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318 Chapter 12
When you sync a sound to the Timeline, you're essentially instructing
Flash how to play the sound. Syncing sounds is a fundamental operation
because choosing the wrong sync operation can drastically change
how the sound plays out during the execution of the Flash movie. Flash
gives you the ability to choose a separate sync operation for each indi-
vidual sound file. When you place the sound on the Timeline, the
Properties panel displays the audio properties for the selected sound
and lets you define individual properties for every sound in your Flash
document. For example, you have a background music sound that's
located in several scenes, and you want to make sure it doesn't play on
top of itself (Sync: Stop). Or, you have a narration that you want per-
fectly synced to an animation on the Timeline (Sync: Stream).
Syncing Sounds to
the Timeline
Sync Sounds to the Timeline
Select the keyframe on the
Timeline containing the sound you
want to sync.
Click the Window menu, and then
click Properties to open the
Property Inspector.
Click the Sync list arrow, and then
select from the following options:
◆ Event. When you select Event
(default) the sound plays when
the record head reaches the
keyframe containing the sound,
and continues to play until the
end of the sound. If the record
head reaches another keyframe
that contains the same sound, it
will begin playing on top of the
original sound.
◆ Start. Doesn’t allow the sound
to play on top of itself.
◆ Stop. Stops a sound if it is
already playing, without
affecting any other sounds.
◆ Stream. The Stream Sync
creates sounds synchronized to
the Timeline. This is useful for
matching sounds to a particular
visual event in the movie. If the
video can not keep up with the
audio, Flash will automatically
drop video frames to keep the
audio synchronized.
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Chapter 12 Working with Sounds 319
Once a sound is imported into Flash and placed on the Timeline, you
can add sound effects and determine the number of loops. When you
loop a sound, you're instructing the Flash movie to repeat the sound a
given number or times, or to loop the sound forever. Some sounds loop
better than others. For example, you create some background music,
and you want it to continue to play for as long as the visitor is on that
particular page, but you don't want the sound to have a definable
beginning or end. In addition to loops, you can also add effects to a
sound, including fades in and out, and fade to the left or right channel.
The effects applied will only modify the selected audio file. Each copy
of an audio file dragged into a Flash movie is controlled independently.
Adding Effects and
Looping Sounds
Add Effects and Loop Sounds
Select the keyframe on the
Timeline containing the sound you
want to change.
Click the Window menu, and then
click Properties to open the
Property Inspector.
To add e ff ec ts to the s ou nd, cl ic k
the Effect list arrow, and then
select an option:
◆ Left Channel/Right Channel.
Plays sound in the left or right
channel.
◆ Fade Left To Right/Fade Right
To Left. Changes sounds from
one channel to the other.
◆ Fade In. Increases volume.
◆ Fade Out. Decreases volume.
◆ Custom. Creates custom in and
out sound points using the Edit
Envelope.
To loo p a sound, cl ick th e li st
arrow, and then select an option:
◆ Loop. Click Loop to force the
sound into an infinite loop.
◆ Repeat. Click Repeat, and then
enter the number of times you
want the sound to loop (up to
65,535).
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Sooner or later, you're going to want to export your Flash movie that
contains audio as an SWF file. The process of publishing is relatively
painless; however, there are a few considerations as to the compres-
sion of the files, which will be important to the size and playability of
the Flash movie. Publishing requires knowledge of where the document
will be used. For example, if the document is to be streamed over the
Internet, and your visitors have relatively low bandwidth, you would
want to choose compression settings that would significantly reduce
the size of the audio files. It's possible that the Flash document is
intended for playing off a CD/DVD; in that case, you could increase the
compression settings. When you're designing a Flash document, it's
imperative that you understand the end game and design the document
toward that goal. Always remember that you can design a Flash docu-
ment, but it's your visitors that ultimately will see, and use it.
Publishing Documents
Containing Audio
Publish Sound Documents
Click the File menu, and then click
Publish Settings.
Click the Formats tab, and then
select the Flash (.swf) check box.
Click the Flash tab.
Click the Set buttons for Audio
Stream or Audio Event.
Select other sound options as
desired:
◆ Select the Override Sound
Settings check box to override
any sound settings applied to
the individual sound files within
the active Flash document.
◆ Select the Export Device
Sounds check box to export
sounds suitable for devices,
such as mobile devices, instead
of the library sound.
Click the Compression list arrow,
and then select from the following
options:
◆ Disable. Turns off all sound
compression options and
instructs Flash not to export
sounds.
◆ ADPCM. Performs minor
compression to the audio files.
