Note: This tutorial only works with Flash 8. You can find a tutorial that works with Flash MX here or, if you want to get really fancy, you can download a free trial of the latest Flash version here.

1. Optimize your video in a video editing program (Avid, Final Cut Pro, etc). When you're happy with the video's length, editing, and sound, save the video file.

2. In Flash (version 8), go to File > Import > Import Video.

3. You'll be presented with a variety of settings:
   • Where is your video file?
     The two options are "On your computer" and "Already deployed to a Web server." In this example, we'll be using the "On your computer" option.

   • Make sure the "On your computer" option is checked. Click the "Choose" button.

   • Find and select your video file on your hard drive.

   • Click the "Continue" button.

   • The next screen asks you "How would you like to deploy your video?" In this project, you should choose "Progressive download from a Web server."

   • Click the "Continue" button.

   • On the next screen, you need to select an "encoding profile." This is a fancy way of asking how clear you want your movie to be. Remember: The clearer the movie, the more information it requires and the longer it takes to download. The goal is to find a middle ground that allows for decent clarity and fast downloading. In this example, we're going to use: "Flash 7 - Medium Quality (400kbps)." Select this option from the download menu.

   • Click the "Continue" button.

   • The next screen lets you choose a "skin" for your movie. A skin is simply a graphical appearance that shows the movie controls (play, pause, rewind, volume, etc.) You can select from a variety of built-in skins by clicking on the drop down menu. Choose whatever you like, any of them will work.

   • Click the "Continue" button.

   • In the final screen, Flash will present you with a whole bunch of text that attempts to tell you exactly what's about to happen. It's wordy and kind of complicated, but the one important thing you need to know is this: Flash is going to import your movie, but the movie file will not be embedded in your Flash file. Rather, the movie file will exist as a totally separate file that is pulled into your Flash file. Right now, this doesn't mean a lot to you, but when we get to the point where you have to load your Flash .swf file onto the Web, you'll need to remember to also load the accompanying movie file. I'll remind you about this when we get to that step.

   • Click the "Finish" button.

   At this point, Flash will show you a dialogue box that shows you the progress of the movie import. This process can take a while, especially if the movie you're importing is long.

4. When Flash finishes importing your movie, you should check the library (CTRL + L or Window > Library) to verify that the movie is now in the library.

5. Now that you have fully imported your movie into Flash, you can place the movie on the exact keyframe where you want the movie to be available. The process is the same process you use whenever you want to place an instance of a symbol within your Flash project:
   • Go to the timeline and create a keyframe (F6) where you want your movie to reside.

   • Go to the library (CTRL + L).

   • Click once on the movie symbol in the library.

   • Drag an instance of the movie symbol from the library to the stage.

   • That's it.

6. At this point you have imported a movie and you have told Flash that you want this movie to be available to the user at a specific keyframe. Under normal circumstances, you would continue to add material to you Flash project and optimize the timeline structure until you are happy with the placement and the organization. When you're done, you need to publish your Flash project to create the final .swf and .html files. (Read "How to Publish a Flash Movie on the Web" for full tips on creating and publishing .swf and .html files.)

   To publish your Flash project go to File > Publish.

   Flash will publish the .swf and .html files in the same directory as your original .fla file.

   Note: Flash will also publish a number of extra files related to the movie you imported. Here's an example (these are sample file names; yours will be different):

   

   • ClearOverAll.swf - This is the "skin" file that Flash uses to create the video controls (play, pause, rewind, volume, etc.)
     This file needs to be transferred to the Web server.

   • FiveFaces.flv - This is a special exported Flash file related to the movie I added to my Flash project (this file was mentioned in Step No. 3).
     This file needs to be transferred to the Web server.

   • FiveFaces.mov - This is the original movie file that I imported into my Flash project.
     This file does not get transferred to the Web server.

   • video-test.fla - This is the editable .fla file.
     This does not get transferred to the Web server.

   • video-test.html - This is the .html file that holds my final Flash project.
     This file needs to be transferred to the Web server.

   • video-test.swf - This is the final exported Flash project.
     This file needs to be transferred to the Web server.

7. You need to transfer the files with extensions .swf, .flv and .html to a live Web server. It is very important that all of these files be placed in the same directory. If they aren't, Flash won't know where to find this information and your overall project won't look correct and/or your video won't play.

8. Once you have transferred your material to a live Web server, fire up a Web browser and type in the full URL for the location of the .html file you created. For example, my final .html file can be found here:

   http://www.theindependentpublisher.com/flash-tutorials/video-test.html

   (Note: Click the big red button to see the video, then click the "Play" button on the video to start the movie).

9. That's it! (Sort of -- What we've covered here is the tip of the iceberg, but it should be enough let you integrate basic movies into Flash projects.)