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Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated. Unit E: Optimizing and Publishing a Movie. Objectives. Optimize a movie Understand publish settings Publish a movie for the Web Create and export a publish profile Export a QuickTime movie Create a projector file Export image files.
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Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated Unit E: Optimizing and Publishing a Movie
Objectives Optimize a movie Understand publish settings Publish a movie for the Web Create and export a publish profile Export a QuickTime movie Create a projector file Export image files Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Optimizing and Publishing a Movie • Goal: reduce loading time while preserving quality • Publish entire movie in different formats • Export a single frame from a movie and save it in an image file format Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Optimizing a Movie • Modify file attributes to eliminate bottlenecks in a given frame during downloading • Goal: ensure movie plays well regardless of Internet connection speed Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Optimizing a Movie • Optimize Curves dialog box Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Optimizing a Movie • Viewing shape optimization results Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Understanding Publish Settings • To publish a movie, instruct Flash to create files necessary to display it • Use Publish Settings dialog box to choose desired file format Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Using Publish Setting Dialog Box • Choose output movie formats • Select file formats to publish • Specify filename and location • Default: Flash (.swf) and HTML (.html) • Publish Settings dialog box Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Using Publish Setting Dialog Box • Choose still image file formats • GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) • For drawings and line art • Limited quality, but supports transparency • Static or animated (e.g., emoticons) • JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) • Versatile; for photographs and gradients • Maintains image quality even when highly compressed • PNG (Portable Network Graphics) • Supports higher resolution images and transparency • Native file format in Adobe Fireworks • Does not include background color Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Using Publish Setting Dialog Box • Choose stand-alone file formats • Projector file • Stand-alone application that plays movie without using browser software or Flash Player • Significantly larger than SWF files (contain all data needed to run the movie) • Can be played from desktop, CD, or DVD Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Publishing a Movie for the Web • Open Publish Settings dialog box • Adjust the settings • Publish the movie • Default settings make the process seamless Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Adjusting the Settings • Options on Flash tab adjust settings in SWF file • JPG quality setting affects image quality and size; values of 80-100 create higher-quality images • Viewing publish settings on the Flash tab Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Adjusting the Settings • Options on HTML tab specify how movie appears in the browser • Set movie’s dimensions • Match Stage size • Fixed pixel width in the monitor • Based on percentage of monitor’s size • Select Loop check box to play continuously Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Adjusting the Settings • Viewing publish settings on the HTML tab Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Publishing a Movie for the Web • Viewing published files (Win) Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Understanding Flash Player Options • If previous version of Flash Player is selected, features from later versions will not work properly or at all when users play the movie • Other player options • Adobe AIR, for desktop applications • Flash Lite, for mobile devices Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Creating and Exportinga Publish Profile • File in XML format that Flash creates, then uses when it exports data • Makes publish settings available for use in other documents • Can be applied to other movies by importing it; eliminates need to re-create publish settings • Streamlines process for creating multiple movie files with same settings Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Creating and Exportinga Publish Profile • Creating a publish profile Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Creating and Exportinga Publish Profile • Exporting a profile Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Understanding Publish Profiles • Process of importing/exporting Flash profiles differs from importing/exporting files in other programs • When Flash exports a profile • Transfers data contained in the profile, but not the profile name that appeared in Current profile list • When Flash imports a profile • Prompts to replace current profile with data in the import profile, but name of the profile does not update to the import profile filename Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Exporting a QuickTime Movie • QuickTime movies • Play animation well • Play on both Macintosh and PC computers • QuickTime software • Standard with Apple operating system • Downloadable for Windows users Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Exporting a QuickTime Movie • Export Movie dialog box Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Exporting a QuickTime Movie • Viewing results of QuickTime export Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Exporting a QuickTime Movie • Playing a QuickTime movie Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Creating a Projector File • Projector files • Stand-alone, self-running applications • Play a Flash movie on a computer that does not have browser software or Flash Player installed • Differ by platform; cannot run a Windows projector on a Mac, or vice versa Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Export Formats • Export formats Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Creating a Projector File • Both projector files can be published from a PC or a Mac; only the one associated with computer’s platform can be opened • Selecting projector formats Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Creating a Projector File • FIGURE E-15: Playing a projector file Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Exporting Image Files • For creating static image from a movie • Export a scene from a single frame • Export an object to insert in a Web page • Three possible image file formats • GIF • JPEG • PNG Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
GIF Options • Focus on color • Possible to export animated GIF file • Transparency options • FIGURE E-16: Viewing options on the GIF tab Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
JPEG Options • Size and quality • Progressive • Loads JPEG image incrementally • Viewing options on the JPEG tab Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Optimizing a Flash Movie • Key is to balance file size and download time against image quality • No set rules to follow Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Simple Optimization Steps • Reduce frame rate • Use symbols • Optimize and resize bitmap images before importing them • Replace gradient fills with solid colors • Use alpha transparency sparingly • Use tween animation (instead offrame-by-frame animation) Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated
Simple Optimization Steps (cont’d) • Compress sound files • Use solid lines created with Pencil Tool (instead of dashed or dotted lines), or lines created with Brush Tool Adobe Flash CS4 – Illustrated