FLASH CS3
User Guide
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Both applications can be used to create original graphics and animation. Both use a timeline and offer scripting
capabilities for controlling animation programmatically. After Effects includes a larger set of effects, while Flash’s
ActionScript™ language is the more robust of the two scripting environments.
Both applications allow you to place graphics and effects on separate layers for compositing. These layers can be
turned on and off as needed.
In Flash, composites do not affect the video content directly; they affect only the appearance of the video during
playback in Flash Player. In contrast, when you composite with imported video in After Effects, the video file you
export actually incorporates the composited graphics and effects.
Because all drawing and painting in After Effects is done on layers separate from any imported video, it is always
non-destructive. Flash has both destructive and non-destructive drawing modes.
Exporting After Effects content for use in Flash
You can export After Effects content for use in Flash. You can export a SWF file that can be played immediately in
Flash Player or used as part of another Flash project. When you export content from After Effects in SWF format,
the content is flattened and rasterized in the SWF file.
Importing Flash SWF files into After Effects
Flash has a unique set of vector art tools that make it useful for a variety of drawing not possible in After Effects or
Adobe® Illustrator®. You can import SWF files into After Effects to composite them with other video or render them
as video with additional creative effects. When After Effects imports a SWF file, its internal keyframes are preserved
so that you can continue to use them for timing other effects.
The Continuously Rasterized SWF Import feature in After Effects allows you to bring SWF file content into After
Effects as flattened art, with support for alpha channels. Because the rasterization is continuous, vector art in the
SWF file that is scaled scales smoothly in After Effects. This import method allows you to use the root layer or object
of your SWF files as a smoothly rendered element in After Effects, allowing the best capabilities of each tool to work
together.
Using ActionScript to play external Flash Video
Playing back external FLV files dynamically
An alternative to importing video into the Flash authoring environment it to use either the FLVPlayback component
or ActionScript to dynamically play external FLV files in Flash Player. You can play FLV files posted as HTTP
downloads or as local media files.
Create FLV files by importing video into the Flash authoring tool and exporting it as an FLV file. If you have
Macromedia Flash Professional 8 or Flash CS3 Professional, you can use the FLV Export plug-in to export FLV files
from supported video-editing applications.
To play back an external FLV file, post an FLV file to a URL (either an HTTP site or a local folder) and add either the
FLVPlayback component or ActionScript code to the Flash document to access the file and control playback during
runtime.
