Flash CS4 All-in-One For Dummies®

Chapter 3. Getting Video Files Ready for Flash

In This Chapter

• Completing preproduction

• Knowing what can be converted

• Converting files with Adobe Media Encoder CS4

• Cropping videos

• Adjusting file settings

• Cueing videos

Before you can play a video with Flash CS4, you need to convert all those MOV, WMV, AVI, and other non-Flash-formatted files to FLV or F4V files. The FLV files are standard Flash video files using the VP6 compression format. The new F4V files are based on a standard with a better video quality: H.264. Included with Flash CS4 is Adobe Media Encoder CS4, with which you can easily convert video files to FLV or F4V file format. The encoder also allows you to set different parameters and even crop the video, so you can do a little last-minute editing with it.

In this chapter, we look at the different things you can do before you convert your video file into an FLV or F4V file. We take a look at how the file conversion process works, how to select a video file type, and how to determine which options you have. Films have to be edited, special effects added, and boo-boos removed. You might want to make your video just a little longer or shorter as well. These processes need to be handled before conversion to FLV or F4V files because the main tools for editing such as Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Apple Final Cut, and even Microsoft Movie Maker cannot edit files converted for running in Flash CS4. So before you get to the point where you cannot edit your FLV or F4V file, you ...