Video Alpha Channel To Flash CS3

Been a while since I’ve posted some tips, but here is a quick one for all you Flash & AfterEffects developers out there.

When exporting .flv with an alpha channel from After Effects to use within Flash on different color bakcgrounds, make sure to set your comp’s background color to 50% gray for best resaults within Flash. If you use a black or white background, the alpha channel will leave artifacts in these colors on the edges of the alpha. Somehow the 50% gray blends better when using various background colors in Flash.

Otherwise, simply try matching the color of the background you will end up using in Flash before pulling the alpha. You can set the composition background color by pressing  CMD+SHIFT+B (MAC) or CTRL+SHIFT+B (PC) or going to Composition › Background Color.

Replacing items on the timeline

AfterEffects: To replace an item on the timeline with another footage while keeping it’s original movement and effects, you can do the following:
Click on a layer in the timeline once to select it, go to your project window, select a new item (footage, etc.), then hold down the Option key (ALT) and drag the new item over the old one in the timeline. That will replace that item for only that layer in that comp. Also, you can select multiple layers on the timeline and replace them all using the same technique.