Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 36

AFTER EFFECTS CS3 30
User Guide
Working with Flash and After Effects
If you use Adobe® Flash® to create video or animation, you can use After Effects® to edit and refine the video. For
example, you can export Flash animations and applications as QuickTime movies or Flash Video (FLV) files. You can
then use After Effects to edit and refine the video.
If you use After Effects to edit and composite video, you can then use Flash to publish that video. You can also export
an After Effects video as Flash content for further editing in Flash.
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.
Exporting Flash video (FLV) from After Effects
When you render finished video from After Effects, select FLV as the output format in the Render Queue panel to
export directly to the Flash Video (FLV) format. You can specify size, compression, and other output options. Any
After Effects markers are added to the FLV file as cue points.
You can then import the FLV 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 a FLV 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 file for composite effects.
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 runtime
control of animation. After Effects is oriented towards 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 non-destructive drawing modes.