Editing Audio in Flash


Although Flash was never intended to perform as a full-featured sound editor, it does a remarkable job with basic sound editing. If you plan to make extensive use of sound in Flash, we recommend that you consider investing in a more robust sound editor. You'll have fewer limitations and greater control over your work.

Web Resource 

You can find an archived version of the "Working with Audio Applications" chapter from the Macromedia Flash MX Bible (Wiley, 2002) at www.flashsupport.com/archive. That chapter discusses several popular sound editors that are commonly used in concert with Flash.

Sound-Editing Controls

Flash 8 has basic sound-editing controls in the Edit Envelope dialog box, which is accessed by clicking the Edit button in the Property inspector. (As you may recall from previous sections, you must first select the keyframe containing the sound, and then open the Property inspector.) The Time In control and the Time Out control, or Control Bars, in Edit Envelope enable you to change the In (start) and Out (end) points of a sound. You use the envelope handles to create custom Fade-in and Fade-out effects. The Edit Envelope dialog box also enables you to edit each sound channel separately if you are working with a stereo (twochannel) sound.

Note 

The edits you apply to a sound file in the Edit Envelope dialog box affect only the specific instance you have assigned to a keyframe. The original file that resides in the Flash document's Library panel is neither changed nor resaved.

A sound's In point is where the sound starts playing, and a sound's Out point is where the sound finishes. The Time In control and the Time Out control are used for setting or changing a sound's In and Out points. Here's how to do this:

  1. Start by selecting the keyframe of the sound you want to edit; then access the Property inspector.

  2. Click the Edit button in the sound attributes area of the Property inspector to open the Edit Envelope dialog box, shown in Figure 15-14.

    Caution 

    You can not edit the In and Out points if your sound is set to Loop in the Property inspector. Make sure you have it set to Repeat. Oddly, you can go back and set it to Loop after you have set In and Out points in Repeat mode.

  3. Drag the Time In control and Time Out control (located in the horizontal strip between the two channels) onto the Timeline of the sound's waveform to define or restrict which section will play.

  4. Use the envelope handles to edit the sound volume by adding handles and dragging them up or down to modulate the volume.

  5. Click the Play button to hear the sound as edited before returning to the authoring environment.

  6. Rework the sound if necessary.

  7. When you've finessed the points and are satisfied with the sound, click OK to return to the Property inspector.

  8. Save your Flash document.

image from book
Figure 15-14: The sound-editing tools and options of the Edit Envelope dialog box, which is accessed from the Property inspector

Applying Effects from the Effect Menu of the Property Inspector

You can apply a handful of preset fades and other effects to a sound by selecting the effect from the Effect menu located in the sound attributes area of the Property inspector. For many uses, the Flash presets will be more than sufficient, but if you find yourself feeling limited, remember that more subtle effects can be created in an external sound editor. We describe Flash's preset effects in detail here:

  • None: No effect is applied to either of the sound channels.

  • Left Channel/Right Channel: Plays only the right or left channel of a stereo sound.

  • Fade Left to Right/Fade Right to Left: This effect lowers the sound level of one channel while raising the level of the other, creating a panning effect. The effect occurs over the entire length of the sound.

  • Fade In/Fade Out: Fade In gradually raises the level of the beginning of a sound clip. Fade Out gradually lowers the level at the end of a sound. The default length for either effect is approximately 25 percent of the length of the clip. We've noticed that even if the size of the selection is edited with the control bars, the duration of the Fade In/Fade Out remains the same. (Thus, a 35-second sound clip with an original default Fade In time of 9 seconds, still has a 9-second Fade In time even when the selection's length is reduced to, say, 12 seconds.) You can resolve this problem by creating a custom fade.

  • Custom: Any time you manually alter the levels or audio handles within the Edit Envelope dialog box, Flash 8 automatically resets the Effect menu to Custom.

Creating a Custom Fade In or Fade Out

For maximum sound-editing control within Flash, use the envelope handles to create a custom fade or to lower the audio levels (or amplitude) of a sound. In addition to creating custom fades, you can lower the levels creatively to create subtle, low-volume background sounds. Here's how:

  1. Select the keyframe of the sound you want to edit.

  2. Click the Edit button of the Property inspector to open the Edit Envelope dialog box.

  3. Click the envelope lines at any point to create new envelope handles.

  4. After handles have been created, you can drag them around to create your desired volume and fading effects.

    The lines indicate the relative volume level of the sound. When you drag an envelope handle downward, the line slopes down, indicating a decrease in the volume level, while dragging an envelope handle upward has the opposite effect. The Edit Envelope control is limited to eight envelope handles per channel (eight for left and eight for right).

Tip 

You can remove envelope handles by dragging them outside the Edit Envelope dialog box.

Other Controls in the Edit Envelope Control

Other useful tools in the Edit Envelope dialog box warrant mention. Refer to Figure 15-14 for their locations.

  • Zoom In/Zoom Out: These tools either enlarge or shrink the view of the waveform, and they are particularly helpful when you're altering the In or Out points or envelope handles.

  • Seconds/Frames: The default for viewing sound files is to represent time in seconds. But viewing time in frames is advantageous for syncing Stream sound. Toggle between viewing modes by clicking either the Seconds or Frames button at the lower right of the Edit Envelope dialog box.

The Repeat/Loop Option

This option appears in the Property inspector, yet a measure of its functionality occurs in conjunction with the Edit Envelope dialog box. The Repeat/Loop drop-down menu and field is used to set the number of times that a sound file will repeat (or loop indefinitely). You can use a small looping selection, such as a break beat or jazz riff, for a background soundtrack. Or loop a short ambient noise for an interesting effect. To test the quality of a looping selection, click the Edit button, which takes you to the Edit Envelope dialog box, where you can click the Play button for a preview of your loop. If the loop isn't perfect or has hiccups, use the In and Out control bars and envelope handles to trim or taper off a blank or adversely repeating section.

Tip 

Flash links looped sounds and handles them as one long sound file (although it's really one little sound file played repeatedly). Because this linkage is maintained within the editing environment, the entire expanse of a looped sound can be given a custom effect in the Edit Envelope dialog box. For example, a simple repeating two-measure loop can be diminished over 30 loops. This is a subtle effect that performs well, yet is economical in terms of file size. Note, however, that this applies only to Event sounds.




Macromedia Flash 8 Bible
Macromedia Flash8 Bible
ISBN: 0471746762
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 395

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