In January of 2001 a self-taught anime-inspired illustrator (Andrew West), a multimedia software enthusiast (Ian Kirby), and an ex-video game designer/producer from Electronic Arts (yours truly) combined our modest talents and infinite enthusiasm to launch a unique project using new technology. By taking assets such as text, images, and music that Web surfers were already comfortable with and fusing them together on Macromedia Flash 5 Timelines, we wanted to take online comics a step forward—from static click-through panels to what we hoped would come to be seen as cinematic literature.

With our online Flash narrative, Broken Saints, we wanted to invoke a moody style, establish a noir feel, and to create animations that were diametrically opposed to the current notion that "short and lowbrow is the way to go." By the time the saga concluded in July of 2003, it had spanned 57 parts, 24 chapter arcs, and nearly 12 hours of free Flash storytelling to make it one of the most ambitious online projects ever attempted. But when a Canadian government grant agency (Telefilm Canada) approached our team that fall and proposed a DVD version of the series, we couldn't resist. There was only one problem: we had to completely overhaul three years of ragtag Flash work to polished full-screen video within nine months—and we had no idea where to start.

This article is meant to inspire creators much more talented than ourselves to take the risk and dive in head-first with the idea of bringing their work to industry-quality DVD. The efforts and obstacles involved in bringing Broken Saints out as a four-disc collectors' edition were overwhelming, and if we can give you some insights, save you some steps, keep you from making the same mistakes we did, or even inspire you to experience Broken Saints on your spiffy new home theatre, then it all will have been worth it.

Requirements

To make the most of this article, you need the following software and files:

Macromedia Flash MX 2004

• Try
• Buy

Tutorials and sample files:

Go to www.brokensaints.com to view and download the high-resolution QuickTime file of our DVD trailer, and click Classic Flash to see the original site and series.

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