Adobe After Effects CS4 User Manual
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USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Workflows, planning, and setup
Last updated 12/21/2009
Exporting QuickTime video from Flash
If you create animations or applications with Flash, you can export them as QuickTime movies using the File
> Export
> Export Movie command in Flash. For a Flash animation, you can optimize the video output for animation. For a
Flash application, Flash renders video of the application as it runs, allowing the user to manipulate it. This lets you
capture the branches or states of your application that you want to include in the video file.
Rendering and exporting FLV and F4V files from After Effects
When you render finished video from After
Effects, select FLV or F4V as the output format to render and export video
that can play in Flash Player. You can then import the FLV or F4V file into Flash and publish it in a SWF file, which
can be played by Flash Player.
Importing and publishing video in Flash
When you import an FLV or F4V file into Flash, you can use various techniques, such as scripting or Flash
components, to control the visual interface that surrounds your video. For example, you might include playback
controls or other graphics. You can also add graphic layers on top of the FLV or F4V file for composite results.
Composite graphics, animation, and video
Flash and After
Effects each include many capabilities that allow you to perform complex compositing of video and
graphics. Which application you choose to use will depend on your personal preferences and the type of final output
you want to create.
Flash is the more web-oriented of the two applications, with its small final file size. Flash also allows for run-time
control of animation. After
Effects is oriented toward video and film production, provides a wide range of visual
effects, and is generally used to create video files as final output.
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 the Flash
ActionScript® language is the more robust of the two scripting environments.
Both applications allow you to place graphics on separate layers for compositing. These layers can be turned on and
off as needed. Both also allow you to apply effects to the contents of individual layers.
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 nondestructive 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 rich media project. When you export content from After
Effects in SWF format,
some of the content may be flattened and rasterized in the SWF file.
To edit your After
Effects content further in Flash, export a composition as an XFL file. An XFL file is a type of Flash
file that stores the same information as a FLA file, but in XML format. When you export a composition from
After
Effects as XFL for use in Flash, some of the layers and keyframes that you created in After
Effects are preserved
in the Flash version. When you import the XFL file in Flash, it unpacks the XFL file and adds the assets from the file
to your FLA file according to the instructions in the XFL file.
The following video tutorials provide detailed information about exporting XFL files from After
Effects:
•
(Adobe.com)