Tutorial on using MASH to create animations with Microsoft Agent
Task 0: Download MASH from http://www.bellcraft.com/mash/
Task 0.1: Install Microsoft Agent Characters from http://www.bellcraft.com/mash/chars.aspx
MASH: Main Window
Task 1: Create an animation with Microsoft Agent Characters
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Select an Agent Character you want to use in your script from the drop-down
list. You can select multiple characters for use in your script by selecting each
of them from the list.
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(Most actions in MASH reference the Active Character. Simply click on a visible
character or select a character's name from the Character drop-down list to make it
the Active Character. The MASH Status Bar will show you which character is
currently active.)
Show the character by clicking the ‘Show’ button if it was previously hidden
with the ‘Hide’ button.
Right after you select a new character from the Characters drop-down list, drag
the character to the location on the screen to where you want it to initially
appear. Generally, you want to position your character first thing in your scripts
or the character may appear in the upper left hand corner of the screen when your
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generated script is run at a later time.
To make a character disappear at one location and then reappear at another
location on the screen in your script, you can do this:
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5.
Make sure Auto-Add Actions option is unchecked
Move the character to where you want it to disappear
Click the Add Last Move button
Click the Hide button
Click the Add Last Hide button
Click the Show button
Move the character to where you want it to reappear
Click the Add Last Move button
Click the Show button
Click the Add Last Show button
Click the Play button
Gesture at XY: Type the X and Y screen coordinates that you wish the character
to gesture (point) at and click the GestureAt button. (The Gesture at X and Y
boxes are only included in MASH for completeness. Characters have
Animations that provide this same functionality, like GestureLeft, GestureRight,
GestureUp, GestureDown.)
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Animation: Select an Animation from the drop-down list and MASH will
automatically play it. If you decide you want to add the selected animation to
your script, click the Play Animation button.
Speak, Whisper, and Think: Type the text you want the character to speak in
the Speak textbox and then click the Speak, Whisper, or Think button.
Additionally, here are some speech modifiers that can be inserted between the
words you type: | The pipe character (vertical bar) can be inserted between two
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or more sentences in any of MASH's Speak boxes to have the character pick a
random sentence when your script is run.
Example: It is good to see you, my friend.|How nice of you to drop
by.|Welcome.
9.
Useful Speech Tags that can be inserted between words in the MASH Speak text
boxes:
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\pau=#\ allows you to insert a pause between two words in a sentence.
typing this into one of the MASH speak boxes:
Try
Example: Welcome friend.\pau=2000\ It is good to see you.
This will cause the character to say "Welcome friend.", wait two seconds, and
then say "it is good to see you."
The pause # is specified is milliseconds (1000 milliseconds = 1 second) so
\pau=1000\ will pause for 1 second, \pau=5000\ will pause for 5 seconds, and
so on...
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\emp\ can be used to emphasize the word it precedes with a higher pitch and
more expression. Try typing this into one of the MASH Speak boxes:
Example: Where do \emp\you want to go \emp\today?
10. Show & Tell: Show & Tell will demonstrate all of the available Animations for
a character, speaking each of their names in the process. This is probably one of
the first things you will want to check out when you install a new character, so
you can see all of its animations and hear its sound effects.
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Task 2: Making a PowerPoint Presentation with Microsoft Agent Characters
MASH allows you to associate a Microsoft PowerPoint XP/2000 Presentation with
your MASH Script (*.msh) or Executable (*.exe).
You do not need to select the Microsoft Office XP/2000/97 VBA from the Script
Output Panel when a PowerPoint presentation is selected here. Simply select an
existing PowerPoint presentation to associate with your MASH Script and Save your
script.
Playing a MASH Script (*.msh) or MASH Executable (*.exe) that has a PowerPoint
presentation associated with it automatically runs the presentation slide
show. Advancing through slides (manually or using slide transitions) will
automatically play designated sections of your script.
Slide scripts are simply separated by lines beginning with the # character, which can
be manually entered inside your script. You can also click the Add Slide button on
the PowerPoint panel.
Example Script:
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Genie.Show
Genie.Speak "Slide 1"
#
Genie.Speak "Slide 2"
# Slide 3 (anything following # is ignored for simple slide comments.)
Genie.Speak "Slide 3"
# Hide Genie after saying goodbye on Slide 4
Genie.Speak "Goodbye"
Genie.Hide
Example Walkthrough:
11. Create your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint
XP/2000 or later. Earlier versions of PowerPoint will not work.
12. Create your MASH presentation: For positioning characters, it may be helpful to
open your presentation in PowerPoint separately and run it in Slide Show view in
the background while choreographing and testing your MASH presentation.
MASH's Window Transparency feature on the Tools menu (Shortcut: F12 key)
can be used to toggle the MASH window transparency, so your PowerPoint
presentation shows through.
13. Insert the # character on empty lines in your main script to designate the slides or
click the Add Slide button on the PowerPoint panel.
