could ae render out swf format?

[igorstshirts]

For best quality,
Export an .PSD image sequence out of Aftereffects at whatever frame-rate and dimensions you wish. Either batch or frame-by-frame compress each image in Photoshop to a desired jpeg quality and save all images in a seperate folder.

Adjust the Flash stage dimensions and frame-rate to match your jpeg sequence and import your first frame. Flash will see that it is the first frame of an entire image sequence and will ask if you would like to import the whole sequence of frames. Make movie and that's it. It can be time consuming but beautiful results can be achieved with a little trial and error. Later!

[aeres]

For best quality,
Export an .PSD image sequence out of Aftereffects at whatever frame-rate and dimensions you wish. Either batch or frame-by-frame compress each image in Photoshop to a desired jpeg quality and save all images in a seperate folder.

Adjust the Flash stage dimensions and frame-rate to match your jpeg sequence and import your first frame. Flash will see that it is the first frame of an entire image sequence and will ask if you would like to import the whole sequence of frames. Make movie and that's it. It can be time consuming but beautiful results can be achieved with a little trial and error. Later!

A question: why the photoshop in between?

[beenyweenies]

A question: why the photoshop in between?

The photoshop step is not necessary, you could just as easily output a jpg and compress each image in Fireworks, or (my personal pref) do a png sequence. The important point that igorstshirts makes is don't try to export a swf file directly from AE, it's best to do an image sequence. In Flash 8 the capabilities and quality of flash video (.flv) are much greater and could be used as well.

[strangerthings]

Ok - I do a lot of this....

You don't need to do any thing with fireworks or photoshop. Especially if you are coming from aftereffects.

Out of max/xsi/Ae or whatever I export a series of numbered transparent PNG sequence.
You can have a nice 24bit + alpha channel and it works really well ( you can do 32 bit but the file size increases a lot ) or even an 8bit works fine and is tiny

As the other have said import the transparent images into Flash... just the first image_001.png or whatever... it'll import as sequence into the timeline...

most of the time I create a movieclip / grpahic clip and import into that so you have little bit of control.

This is the important part... in flash
open the library> right click on an image > properties and play with the compression setting on the images. Override the default settings and you can have png / gif settingswith motion for example

for example - uncompressed PNG/GIF on the first and last images compressed and less on any motion in between.

And you can select export as JPG in the library and it keeps the alpha channel!!

The annoying part of this is that you have to to the process on each image... but if it's only a few images it's not a problem. I have stuck it on the wish list for flash 9 - better import controls for image seqeances.

Flash 8 will now import Transpanent Avi's - but only 8 bit tranpanancy which can get blocky.

[suztv]

Depending on what you are using the swf for, you can export a file from AfterEffects by choosing file, export, swf. This method is great for all of the neat text effects and the text layers will remain vector (as long as no effects are applied).


If you are just outputting frames, jpg, psd, png sequences or a quicktime movie will work fine (use the render que for these options).

[ashrass99]

As suztv said, exporting from AE in swf is best, but dont export the effects. So output in PNG or JPEG sequence and import in flash. Convert into flv and voila.

[the taxidermist]

If you use AE to make Animations of images and follow what you say will this make them webready to plug into websites? I want to start doing this but i am not good enough in flash where as i could do my animations in AE very quickly. thanks!

[suztv]

I work in both Flash and AfterEffects that being said both programs have certain strengths and weaknesses. Your question in regard to creating animations in AfterEffects and then plugging them into Flash only makes me ask more quesitons.

Honestly - if you are looking to create simple animations for a website or banner - use Flash, not AfterEffects. The only thing I would use AfterEffects for importing into flash would be to create text animations and special fx and only if I could not duplicate that same animation in Flash.

If you use AfterEffects to make a FX laden movies and export a swf your file will be HUGE! Whereas Flash is object oriented and uses the best compression possible and vector drawing to create the same animation.

You can sometimes learn by opening files that others have created, I would go to Actionscript.org or Flashkit.com - those two places have tons of tutorials and downloadable FLA that you can use to create really cool animations for the web.
AfterEffects is really a post-production tool and should be used sparingly for web, at least for right now until everyone has blazing fast speed and the internet becomes more like video.

[the taxidermist]

Great thanks,,, I have been on flashkit but no luck there, Im really looking to do simple transition effects between images, with dissolving cubes and what not, like some of the flash work you see on templatemonster.com ... I havent found anything on flashkit and I have spent a ton of time on there searching. I was just hoping maybe I could some of this in AE and export the frames to flash and make it an fla from there. If you could point me in the direction of where i can find out how to do these transition effects that would be great!

[beenyweenies]

Great thanks,,, I have been on flashkit but no luck there, Im really looking to do simple transition effects between images, with dissolving cubes and what not, like some of the flash work you see on templatemonster.com ... I havent found anything on flashkit and I have spent a ton of time on there searching. I was just hoping maybe I could some of this in AE and export the frames to flash and make it an fla from there. If you could point me in the direction of where i can find out how to do these transition effects that would be great!

Something I have been doing a bit of, and seems to work quite well, is to do transitional elements like you described in After Effects, and rather than exporting SWFs export a FLV, Flash's video format. Flash 8 is pretty darned ubiquitous at this point, and uses the on2vp6 codec, which delivers great quality at tiny file sizes. It also supports an alpha channel which is great for what you are doing.

The workflow is not unlike any other AE work - design your transition at the size you will need it to be for your Flash presentation, export, then convert to FLV using the Flash Video Compressor that comes with Flash 8. Import this file into Flash and incorporate into your animation. The trick is the beginning and end of your transitions, and seamlessly working the whole thing into your Flash project. What I typically do is export a still of the beginning and ending frames of the transitions from After Effects (jpg files) and tack these onto the beginning and end of the FLV once in flash.

Use your imagination and I'm sure you'll come up with something cool!

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