1.
You can use any of the following file formats to prepare your artwork,
animation or movie:
Static
image formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PCT and SWF (Flash).
Movie
formats: SWF (Flash), QuickTime, AVI, and MPEG.
Note:
While SWF is mostly seen as a "movie" format, you can
always use it to display a static image (taking advantage of its
vector graphics capability). Just make sure the "movie"
contained a timeline of at least 12 frames long.
2.
You may
use ANY size of artwork for your BG clip as long as all sides are EVEN numbered. Comixware will fit
the height of your movie to the height of its display window while maintaining
the picture's aspect ratio. However, we recommend the dimension of your BG clip to be proportional to Comixware's
preset screen ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision), 16:9 (Wide) or 4:3 (Standard). These screen ratios not only serve best for your Comixware presentation but also are compatible with most prevalent industry standards used today.
For asset of bitmap media, the other factor to consider is whether you intend to output your movie for other uses. If you do, in what resolution and for what purpose the movie is to be exported? For example, if you want to do a HDTV output you should prepare your original bitmap assets according to HD standard: 1280 X 720 (or 1920 X 1080) in 16:9 ratio. Remember, the output of bitmap media can only be as good as its source materials. Vector media (such as SWF), on the other hand, has no such restriction on source resolution. Since vector file is resolution independent, you can blow it up to ANY size you want for its output.
3.
If your movie is of SWF format and there is soundtrack in it, have
the sound track started from frame 2 or anywhere after that. Also note
that your SWF movie should be of at least 12 frames long, even if
it contains just a still picture. You can always shorten or lengthen the clip with Scene
Length control in SC mode.
4. IMPORTANT: Your SWF file should NOT be COMPRESSED. This measure ensures your SWF assets work and export correctly from Comixware. The best way to avoid confusion is to always publish your SWF in Flash 5 format. See instruction.
5. Make sure your asset's file name contained NO SPACE in it. For example, "My_Animation.swf" is ok, "My Animation.swf" is not. Also don't use any illegal character such as: \ / : * & . " ? < > | for your file name.
6. Locate the directory
where you store your Timeline Assets. On a PC the path to this directory
is usually C:\Comixware Assets\user\timeline\. You will see 10 bin folders under this directory, "bin1" through "bin10".
Place your BG file(s) in desired bin(s). See The Physical Store of User Assets for more info. The next time you launch Comixware,
thumbnail(s) of respective BG clip(s) will appear in the respective Timeline Asset Bin(s) ready to be used.
NOTE: Comixware creates asset thumbnail for you on-the-fly, dynamically
drawing picture from the first frame of your BG clip.
7. There is a sample user BG file come with your Comixware package.
Look for an empty Flash source file named "sample_bg_clip.fla"
in bin1 of your "timeline" folder (C:\Comixware Assets\user\timeline\bin1). Use it as template for creating
your own SWF BG clip.
8.
The way to use your own assets is exactly the same as using Comixware vendor assets. You simply drag and drop your clips into Timeline
for movie composition and editing.
9.
A word of caution, depending on your system, clips of large file size
and/or complex graphics (especially vector gradient composition) could impair your Comixware performance. Please
also note that the performance of movie media (MPEG file in particular)
is greatly influenced by individual system's software and hardware
(processor and video board, etc.) configuration. The same media
files may behave very differently on different systems. We generally
recommend converting your MPEG files to QuickTime or AVI format
for better performance in Comixware.
Compose
> Timeline
Assets > User BG Clip