Comments may follow the # character if you wish (like including Slide Number),
since MASH ignores everything after the # character on that line.
If no # slide separator characters are found in your script, the entire script will be
played on the first PowerPoint slide.
14. Try Example Script 1:
Genie.Show
Genie.Speak "This is Slide 1"
#2
Genie.Speak "This is Slide 2"
# 3 Don't say or do anything on slide 3
#4
Genie.Speak "This is Slide 4"
Genie.Hide
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Test your Presentation by clicking the Play button or pressing F5. Save your
presentation as a MASH Script (*.msh) or MASH Executable (*.exe).
15. Try Example Script 2:
# 2 Do not show character until Slide 3 is shown
#3
Genie.Show
Genie.Speak "This is Slide 3"
#4
Genie.Speak "This is Slide 4"
Genie.Hide
Test your Presentation by clicking the Play button or pressing F5. Save your
presentation as a MASH Script (*.msh) or MASH Executable (*.exe).
Task 3: Making a Powerpoint Presentation on Use of Grammar
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Install the Microsoft Agent Character “Charlie”
Make your own presentation for the powerpoint slides (grammar2.ppt &
grammar.mash) by modifying the following code:
Genie.Show
Genie.MoveTo 1470, 197
Genie.Speak "Welcome to the Department of Education Studies. \pau=2000\ "
Genie.MoveTo 1042, 100
Genie.Play "DoMagic2"
Genie.Speak "This is a Grade 5 reported speech exercise developed by Mister Pattle."
# ---------move to Slide 2
Genie.Speak "In sist"
Genie.Play "GetAttentionReturn"
Genie.Speak "What does in sist mean?"
Genie.MoveTo GenieRightX, GenieTopY
Genie.Play "Explain"
Genie.Speak "It means to be firm with somebody \pau=300\ and not take no for an
answer."
#---------move to Slide 3
Genie.Play "Congratulate"
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Genie.Play "GetAttentionContinued"
Genie.Speak "For example"
Genie.Speak "I in sist that you stay for dinner."
Genie.Speak "\pau=500\said Mrs Jones"
#---------move to Slide 4
Genie.MoveTo 1042, 170
Genie.Speak "How can we change the sentence to reported speech?"
Genie.Play "Confused"
Genie.Play "Explain"
Genie.Speak "The reported speech form should be:"
Genie.MoveTo 1042, 600
Genie.Speak "\pau=1000\Mrs Jones in sisted that we stayed for dinner."
Genie.Play "Congratulate"
Genie.Hide
#---------move to Slide 5
Charlie.Show
Charlie.MoveTo 800, 100
Charlie.Play "Pleased"
Charlie.Speak "Wonder \pau=500\is to think something is true or not."
Charlie.Play "Pleased"
Charlie.Speak "\pau=3000\Thought \pau=500\is the past tense of think."
Charlie.MoveTo 80, 10
Charlie.Play "Blink"
Charlie.Play "RestPose"
Charlie.Play "Pleased"
Charlie.Speak "\pau=2000\I wonder if he think I am beautiful."
Charlie.MoveTo 500, 500
Charlie.Play "GestureLeft"
Charlie.Play "Pleased"
Charlie.Speak "\pau=2000\Can you change the sentence to reported speech?"
Charlie.Hide
#---------move to Slide 6
Charlie.Show
Charlie.MoveTo CharlieRightX, CharlieTopY
Charlie.Play "Pleased"
Charlie.Speak "\pau=2000\Do you think I have brought enough clothes for the
weekend?"
Charlie.Speak "\pau=500\asked El len."
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Charlie.MoveTo 600, 500
Charlie.Speak "\pau=2000\Change the sentence to reported speech!"
Charlie.MoveTo 500, 500
Charlie.Speak "Welcome you to this exercise and hope that you have got a good grasp
of how to write reported speech! Bye Bye"
Task 4: Making the Microsoft Agent Characters Sing
16. Play with the Sing Window
MASH allows you to easily create singing characters using a complex combination of
speak tags.
Show
Type the text to appear in the character's word balloon.
Sing
Type the words to be sung in the Sing text boxes. You can have more than one word
in each of the boxes. You can type multiple periods ...before, after..., or
between...words to insert short pauses.
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Note
Select the Note to be used for the word(s) above.
Octave
Select the Octave (1-3) to be used for the word(s) above.
Speed
Select the Speed (50-250) to be used for the word(s) above it.
Sing
Click the Sing button to only sing the word(s) above, for testing and fine tuning of a
word or words.
Set All ...
The Set All drop-down list easily lets you set all the Notes, Octaves, or Speeds to a
specific value or relative to their current values. Select a value from the second
drop-down list or press the + and - buttons.
Clear
Click the Clear button to quickly clear the Show text box and all of the Sing text
boxes, so you can start on the next line in a song.
Sing
Click the Sing button to sing the whole line.
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