More and more, the boundaries between video and desktop applications such as Adobe Flash™ have been blurring. So it's inevitable that people ask me, "Can you make my Flash animation into a DVD?" Or, "Can I use Flash to design my DVD's motion menu?" The answer is yes. It is recommended that you use an application like Adobe After Effects™ or Apple Motion™ instead, which are specifically designed for video production to create it. But if designed correctly, Flash can be used for your video source and menus.

The first thing to keep in mind is that Flash is not a video application. It was designed for creating small animations and interactive applications for delivery on the web and on CD. But within the past few versions, the ability to export Flash animations to QuickTime video files was added. Note that if you’re looking for 10 bit uncompressed or HD Video files, Flash is not an option for you.

Flash uses the Apple Animation Codec when exporting to QuickTime. Since computer generated animation contains less noise and grain than video footage, the animation codec is believed to retain high quality through the use of lossless compression. Therefore, in theory, it can handle a greater amount of compression with less artifacts and problems. As far as how well this is accomplished, you will need to be the final judge. As always, make some tests and always play your DVD on a TV monitor to make the final judgment. For more information on the Apple Animation codec consult the Final Cut Pro user manual.

If you’re planning to export your Flash animation for use on a DVD, remember video has a specific screen size and it’s best to set it up your Flash file for video export from the beginning. Even though Flash uses vector-based graphics, and therefore scales well, if you have to scale your animation, any bitmapped images will degrade and your aspect ratio may change resulting in a less than favorable outcome. Your goal is to create an animation with the final screen size of 720 x 480 pixels (DV screen size). But because computers use a square pixel aspect ratio and TVs use a rectangular pixel ratio, adjustments will need to be made.

When creating your Flash animation, set up your document size at 720 x 534. This will compensate for the pixel aspect difference. You will also need to follow the action safe/text safe guidelines as well as other rules pertaining to DVD menu creation. For an explanation of the square pixel vs rectangular pixel size and other information about DVD menu design, please refer to Designing Custom DVD Menus: Parts I & II on our website (linked below). Once your animation is working the way you intend, select File > Export > Export Movie. Under Format choose QuickTime. Now your animation is ready to convert to DVD.

One final note, when using Flash animation for DVD, keep in mind that button interactions and some ActionScript will be ignored. Any buttons or programming must be created within your authoring software.

Designing Custom DVD Menus: Part I
Designing Custom DVD Menus: Part II