Foundation Flash 8 Video (Paperback)

~ Jordan L Chilcott (Author), Tom Green (Author)
Key Phrases: flv file, alpha channel video, exercise folder, After Effects, Property Inspector, Flash Professional (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this book you'll learn:

• The basics of video editing using Movie Maker 2, iMovie, and more
• How to import your video into Flash
• How to work with Flash Video components
• Several of the new features of Flash 8, including alpha channels, filters, and blends How to master several amazing video effects, such as green screen superimposing, video walls, getting your users into the thick of the action with webcams, and much more!

Do you want to master Flash video work, and work your way toward creating awesome, mind-blowing, interactive web applications? Well, don't go any furtherthis full color book is all you need to step into the future. When Flash Professional 8 was released, it seemed as if we'd embarked on a web video revolution almost overnight. Up until then, web video was a morass of competing players, technologies, standards, codecs, and playback quality. The inclusion of the On2 VP6 codec, the FLV Playback component, alpha channel video, and the Flash 8 Video Encoder has ended the infancy of web video, creating an instant benchmark with no stops in between. And this book is the ultimate guide to Flash 8 videoit offers practical advice, technical guidance, and a full series of creative projects ranging from the dead simple to the complex in a manner that talks to you as an equal and makes only one assumption: basic familiarity with the Flash interface. We start with the basicshow to edit video in some of the most popular packages available (such as iMovie and Movie Maker 2) and create a Flash video file and import it into Flash. Next, we move on to the good stuffcreating a custom video player; creating an alpha channel video and using it in some spectacular projects; turning your creativity loose by applying filters and blend effects to video using the Flash interface and ActionScript; creating video walls, menus, and stunning masking effects; and exploring how Adobe After Effects 7 and Flash Professional 8 are poised to become a motion graphics powerhouse. Best of all, you will discover something the authors had discovered by the time they started writing this book...this stuff is fun! Summary of Contents:

• Creating FLVs using the Video Wizard and the Flash 8 FLV Encoder
• The Basics of Video Creation
• Alternate FLV Creation tools: Sorenson Squeeze 4 and Flix Pro 5
• Creating Flash Video using the FLV Components
• Creating a "Talking head" video using Alpha Channels
• Adding Filters and Blend Effects to Flash Video
• Masking Video
• Creating a Video Wall
• Choosing and Playing Multiple Videos
• Using the Camera Object to Involve the Audience
• Actionscript and Flash Video
• Video Delivery to Cell Phones

About the Author

Born and raised in Toronto and now a resident of Guelph, Ontario, Jordan graduated from Radio College of Canada\'s Electronic Engineering Technology program in 1983, only to discover that he had a passion for computer programming. Spending his days working as a service technician, Jordan invested many sleepless nights teaching himself Assembly Language. He published his first program in 1985 and started learning higher-level languages such as C and C++. Jordan co-founded The Computer Software Specialists, now known as Interactivity Unlimited, and eventually left the computer hardware industry to focus on his passion for programming. Today, Jordan has written various web and kiosk applications for various industries including the automotive and airline industry, and programs in various languages, including ActionScript, ColdFusion, Java/J2EE, and C/C++/Objective C. When not programming, or administering the Dreamweaver-Talk list, he spends time with his wife, Joelle, and five children, Margot, Dina, Henry, Jack and Joshua; he has recently become a grandfather. Jordan also loves to compose, produce and record music, helping upcoming artists as well as producing movie soundtracks, is a wedding photographer with Joelle, and now holds a Black Belt in Goju Ryu Karate.

Tom is currently Professor of Interactive Media in the School of Media Studies at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Toronto, Canada. He has written 4 previous books on Macromedia technologies, and many articles for numerous magazines and web sites, including the MX Developers Journal, Community MX, and Computer arts. Lastly, he has spoken at over 20 conferences internationally, including FITC, MX North, Digital Design World, TODCON, and SparkEurope.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: friends of ED; 1 edition (June 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159059651X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590596517
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #903,729 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what I had hoped, July 6, 2006

By	Peter R. Wiley (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had hoped that this book would bring me up to speed on how to use Flash video in a more sophisticated way than the Flash video components allow. The book fullfilled this hope about 1/2 of the way.

