I'm no stranger to html, actionscript, dreamweaver, or flash, but I seem to be in a bit of a rut, here.

Note: I'm not asking anyone do do the work for me. it would just be really helpful to have access to source fla's, templates, tutorials, etc.

Basically, I want to make an animated, dynamic-width flash site to show off my projects, portfolio, and company information, but I'm absolutely overwhelmed. D:


Here's the concept I've come up with:



As you can see, the idea is a simple monochrome layout with a top and bottom bar, and a "moving" sidebar. Regardless of window-size, I want to make the bars stretch all the way across the screen, except for the bottom one, which will only go 100-200 pixels away from the right edge.


So my question(s) is(are) basically, where do I begin?

  • Should I use xml or just flash?
  • Should it be broken up into small swf files or be one big one
  • One swf file per page, or one for the whole site?
  • How do I go about making a dynamic width layout in flash?
  • What's the best method to make animation "transitions" between pages?
  • Do I need a preloader, and how do I make one?
  • Is there anything else I should know (tips, advice) before I start?

I'm not sure if I missed anything or not... ^_^;

I know I'm asking a LOT, but answers to any (or all) of these questions would be greatly appreciated, and I'd be forevereverever in your eternal debt.

thanks for everyone's time!

Sincerely,
Eric