So I’ve been asked several times to come in and freelance on jobs that require the final output to be in video format and honestly the process of getting flash to video is not that straight forward.

Exporting flash files to .mov is not as straight forward and clean as you’d hope. There are the hurdles when exporting flash files containing ActionScript, then you have MovieClips in MovieClips which do not animate out in the final export, dropped frames, dropped pixels, and gradient display issues are but a few you will encounter before you then have to convert that .mov file to something else where you’ll have even more issues.

I’ve searched high and low on the web to find answers and workarounds to some of these issues and have often come up empty handed. I thought it was simply my machine until I tried numerous others. I also thought I was doing it wrong until I found many other flash designers/developers complaining about the same issues. I am still sure there is someone out there who knows the exact sweet spot for exporting flash files to .mov’s but I haven’t heard it yet. So here is a list of tips and tricks on how I get around some of these common flash mov exporting problems.

1. Frame Rate 20 – resolves dropped frames and dropped pixels.

   This is an odd quirk, but another freelancer once told me to set the frame rate to 20 and it instantly got rid of my dropped frames and pixels. The draw back to this is that now obviously you’ve got a mov clip that has a frame rate that will be different from any standard tv or film model. A bit of experimentation is required with speed and timings if your planning on dropping the mov in video editing software which will alter the frame rate to its own.

2. ActionScript export to mov

   Contrary to what some say you can export a MovieClip with ActionScript inside it to a mov. To do this goto your Export Movie settings and you will see a ‘stop exporting’ section, from this select the option ‘after time elapsed’.  Enter the duration of your flash movie here in the format suggested (add 30 seconds to this if your going to edit this later in video editing software, also you might want to add a few seconds extra at the beginning if you want a cross fade).

3. Image Quality.

   Ensure all bitmaps (png, gif, jpg) are set to top quality. You want these to look good after all. If they are animating a lot you might want to considerer setting the smoothing property. Experiment to see which output looks best on which bitmaps.

4. Gradients.

   Don’t use  the Flash authoring environment for creating gradients if you can avoid it. It is far better to create these in photoshop using the proper gradient tool (see tizag.com tutorial), export them as a png and bring them into flash. The quality difference is incredible. However, there can be issues with large bitmaps that are animating, so you will have to test and see what works best for you.

Extra Tips:

• For ActionScripting I recommend experimenting with code snippets you plan on using first before you get to far down the track. Try out an effect on a basic object and export it, work on it till it starts looking right in the mov, then implement it with the rest. For me I’ve found sometimes it’s good to drop code on the relevant frame rather than loading it in via classes or on frame 1. I don’t know why but this has helped output on several occasions. Again experiment yourself, each projects different.
• Avoid using filters on large objects (probably already a given) but they will cause errors if say you’re exporting in full HD dimensions.