• Blogs
• Forums
• Tradeshows
• Partners
• White Papers
• Events

 

Edit Review: Adobe Flash CS3 Professional

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Reviewer: Franklin McMahon

Feature-rich update shines at video encoding and interactivity.

For media artists, there is little middle ground with Adobe Flash — usually you either know it or you don't. Unlike a program such as Adobe Illustrator, which is easy to jump in as needed without mastering it, Flash is a complex program that has long roots based on an unorthodox animation interface. It works unlike any other program you may know. Time learning it is well spent, because the program has an impressive array of powerful features, including an entire scripting language. But is the new version, Flash CS3 Professional, more accessible for film and video producers? We'll look at it from that angle and focus on the new video options. (Flash CS3 Professional is currently available within the following Creative Suite 3 packages: Design Premium, Web Standard, Web Premium, Production Premium, and Master Collection.)

One of the best parts of Flash is the separate video encoder called Adobe Flash CS3 Video Encoder. Here, you can pull in a batch of videos, and the program will churn out high-quality, optimized FLV files that are ready to be incorporated into a Flash project or directly posted on the Web. There is a slight catch with the encoder: The higher-quality encoding options typically require a higher version of the Flash Player. Time marches on, and it's good to see the advancements; however, not everyone out there will be able to enjoy the new Flash-based features you include in your FLV files. You really need to look at your target market to get a sense for the version of Flash they likely have and how aggressively they upgrade.

As of this writing, we are on Flash Player 9. Last year, when a new version of Flash arrived, a new codec was introduced called On2 VP6, which worked with Flash 8 but not Flash 7. Flash 7 was more widespread last year, so back then, I throttled down and encoded files using the older and more compatible Sorenson Spark encoder preset for maximum compatibility. Now Flash 8 is dominant, so it's a safer bet to use the stronger On2 VP6 encoder. Just as an example, I recently converted some QuickTime (QT) video files that all started around the 80MB range for a client. Running them through the On2 encoder produced files that were 20MB, or one-fourth the size — and that was on medium quality. They looked great. The encoder offers several options to tweak the video and audio data rate and quality, as well as a number of presets for easy batch conversions. You can also crop and resize your video, as well as trim the length.

The encoder has several new features in this CS3 version, such as de-interlacing and advanced cue-point control. The latter feature illustrates something about the future of Flash media in general. While Flash has always been interactive, the surface of that potential has only been scratched. It's time for modern content producers to learn more about creating interactive, nonlinear media experiences. Cues are a good place to start.

Flash cues (which can now be imported and exported) are basically scripted triggers that allow you to activate other elements in your presentation. For example, a segment of your video shows a product. You could embed a cue point that causes a logo to slide up next to the video, or the cue point could trigger a link to a URL at a specific time.

All these new encoder features are welcome; however, the encoder remains primarily a tool for creating standalone FLV files. If you are truly looking to leverage interactivity, there are more features in Flash CS3 Professional(where you can also access the encoder). Within Flash CS3, you can tap into the video encoder via the Import to Stage menu option, which walks you through wizard-like screens that ask you how you want to deploy your video — as progressive download or streaming, for example. After deciding on data rates and quality, you can choose from a new CS3 library of more than 30 new customizable player skins. After the video is encoded, it is dropped right into your Flash project, complete with playback controls.

Not only are there lots of new player skins for exporting video clips in Flash, but the player component has been upgraded in CS3 to include closed captioning. There's also improved support for streaming and progressively downloading video clips. Now you have a choice over whether you deploy via streaming and buffering, or if you want the video to play as soon as there is enough of the clip downloaded to get rolling.

Flash CS3 now offers a robust QuickTime export, so you can actually save your whole Flash project to QT. Through this new export, you can even include nested movie clips and use QuickTime effects such as drop shadow and blur. QT export now allows you to export your entire animated presentation out to a file for easy import into After Effects and Premiere Pro. Previously, you could export only simple keyframe animations as QuickTime; now, Flash exports everything you can do within the program. All your animations, runtime effects, and action-script triggers are converted to a video file upon export. You can also export a single layer as a QuickTime movie.

Moving away from the video side, two of the biggest additions are built-in importers for both Photoshop PSD files and Illustrator AI files. When I met with the Adobe crew in New York for a week-long press preview before CS3 shipped, this was one of the Flash CS3 elements that they were most proud of, and it seemed to be the most challenging to implement correctly. Not just simple importers, these allow you to preserve all layers and structure. Essentially, when you import files from Illustrator and Photoshop, you see your entire layout in Flash CS3 Professional. There are lots of possibilities: Convert a layer to Flash or to keyframes, flatten a bitmap layer or keep it intact with editable layer styles, select a layer and make it a movie, switch to a different compression ratio per layer, or select multiple layers and merge them. Keep in mind that this can be done before you even enter the Stage. Chances are good that you'll spend a lot of creative time in the PSD and AI importer windows. I had been using a third-party plug-in to get PSD files into Flash, but this new built-in importer is amazing. It's almost worth the upgrade price itself just because it's so seamless and flexible.

Speaking of Illustrator, Adobe has improved the drawing tools in this new version to leverage the power of Illustrator CS3. There are new shape primitives with selectable corner rounding and wedging. The new advanced pen tool now works pretty much like the one in AI, with precise Bezier control points/adjustments. You can also copy and paste between Illustrator and Flash now.

Another new program-wide feature is the ability to cut and paste animations and export by layer. There's also a redesigned debugger for testing. If you like to dive into ActionScript, the Flash programming language, you'll love the new feature that allows you to convert an animation to ActionScript. Animate as you normally would via the timeline. For example, create a bouncing ball that suddenly explodes. That motion is converted to ActionScript (which is text) from your keyframes, and then that text code can be dropped on another object, shared, or saved for later use. Also new is Adobe Device Central for testing your movies and projects on simulated mobile device screens. Finally, Adobe has redesigned the Flash interface to visually make it more in step with that of the rest of the CS3 family.

If you are just looking for a program to convert your videos to Flash, Flash CS3 will do a great job, but it's probably overkill. A better option would be a standalone encoder from a third-party company. Flash CS3 is more suited for those who want to create sizzle around the video in the form of a professionally designed web player and interactive elements. Flash Professional is not an easy program to dive into, but it continues to be the most powerful and feature-rich Flash creation program on the market. If you just want to do some quick text stuff, Google for “Flash programs,” and you'll find a slew of third-party software. If you are an intermediate Flash user or a pro, the new video features and the fantastic Photoshop and Illustrator importers make the package extremely appealing. Add some new advanced drawing tools and a more CS3-like interface, and Flash CS3 Professional is a major and very welcome update.

---

bottomline

Company: Adobe
www.adobe.com

Product: Flash CS3 Professional

Assets: Flash CS3 Video Encoder, more power to create interactive features, robust QuickTime export.

Caveats: Steep learning curve for non-Flash veterans.

Demographics: Editors looking to add professionally designed interactive elements.

PRICE: $699 (STANDALONE); $199 (UPGRADE)

© 2008 Penton Media, Inc.