Macromedia Software Puts New Face On Motion Picture Web Sites

Macromedia Flash and Shockwave Become Tools of Choice to Create Online Promotions for Major Releases Including 'You've Got Mail,' 'Psycho,' 'A Bug's Life' and 'Prince of Egypt'

San Francisco, Calif. - December 15, 1998 - Macromedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACR) today announced that its Web Publishing applications have become the tools of choice for creators of a new generation of Web sites designed to promote major motion pictures. Using Macromedia Flash and Shockwave, new Web sites increasingly feature interactive games, high-quality animations, movie trailers and special screen savers. The interactive content is helping motion picture studios heighten interest in upcoming films, and is a key influence in the creation of an entirely new Web site genre.

"Web sites are becoming one of the best ways for studios to build awareness and anticipation about an upcoming picture," said Lew Harris, Editor in Chief of E! Online, which is hosting an interactive game based on "Psycho" at http://www.eonline.com/Fun/Games/Psycho/index.html. "Macromedia tools and technologies allow us to create Web sites that engage consumers in an activity based on a film's particular vision or theme. Or, in the case of our tongue-in-cheek game for Psycho, it's a great tool for generating lasting word-of-mouth among the online audience."

Along with "Psycho" which opened Dec. 4, a host of other motion picture sites have recently featured interactive content created with Macromedia Web Publishing tools and that use Macromedia Shockwave, the de facto standard for interactive Web multimedia. Other Web sites include:

• "The Prince of Egypt" from DreamWorks SKG at http://www.prince-of-egypt.com
• "You've Got Mail" from Warner Bros. at http://www.youvegotmail.com
• "Star Trek Insurrection" from Paramount Pictures at http://www.insurrection.startrek.com/
• "A Bug's Life" from Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar at http://www.abugslife.com
• "Very Bad Things" from Polygram Filmed Entertainment at http://www.verybadthings.com
• "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" from Columbia TriStar Pictures at http://www.istillknow.com
• "The Siege" from 20th Century Fox at http://www.thesiege.com
• "The Waterboy" from Touchstone Pictures at http://www.movies.com/waterboy/index.html
• "The Replacement Killers" from Sony Pictures Entertainment at http://www.spe.sony.com/movies/replacementkillers/index.html

"More and more studios view the Web as a cost-effective and innovative means of promoting their major entertainment properties," said David Mendels, vice president of Macromedia's Web Publishing division. "By enabling this trend with our entire line of Web Publishing tools, we are extending the reach of cutting-edge, interactive media to a broad and growing audience."

ABOUT MACROMEDIA SHOCKWAVE, DIRECTOR AND FLASH
Macromedia developers create compelling, interactive Shockwave content with Macromedia Director 7 Shockwave Internet Studio. Introduced in November, Director 7 is a major upgrade to the premier tool for creating and delivering powerful multimedia for richer, more compelling Web experiences. The Director 7 studio delivers an all-new version of Shockwave, Internet-native design and delivery, sophisticated effects for immersive content creation, and more immediate content creation and playback. The Director 7 studio enables developers to create compelling experiences that marry the production values and visceral appeal of television with the immediacy of the Internet. With more than 30 million successful downloads to date, Shockwave is the de facto standard for interactive Web multimedia. Inclusion of the player in Microsoft Windows 98, MacOS 8.5, and AOL 4 gives Shockwave the greatest reach of any interactive multimedia playback technology.

The Director 7 studio also includes Macromedia Fireworks, a highly acclaimed tool for creating and producing Web graphics, as well as Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge XP4 or BIAS Peak LE for professional quality sound editing. Customers also receive a multi-user server for creating distributed Shockwave experiences such as multi-player games and online chat rooms.

Macromedia Flash products bring compelling, interactive content to life on the Web. Professional Web designers use the Flash authoring tool to create and deliver compact, fast, and beautiful vector-based graphics and animation for the Web. Macromedia Generator is new server-based software that uses templates created in Flash to deliver Web graphics on-the-fly from dynamic, real-time data. Illustrators and designers can also use the award-winning FreeHand 8 to produce Flash graphics for the Web. The free Flash player enables Web consumers to display Flash and Generator content that streams, or plays, as it downloads--even over slow Internet connections. For more information, visit http://www.flash.com.

ABOUT MACROMEDIA
Macromedia's mission is to add life to the Web. By providing its award-winning Web Publishing, Web Traffic, and Web Learning solutions to Web designers, consumers, and the enterprise, Macromedia is delivering a completely new generation of Internet tools and technologies designed to transform the Web experience. Headquartered in San Francisco, Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) has more than 550 employees worldwide and is available on the Internet at http://www.macromedia.com. Macromedia also hosts one of the most engaging entertainment sites on the Web at http://www.shockrave.com.

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Macromedia, Flash, Shockwave, Director, Fireworks, Generator and FreeHand are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc., as indicated. Other company names, brand names and product names may be trademarks of others.