// THE PRODUCT: After Effects 2 Flash-Transform Properties®
// ——————————————————————————————————————————————-
Have you ever wanted to port the Transform keyframe effects you created in Adobe After Effects® to Adobe Flash® without having to render out FLVs/MOVs that had a small screen size, large file size and questionable quality due to compression? Have you ever wanted to take the position data from your Motion Tracking/Tracker from AE to Flash as well? Now you can with this Flash Extension.The solution exists in two parts: 1) an After Effects script used to export the Transform Property keyframe data; and 2) After Effects 2 Flash-Transform Properties, which is a Flash Extension that allows you to easily import/parse/map keyframe data from the After Effects Transform Properties (Anchor Point, Position, Scale, Rotation and Opacity) to the properties of a MovieClip(s).
View an example of it in action along with a rendered QuickTime here.
THE PROCESS: Transform Properties
In 3-steps simple steps you will:
1) Create the Transform keyframes in After Effects
2) Export the Transform Properties of your choice to an XML file via a Script, which is included for free with this Extension. Note: the XML data can either be imported into Flash via the xml file, or hard coded in Flash as an XML Object. Please refer to the FAQ below for the how-to in regards to hard coding the XML data.
3) Map the Transform Property Values – eg., Position: X, Y – to the properties of a MovieClip in Flash.
Here is an example of the Actionscript code for mapping the values looks like this:
// DEFINE PATH/MYXML.XML
this.AE2Flash_cmp.importKeyframeXML (’xml/woohoo.xml’);
// MAP THE X + Y VALUES FROM AE TO FLASH
// mapAE2Flash(target, ‘AE Property’, ‘AE Value’, ['Flash Property']);
this.AE2Flash_cmp.mapAE2Flash(this.my_mc, ‘position’, ‘x’, ['_x']);
this.AE2Flash_cmp.mapAE2Flash(this.my_mc,‘position’, ‘y’, ['_y']);
// START THE ANIMATION
this.AE2Flash_cmp.startAnimation ();
If you are familiar with Penner, Lacoz and/or Moses’ Tweens (ZigoEngine + Fuse Kit) , you’ll be very comfortable with the syntax used for After Effects 2 Flash-Transform Properties. When in doubt, Tool Tips and a Help Book with documentation are readily available to you within the Flash IDE.
// THE PROCESS: Motion Tracking/Tracker
// ——————————————————————————————————————————————-
To export the Motion Tracking Position data (note: only the position data), do the following step prior to doing the same steps listed above:
1) If it’s just the position data from the motion tracker that you’re interested in, you can copy the Attach Point keyframes and paste it to the (Transform) Position of another layer that contains any graphic.
2) Proceed to step #2 listed above in ‘The Process: Transform Properties’.
// REQUIREMENTS
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The script for exporting the keyframe data of the Transform Properties out of After Effects to XML is compatible with After Effects 6.5 and greater. The After Effects 2 Flash-Transform Properties extension is compatible with Flash MX 2004 and above.
// PURCHASE
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Your purchase of the After Effects 2 Flash- Transform Properties® component also includes, for free, the After Effects script that automatically exports the keyframe data of the selected Transform Properties to an XML file, as well as a tutorial, Tool Tips and Help files. The latter two are available to you within the Flash Actions and Help windows, respectively.
Your price : $40.00 (US dollars).
// CONTACT
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If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to:
sales@drwoohoo.com.
// FAQ
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- Can I export keyframe data from After Effects with After Effects 2 Flash- Transform Properties?- Can I export Motion Tracking data from After Effects with After Effects 2 Flash – Transform Properties? - I create lots of banner ads, (etc.), and I would like to use the keyframe data from After Effects, but I can only use a .swf file for the ad (and not the XML file). Can After Effects 2 Flash – Transform Properties embed the XML data?
- I’m having trouble exporting keyframe data from one or more Transform Properties. I select the Property/Properties, select the export script, enter the file name and save it, however the XML file is missing some/all of the data. What can I do to fix this problem?
- Most of the keyframe data is exported, however, the last keyframe of the Transform Property is not correct. What can I do to fix this problem?
- Can I apply the z-scale from the Scale property and/or z-position from the Position property in After Effects and apply these values in Flash?
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Can I export keyframe data from Effects with After Effects 2 Flash- Transform Properties?
After Effects 2 Flash- Transform Properties allows you to export keyframe data from the following Properties: Anchor Point, Position, Scale, Rotation and Opacity. Keyframe data generated from any Effect Properties is not supported in this component.
Can I export Motion Tracking data from After Effects with After Effects 2 Flash – Transform Properties?
If it’s just the position data from the motion tracker that you’re interested in, you can copy the Attach Point keyframes and paste it to the (Transform) Position of another layer that contains any graphic and use the After Effects 2 Flash – Transform Properties. It includes an AE script that exports all of the keyframe data out as an xml file and also handles all of the Flash importing, parsing and mapping processes for you. You simply need to tell it the target, the AE properties your mapping (eg, position) and what properties of the movieclip you’re interested in changing. for more info on it.
I create lots of banner ads, (etc.), and I would like to use the keyframe data from the Transform Properties of a layer(s) in After Effects, but I can only use a .swf file for the ad (and not the XML file). Can After Effects 2 Flash – Transform Properties embed the XML data?
Yes, you can bypass using an external XML file by creating and populating an internal XML Object with the XML string generated from the AE script included with this component and call the XML parser method instead of the import XML method.
Instead of calling this method, where AE2Flash_cmp is the name of component on the stage:
this.AE2Flash_cmp.importKeyframeXML (’xml/woohoo.xml’);
do this:
this.AE2Flash_cmp.newKeyframeXML = new XML(’—-xml pasted here—–’);
this.AE2Flash_cmp.parseKeyframeXML(this.AE2Flash_cmp.newKeyframeXML);
I’m having trouble exporting keyframe data from one or more Transform Properties. I select the Property/Properties, select the export script, enter the file name and save it, however the XML file is missing some/all of the data. What can I do to fix this problem?
There is a trick to exporting the keyframe data from one or more Transform Properties. As mentioned in the tutorial, the trick is to make sure you have 2 or more keyframes for each Transform Property you are trying to export.
In addition, there is one more trick to ensuring that the last keyframe data is exported properly, discussed in the next question/answer.
Most of the keyframe data is exported, however, the last keyframe of the Transform Property is not correct. What can I do to fix this problem?
When exporting keyframe data from one or more Transform Properties, make sure that at least one Transform Property has 3 keyframes. The first two keyframes define the transformation you desire. The 3rd keyframe is a duplicate of the 2nd to last keyframe and is placed on the very last frame of that property in the timeline.
Can I apply the z-scale from the Scale property and/or z-position from the Position property in After Effects and apply these values in Flash?
Not at this time.
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