Chapter 4. Using Video

What You Will Learn

In this lesson, you will:

• Learn about digital video formats

• Learn about platform differences for video

• Use Lingo to control an imported video

• Be introduced to Xtra extensions

• Use cue points to control text

• Learn more Lingo

Approximate Time

This lesson should take you about 2 hours to complete.

Lesson Files

Media Files:

close_call.swf

close_call.mov

close_call.mpg

close_call_frame_one.png

btn_play.png

btn_play_hi.png

btn_pause.png

btn_pause_hi.png

btn_stop.png

btn_stop_hi.png

Starting Files:

portfolio_start.dir

Completed Files:

None

This is the fourth lesson in the Portfolio Presentation project. In this lesson you'll learn about the various digital video formats, as well as using and controlling video.

The completed portfolio project

Digital video is any kind of motion sequence that has been stored in a digital file. The video could be a captured TV show, a rendered 3D animation, orwith Director MX 2004even DVD. Director can handle numerous video formats including QuickTime, RealVideo, AVI, Windows Media, and MPEG.

Unlike video destined for playback on a television, which needs to be a specific size, digital video on a computer can be just about any dimensions you want. This gives you a lot of freedom, allowing you to mix still images and video in the same frame. For example, you could have a training applicationa talking-head video, sayplaced in a corner of the screen that would appear and explain key topics. And, with a little bit of Lingo, bullet points or other indicators can appear when specific points (called cue points) in the video are reached.