Flash® Professional CS5 Bible

Chapter 12. Adding Sound

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Working with audio formats

• Understanding the Speech codec

• Importing sounds into Flash

• Adding sounds to buttons and frames

• Understanding Sync options

• Using compression in publish settings

• Customizing compression in the Library panel

• Working with VBR MP3

One of the more neglected — or perhaps understated — aspects of multimedia development is sound. Because many people who use Flash or create multimedia come from graphic arts backgrounds, it's no surprise that sound is often applied as the last effect to an otherwise visually stunning presentation — there may be little or no consideration for the soundtrack in early stages of development. Moreover, it's the one element that is usually taken from a stock source, instead of being the Flash designer's original work. (Exceptions exist, of course, as Flash designers have demonstrated time and time again.)

Note

It goes without saying that as Web projects or applications grow in scope, production teams tend to include specific members responsible for unique tasks, from graphic design to user interface design to sound design.

You can use sound in Flash movies to enhance interactive design with navigation elements, such as buttons, to layer the visitor's experience with a background soundtrack, to add narration, or for more experimental uses. In this chapter, I focus on the fundamentals of importing and integrating sound files into your Flash project. I also discuss the intricacies of controlling audio output, ...