How to Combine Flash Movies Into One
Combining multiple Flash movies into one cohesive video can be a rather simple endeavor, given the proper software programs. A familiarity with video editing is necessary, but using a basic video editing program will enable you to perform this task with relative ease. For the ultimate editing control, use a professional, non-linear editing program such as Adobe's Premiere or Apple's Final Cut. For a simpler user experience, Apple's iMovie, Final Cut Express or a similar consumer video editing program will work well in combining the Flash movies into one video. For an in-depth comparison of the these two programs to help choose the appropriate tool, refer to the "References" section.
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Instructions
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Gather your Flash movies into one folder on your computer. Be sure that each movie has the ".flv" file extension (FLV), which indicates that the movie is in a Flash format.
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Open your video editing software program and import the folder containing your Flash movies. Go to your "Sequence Settings" in your editing program and set the proper dimensions of the existing Flash video files. For example, if your movie is formatted for the Internet at a rectangle, or 4:3 aspect ratio, as seen on many televisions, the dimensions will resemble a 640-by-480 pixel ratio. A wide-screen format will be approximately 1440 by 1080 pixels, or an aspect ratio of 16:9. A basic editing program should automatically match your sequence settings based on the existing Flash video files imported to the project.
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Add each video to your timeline using a selection tool from your tool bar. This step should be a simple drag and drop action. Choose a transition after each movie or simply leave a gap in the timeline between each movie of several seconds. This gap will represent a black screen when the video is created. Add a cross-fade transition onto the end of each video if you would like the movie to slowly fade to black.
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Once all your Flash movies are added to the timeline with the proper transitions, text slides and additional graphics, set your "In and Out" markers at the beginning and the end of your timeline. Finalize your video using a "Render" action or a similar finalizing step which will vary depending on your editing program. A professional video editing program will use multiple Render settings and must be completed prior to exporting to ensure that all the elements of the video are synchronized for proper playback. A basic editing program should perform this step automatically upon exporting.
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Export your file into a MOV format and save in a master folder along with the project files from the video editing program. Both of these files will serve as your reference files and may be accessed at a later date for editing purposes or additional exports from the original project file.
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Export the same movie using a smaller file size for the Internet, such as an MPG, M4V, or FLV. These files will be compressed and there will be some loss of quality depending on the size of the file and the format chosen. You may need to use QuickTime Pro for exporting to an FLV, depending on your video editing software program. If so, simply open the MOV file in QuickTime and go to "File" > "Export" and choose the proper file format.
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References
- Photo Credit computer image by Orlando Florin Rosu from Fotolia.com
