Age of Aquarius

I saw this Shockwave Flash animation website yesterday that blew my mind, I will call it Red Ball since I don't think it has been named. I'm not quite sure how Red Ball was created, but I know it is somehow using flash in a way that gives the user control over a ball which is thrown in a circle by people in silhouette, but then how do the hands follow the ball everywhere? I am perplexed and amazed.

Then I found another website called Man in the Dark, by artists Aaron Russ Clinger and Miltos Manetas. Similar concept to Red Ball where the users cursor is the control point for the path the tan man takes across the screen. What an incredible animation technique. Imagine if you put something else in the box besides a man, say for example a brand, and the user could drag the brand through different scenarios instead of just a stationary black space. Could be very cool

I have been working in flash for a year of so now. My class partner Laura Webster and I just finished our own website called 49,50! where we compared and contrasted the local cultures of Hawaii and Alaska. We used flash to create animation on almost every page, but the Red Ball and Man in the Dark websites put our flash techniques to shame. They are magnificent animation pieces.