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Chapter 12 Working with Sounds 321
◆ MP3. Creates audio files,
especially music files, with
excellent quality in a small file
size.
◆ Raw. Leaves the sounds intact
without any compression
schemes applied.
◆ Speech. Creates optimized files
for the human voice.
Select the Convert Stereo To Mono
check box for the ADPCM and
RAW compression formats.
Based on your Compression
selections from step 5, select the
following options:
◆ Sample Rate. Available for
ADPCM, Raw, and Speech
compression. The higher the
sample rate the better the
quality, but the bigger the file.
◆ ADPCM bits. Higher bit values
translate into better quality
audio, but larger file sizes.
◆ Quality. Available for MP3
compression. The Best option
gives the finest quality, but
produces a larger file.
◆ Bit Rate. Available for MP3
compression. The higher the
value, the better the quality and
the bigger the file.
Click OK.
Select the Override Sound
Settings check box to take priority
over the individual settings applied
to the audio files.
Select the Export Device Sounds
check box to export device sounds
with the published Flash movie.
Click OK.
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Changing Audio File Quality
You cannot publish a Flash movie with audio files that are better
quality than the originals. For example, if the MP3 audio files you're
using have a Bit rate of 16kbps, increasing that to 48kbps does not
create a better quality audio file. In fact, that’s true of most Flash
objects, not just audio. To increase the quality of an audio file would
require the use of an audio application. You can find sound programs
at
www.downloads.com
.
For Your Information
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322 Chapter 12
Flash is not a major sound editing application. For example, you can't
trim or cut audio files, nor can you enhance audio or reduce hum and
background noises. Flash expects all that to be done before you import
the file. However, you do have some control over when the sound
begins and ends (time in, and time out), and you do have control over
the volume (fade in and fade out). Making sure that your audio file is
clean and smooth flowing will help with the quality of your audio file.
Editing Sounds
Work with Edit Envelope
Select a keyframe on the Timeline
that contains an audio file.
Click the Window menu, and then
click Properties to open the
Property Inspector.
Click the Edit button.
Click the Effect list arrow, and then
select a channel, fade, or custom
effect.
Drag the Time In marker to the
right to change where the audio
file begins.
Drag the Time Out marker to the
left to change where the audio file
ends (the Time Out marker appears
at the end of the audio file).
Click the Envelope lines to adjust
the volume on the right or left
channels.
Use the Zoom buttons to increase
or decrease the size of the audio
file in the edit window.
Click the Play or Stop buttons to
test the changes to the audio file.
Click the Time Marker buttons to
change the marker code from
frames to seconds.
Click OK to save your changes.
IMPORTANT
Adjusting an
audio file using Edit Envelope only
impacts the select instance of the
audio file. The original audio file
(in the Library) is unaffected by
these changes.
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Chapter 12 Working with Sounds 323
Adobe Soundbooth is a program that allows you to record and modify
sound files. If you have Soundbooth installed on your computer, you can
edit imported sounds in Soundbooth directly from within Flash. When
you’re done editing the sound file in Soundbooth, you can save the file
and your changes automatically appear in Flash. If you change the
name or format of a sound after editing it, you’ll need to re-import the
modified file back into Flash. You can edit all different sound file formats
in Soundbooth. If you want to non-destructively edit sounds, then use
the default sound file format (ASND) in Soundbooth for the best results.
Editing Sounds Using
Soundbooth
Edit a Sound Using Adobe
Soundbooth
Click the Window menu, and then
click Library to open the Library
panel.
Right-click (Win) or Control-click
(Mac) the sound file you want to
edit, and then click Edit with
Soundbooth.
The sound file opens in Adobe
Soundbooth.
Edit the sound file using Sound-
booth tools and commands.
◆ Use Help in Soundbooth to edit
the sound file the way you
want.
When you’re done, save the sound
file in Soundbooth. Click the File
menu, and then click Save.
◆ To sav e th e ch an ge s in a no n-
destructive format, save the file
using the ASND file format, the
default in Soundbooth.
◆ If you change the name or
format of a sound after editing
it, you’ll need to re-import the
modified file back into Flash.
Quit (Mac) or exit (Win)
Soundbooth to return to Flash and
view the edited version of the
sound file in the Library panel.
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From the Library of Wow! eBook
. drastically change
how the sound plays out during the execution of the Flash movie. Flash
gives you the ability to choose a separate sync operation for. useful for
matching sounds to a particular
visual event in the movie. If the
video can not keep up with the
audio, Flash will automatically
drop video