It did show me how to do some basic action script for the control of video in a clear way in the last part of chapter 4. I was frustrated that the authors did not extend the discussion of creating a custom video player past use of a play/pause button -- to, for example, creation of a custom seek bar. Yes, components can be used to provide one, but, as the authors point out "many Flash developers tend to shy away from reliance on components." So how do Flash developers provide bells and wistles beyound simple buttons?

The chapter on action script anf Flash video would have been much more useful if had concertrated on a real-world application instead of the "jordivision" example that is focused on how to control glows and blurs -- sure, these effects might be useful, but if one is seeking a quick way to understand how to impliment action script controls in the context of a more commerical application one might be frustrated with the example, as I was.

What is presented is presented in a clear and easy to follow way, however.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent start in Flash Video, October 20, 2006

By	Matt Przybylski (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As someone who has been working with video in Flash quite heavily recently at work, I was eagerly anticipating this book to be released. At first I wasn't disappointed as the book has a great intro to video. It goes through a relatively thorough explanation of video and how it works on the net, talking about progressive and streaming downloading, and so on. As the title suggests, this book is a Foundation book so it is not code heavy and is perfect for beginners.

There is a chapter in the book about editing video, which if it is out of the scope of the book or not, is a very handy chapter. Not everyone in the world could afford huge software packages like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere (or After Effects, depends on how you like to do things I suppose). This chapter goes over how to edit video with some of the tools that come shipped with your OS, whether it be iMovie on OSX or Windows Movie Maker on PC.

Getting back to the whole code thing, as an ActionScript developer I sometimes get let down by not seeing a lot of code (although it really depends on how you see things, because not everyone is nerdy like me and would rather not sift through code and just do things a different way). Page 186 clearly warns that this book is about Flash video, not ActionScript programming, but I believe when doing video you HAVE to know how to code around it. I see some video apps on the web today and all they have is the default FLVPlayback component skin on them. That's fine and dandy, but those things are ugly and everyone who knows how they were made just laughs at them.

Chapter 9 and chapter 11 get a bit more code heavy and even into some class programming, but the coding done throughout those chapters is geared more towards applying code to the video that make its stylized, a la blend modes and filters. To me, when I see a book on Flash video, I want to learn the ins and outs of controlling the video and making it do things like play videos in sequence, loading in the background, so on and so forth. I already know how to use blending modes and filters from the other great Friends of ED books (Flash 8 Essentials).

All in all, this really is a beginner book on video and if you're looking for a way to learn to control your videos thoroughly in and out, you won't find it here. If you just want to add some effects to your videos, this is the book for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Foundation, April 18, 2007

By	Tim Harris "with a pinch of salt..." (Shanghai/Mumbai) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a well-written and enjoyable immersion into the nuts and bolts of creating and publishing video on the web using Flash 8. Aimed squarely at those beginning to work with Flash Video, the book is quite thorough for that audience. Most importantly, it covers all the essential principles one needs. From data rates for encoding videos to alpha channel effects to using the BitMapData and other classes, this book will set you up to launch that internet tv channel you've been thinking about.

However, if you're looking for the mind-bendingly master kung-fu video tricks that break existing rules of reality, I'm afraid you'll have to look further. Or write it yourself!

I like the clear organization and simple instructions the writers give. The book serves as a handy reference for those just starting to use video and other related objects in Flash. The code is broken down and explained for the reader and one can use these building blocks in combinations to stunning effect. Especially helpful is the section on playing multiple videos.

The writers make the whole thing fun and light. Hell, we're all playing around figuring out what we can do with these toys. I'd like more heavy, serious passages as well, though. Still, worth the cover preice, though.