Subject:Flash movie import

Posted by: feign

Date:11/12/2008 9:53:10 PM

I'm delighted to be able to import Flash swf version 8 movies into Acid Pro 7. In AP 5 and 6 I was unable to import anything beyond Flash version 5. Certain effects in the Flash 8 movies don't show up, but overall this is a huge breakthrough for me, since one of my main uses of Acid is to produce music and soundtracks for Flash movies.

I looked for technical information as to which versions of Flash that Acid now supports and which aspects of Flash movies it won't support - filters, scripts, etc. But I can't find anything about it in the Help files. For that matter, I'd like more technical information about all the video formats that can be imported into Acid Pro 7.

Peter, can you point me in the direction of any such tech notes, or at least provide a summary?

Subject:RE: Flash movie import

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:11/13/2008 3:58:34 AM

This strikes me as very odd. Flash is a finished output format. Normally having a flash file means "we're done, it's all here, there's nothing more to add". Why are you creating a soundtrack for such a beast? And if you are adding something to the video, why aren't you being supplied with an editing format such as AVI or M2T or cineform? It seems like there's a disconnect of some sort in your workflow.

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/acidpro/io <-- list of supported file types.

Subject:RE: Flash movie import

Reply by: feign

Date:11/13/2008 5:51:32 PM

Maybe I should have explained myself better. I design, animate and develop Flash animations for a living. Most Flash animations need a soundtrack. The Flash editing environment does not have any audio editing tools (other than volume and pan control), so if I want to make a song for characters to sing, or background music, then I have to do it outside Flash. Acid Pro was a godsend when I discovered it a few years ago. Unlike most people at this forum, I'm not a professional musician, but I love music, and now creating the soundtracks has become my favorite part of the whole production process.

So let's say I have a couple characters running through the woods and one trips over a rock. I'll output my work as a SWF (the output format of a compiled Flash file, just as WAV etc. are the rendered outputs of compiled Acid projects), bring it in to Acid, and put together loops, effects and live vocals timed to the action, in which the tempo matches the leg movements. When the character trips I may want a funny sounding timpani hit or a cymbal crash, but I want it to fit seamlessly into the tune. I can tweak the tempo and arrangement to have the timpani come on a downbeat...which is easier than redrawing the animation to fit the music. When I'm done, I render a WAV file, then import that WAV into Flash, output the SWF again with soundtrack included and voila! A Flash animated cartoon with a proper soundtrack.

In the past 2 years I have created around 300 e-cards using this method. I often get comments that the soundtracks are so much more sophisticated than run-of-the-mill e-cards. Currently I'm producing a half-hour TV show which incorporates 7 original songs and numerous musical interludes, all done with Acid Pro, and often (but not always) relying on importing the silent SWF into Acid to tweak the music.

Where is the disconnect to my workflow?

I enthusiastically recommend Acid to every Flash animator I know. Though until now, the limitation to using a much older version of Flash output (version 5) was a handicap.

Thanks for the link, but it has no details as to supported versions of most formats. I'm looking for information which the Acid developers surely know and may have written up in a technical document. For example, is it possible to bring in a Flash movie that has ActionScript; if so, what are the limitations?

Subject:RE: Flash movie import

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:11/13/2008 7:24:28 PM

Can your flash development software export to AVI? This would work a lot better in ACID.

Subject:RE: Flash movie import

Reply by: feign

Date:11/13/2008 10:12:26 PM

Flash can export AVI and Quicktime, but it's not very consistent or reliable. For now, Flash 8 SWF import into Acid works pretty well. As long as Acid can import Flash SWF format, that's what I prefer to use. I'm merely trying to find out the technical specs of Flash movie import, so that I can refer this information to the freelance animators I work with. I'm not complaining about anything.

Subject:RE: Flash movie import

Reply by: pwppch

Date:11/13/2008 11:23:19 PM

feign:

I am gathering the exact details on what level of SWF support is available in ACID.

Peter

Subject:RE: Flash movie import

Reply by: feign

Date:11/14/2008 1:39:45 AM

Thanks, Peter. I hope you'll put some sort of technical paper online, or at least an updated footnote on the "io" page referred to above (and update that page: it's now Adobe Flash, not Macromedia Flash). As I said, I think Acid is a great tool for multimedia creators like me, and I often recommend it.