Multimedia Presentation

how to approach this?

[2_much]

I was asked by a non-profit that I volunteer with to create a website including video & auido. It's basically an online journal of an event that is held twice a year, a Buddhist festival.

I was hoping for suggestions on how to approach this - I'm clueless.

Should we use Flash? How do we convert Video into Flash? Is it better to have the video in Flash, or use an Mpeg with Quicktime? Should the video start playing as soon as they reach the site? Or should we let them click first?

Any examples, ideas, or further reading?

[richardb]

Hi

>>Should we use Flash?
Not sure, what’s the TM’s bandwidth? Broadband or better no probs. For dialup users, video imported into flash would be a no no.

>>How do we convert Video into Flash?
Flash 5/mx has direct import capabilities via S spark

>>Is it better to have the video in Flash, or use an Mpeg with Quicktime?
Re q1 you could use HJSplit and edit the video into small segments e.g. 10 * 1 Meg files.

>>Should the video start playing as soon as they reach the site?
Personal preference, me well I hate people telling me what to do ;)

HTH

Rich

An afterthought. Not sure what % of PC users have QT installed? Megs/avi/wmv are fine.

[2_much]

Hey, thanks for the answer Richard, I really appreciate it. I checked out some official movie sites to find out how they do it, and noticed quite a bit of flash.

However, I don't understand the technology behind it. Have you read any articles that could help to orient me?

I know nothing about these types of sites.

Thanks!

[richardb]

Hi

Now you're asking :( Tried a number of book marks, think I need a spring clean... ...sorry it's been a while since I...

Possible tuts?

[dmoz.org...]

Surpisingly from MM ;)

[macromedia.com...]

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Resources?

[flashkit.com...] ... a good resource

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For working with movie clips - a must for Flash.

[moock.org...]

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Action scripting

[actionscripts.org...] ... a good resource

Without knowing more about the project I am kinda trying to second guess... From the intial post there's nothing that says Flash would be the best way forward.

Might be easier just post probs as they occur?

Rich

Ohhh just came across this one!

[crashsoftware.com...] $10 for the easy way out :)

[garann]

Hi 2_much,

Putting a movie into a Flash document is actually pretty simple. It will let you import (File -> Import to Library..) a few different formats, including Quicktime, .avi, Mpeg, and Windows Media. When you import it, you'll want to choose the option to embed (not link) it. You'll then need to adjust the settings - most of these should be fine the way they are, but you may want to adjust the quality (this has a big effect on output file size). Then you just drag it from your Library into your movie. If you don't have enough frames, it may give you an error, but just let it create the frames and it'll be happy again.

As far as whether you should use it, there are obvious advantages, but you have to determine what's best for your users.
1. It's one plugin, rather than any of three or more (Quicktime, Real, WindowsMedia, etc..), that you're depending on your users having.
2. You can add branding, movie controls, etc. in the style of your own site, rather than a media player's branding.

The obvious drawback is that you may have to trade some quality in the movie for a small filesize, once you export the Flash.

hth,
g.