Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Killer Tips

Exporting "Movie Movies"

We have the incredible power to import all kinds of video content directly into our documents and work with them as we see fit. The other possibility that is not often explored is the capability to export Flash content as video. There's actually a growing trend where animators are using Flash to create animations and then exporting them as QuickTime movies to put on CDs or DVDs. Not a bad idea.

If you're going to do this, remember that there are some basic rules you must follow. First, all of your animation must be on your main Timeline. That means no nested clips, buttons, or other advanced stuff. A great way to see if your movie is going to convert well is to select the first frame of your main Timeline and press ENTER. The Timeline will play back in author mode. If you see everything animate that should, then you're in good shape to export to a video format (QuickTime, AVI, and so on...). If not, then you have a lot of work to do. I hope you read this one before you started because it goes against all typical rules of Flash design.