Where are you from?
Sydney, Australia

Where did you grow up?
Assuming that I have… Scotland Island, which is a beautiful island in Pittwater, north of Sydney.

What are your pastimes and interests?
Music has always been a very important part of my life. I worked as a professional composer here in Sydney for over ten years before I started in multimedia. I was privileged to have among my clients, the Sydney Theatre Company with whom I worked on over 80 shows, most of these shows were performed at the Opera House.

Hang Gliding played a large role in my life a few years ago. The experience of flying at 12000 feet, alone for hours, except for an eagle who would follow my wing tip, was amazing. Despite the dogma surrounding this sport, I found it to be serene and very relaxing. I still put myself to sleep at night by remembering certain flights.

Of late I have become fascinated by ancient greek philosophy and texts. Pythagoras was quite a progressive chap even by todays standards.

What's your favorite saying or cliché?
As above , so below.

What's your favorite movie?
That's rather difficult, but if I had to pick some, there would be many old films like, Citizen Kane, Eraserhead, It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey, Dial M for Murder. David Lynch and Peter Weir would have to get a mention, as would Jean Cocteau and Nick Park.

What's your favorite cocktail?
Shot of Vodka

When did you first get involved with flash?
I have to admit that the Sydney Opera House VR Tour site was my first date with flash. I had seen it being used on the net, mostly for splash screens and ads, but never as an application. When I discovered the feature-set of flash 5 I was excited and decided to explore whether I could build the tour in it. By the time I had completed the tour website I had used flash for eight weeks.

How did you get involved in the Sydney Opera House virtual tour project?
I had the idea of a virtual tour of the Sydney Opera House while I was working there as an audio engineer, recording and mixing shows. I approached management with a rough demo and business case, to which they responded favorably. I wanted to use as many people from within the organization as I could as they have a unique perspective of this unique building. Even though we hadn't done this sort of project before I was very confident that it was achievable. The skills required to ensure that a show happens on time and without a hitch are project management and resourcefulness. I knew that these skills, if applied correctly, would give us an edge.

What is your view of the current use of flash?
It is used to only a fraction of its potential. Flash is merely a method of delivery, a great method at that, but its still just the method. A lot of users of flash are just showcasing what flash is able to do. This isn't advancing the art.

Who do you feel is advancing the use of flash the most?
That depends on where you want it to advance too. I am not a fan of the big bloated flash-for-flash's-sake sites that are out there. I prefer neat applications of flash that offset the content and reinforce the structure or users interaction with the site. www.lookandfeel.com or www.motown.com both fulfill these functions.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?
That has to be my mum, daggy, I know, but that's the truth. She taught me that anything can be achieved if you dedicate yourself to it.

Where do you see the future of flash?
I hope that it continues to grow to the point where it is a true standard, in every browser, pocketPC OS, mobile phone. Having a true cross-platform application would allow for some truly astounding applications. The plugin size ought to shrink, not grow, as the feature set increases. The merge of Flash with ColdFusion also hints at the future.

What advice would you give to budding flashers?
Set your browser to go to the www.flashkit.com page everyday, trawl through and deconstruct as many flash apps as you can. Have a clear idea what you wish to achieve before you even go near any authoring tool.

Use paper and pencils to sketch out your thoughts. Try and reduce the number of actions and objects you have in your design. Keep it simple. I always imagine my grandmother using my design.

What can FK01 attendees expect from you?
A deep down and dirty look at how the Sydney Opera House virtual tour was created, from the original concepts through to it going live in March and taking the servers down due to increased load.

Any closing words?
Slam, shut, conclude, expire, cease, end and silence.

If you would like further information on speaking opportunities please contact: Mark Fennell(webmaster@flashkit.com). We have conferences planned in LA, Sydney, and Europe and Asia as well, so let us know your interest!