Chapter 16 Video

Importing Video Into Flash  Once you import video into Flash, you can control it using behaviors and very basic ActionScript, target different points in the video to allow users to jump from point to point, transform video clips on the Stage, apply effects such as tinting and skewing, or publish a QuickTime file. You can also cut apart a video and organize the clips, apply color correction, and modify how the video is imported into your Flash project.

Acceptable Video Import Formats File Type ExtensionWindowsMacSoftware Audio Video Interleaved.aviYesYes QuickTime4 or DirectX 7 * Digital Video.dvYesYesQuickTime4 Motion Picture Experts Group.mpg,.mpeg YesYes QuickTime4 or DirectX 7 * QuickTime Movie.movYesYesQuickTime4 Windows Media File.wmv,.asfYesNo DirectX7 * Flash Video File.flvYesYesNeither * Windows only

On2 VP6 and Sorenson Spark Video Compression  Exported video is compressed in Flash using the new On2 VP6 video codec for use with Flash Player 8 and the Sorenson Spark codec for use with Flash Player 7.  A codec is an algorithm that controls the way video files are compressed and decompressed during import and export.

Codecs Supported by Flash Versions Codec Published Version (swf file) Flash Player required for playback Sorenson Spark 6 6, 7, 8 7 7, 8 On2 VP

Flash 8 Video Features  Media components – quick integration through click and drag  Improved video workflow – video import wizard helps to deploy video content for embedded, progressively downloadable and streaming video delivery  Stand-alone video encoder – separate application that improves workflow by providing an easy way to convert video files into a Flash Video (FLV) format  8-bit alpha support – allows you to overlay video composited with a transparent or semi- transparent alpha channel over other Flash content

Macromedia Flash Video (FLV)  Lets you import or export a static video stream with encoded audio.  When exported, the video is compressed with the Sorenson codec and the audio is compressed using the streaming audio settings in the Publish settings dialog box.

Exercise 1 -- Importing Video File Import Import Import to Stage (will also appear in Library) Import to Stage (will also appear in Library) Select the video to import. Select the video to import. Video Import Wizard appears. Video Import Wizard appears. Deployment Deployment Embed video in SWF and play in Timeline. Embed video in SWF and play in Timeline. Embedding (set the properties) Embedding (set the properties) Encoding (set the properties) Encoding (set the properties) Finish Video Import Finish Video Import

Compression Settings  Video codec – specifies the encoding  Frame Rate – sets the number of frames that display every second on playback  Key Frame Placement – specifies a custom keyframe interval  Key Frame Interval – specifies the number of keyframes per frame of your actual movie  Quality – specifies the quality of all of the frames

Note:  Video keyframes are different than the Timeline keyframes that you have previously learned about

Controlling Video with Stop and Go Actions 1. Select the video clip. 2. In Properties Inspector, give the instance a name. 3. Drag a Play button to the Stage and Select. 4. In Actions, enter the script on(release) { instancename.play();} This tells Flash to play the movie when the Play button is released.

Controlling Video with Stop and Go Actions cont. 5. Drag a Stop button to the Stage and Select it. 6. In Actions, enter the script on(release) { instancename.stop();} 7. Make sure that you add an actions layer and include instance.stop(); in frame 1 so that the video clip doesn’t play automatically when the movie starts.

Controlling Video by Targeting Frame Labels  You can also target specific points in the video using behaviors.  To accomplish this, 1.Insert a label layer and add labels to the points in the video that you would like to go to. 2.Insert the movieclip behavior “Goto and Play at frame or label” and select the appropriate label.

Named Anchors  A named anchor is a special frame label that resides on the Main Timeline. Once the named anchor is played in a browser window, it is registered in a browser’s history so when a user clicks on the Back button in the browser, the browser will play the previous named anchor position on the timeline. This allows you to create movies that work with the Forward and Back buttons in a browser.

Making a Named Anchor Label  Create a labels layer.  Click in the specified frame.  In Properties Inspector, enter a label name in the Frame label field.  Under the Frame label field is a Label Type drop-down menu. Select Anchor.

Publish Settings  Choose File > Publish Settings to open the Publish Settings window.  Click the HTML tab at the top.  In the Template drop-down list, choose Flash with Named Anchors. This will add JavaScript into the HTML document that will catch the named anchors as they play in the browser. F12 will allow you to publish your Flash movie and preview it in your browser so that you can test the named anchors.

Editing Video  The new Video Import Wizard allows you to select a video clip and choose which portions of the video that you actually want to import into your movie. This keeps you from having to purchase a video editing program such as Adobe Premier.

Editing Video  After importing the video, select Embed video in Macromedia Flash document  In the Editing pane of the Video Import Wizard, select Edit the video first. This opens the Customize Editing panel. You can trim the length of your video clips, create multiple clips, and reorder video clips.  Use Set in Point to specify the beginning of the clip and Set Out Point to specify the end of the clip. Click Create Clip and name the clip.

Using Flash Video Encoder  Flash 8 Video Import Wizard  Only one video can be encoded at a time  Thus, time intensive  Flash 8 includes a standalone video encoder  Flash 8 Video Encoder  Can be used to do batch process video clips  Thus, speeding up your workflow  Cue points are established points or markers in a video clip that can be used to trigger other actions.