.
17. Displaying the Pet's Name 11 minutes
Add text to the screen that shows the pet's name, and keep it updated when the pet's name changes.
18. Interactivity 25 minutes
Learn how to respond to user input, then complete the virtual zoo program by creating buttons for feeding the pet.
19. OOP: Costs, Benefits, and Production Strategies 13 minutes
Compare traditional Flash timeline-programming techniques with pure object-oriented programming, and learn how to use the two together effectively.
20. Production Topics: Production Topics: Flash/Flex Workflow 8 minutes
Learn how to combine Flash movie clip symbols with classes, and then use those graphical assets in an object-oriented program.
21. Production Topics: Flex Debugging Mode 4 minutes
Fix program bugs and problems using Flex Builder's diagnostics tool, the Flex Debugging perspective.
22. Production Topics: Flex Profiling 6 minutes
Find memory leaks and fine-tune application performance using the Flex Profiling perspective.
23. Fireside Chat: Adobe Flash Player Engineer Chris Nuuja and 3D Effects 1 hour 13 minutes
Deep-dive into the world of Flash Player 3D Effects with Chris Nuuja, the Adobe engineer who created them.
24. Fireside Chat: Adobe Flash Player Engineer Jim Corbett and the Display API 30 minutes
Peek behind-the-scenes of Flash Player engineering as Adobe engineer Jim Corbett discusses assembly code, Google search optimization, deep-linking, ActionScript architecture, and life as a Flash Player engineer.
25. Colin's Multiuser Adventures with User1 and MegaPhone 25 minutes
Watch Colin push ActionScript to the limit by connecting mobile-phone users to big public screens.
26. Fireside Chat: James Paterson 19 minutes
Delve into the fantastical creative mind of artist James Paterson.
27. Fireside Chat: Hoss Gifford 21 minutes
Ride along with Hoss Gifford as he shares his how he built his auto racing ActionScript game.