Playing Flash on demand

[Riftvalley]

I have been asked to put a Flash presentation onto a website.

What I would like to avoid is the Flash running each time the page is accessed (the presentation is fairly long).

Specifically the sort of thing I would like to do is to put, say, a .jpeg image of the same size as the flash presentation onto the page and then a 'start' button that then opens the Flash when required.

I have seen this done but do not know how to execute it.

In summary, I would like the ability to just to play the Flash content when required.

Many thanks for any help.

[pauland]

Flash presentations of this sort should really be paused at the start and only play when the user clicks them. It shouldn't really be your problem.

What size in pixels is your flash movie and what is the filename called?

[Riftvalley]

Hi, thank you for the swift reply,

THe effect that I would like to understand is similar to this brilliant site http://www.rossiterandco.com/VideoProductionIntro.htm the .swf content only loads and plays when the user clicks the .jpg image, or the .png button.

The advantage is that the page loads quickly and can look good with the user only loading the .swf file if they want it (this means that on subseqent visit the .swf need not be viewed).

I geuss there is some .js invloved together with a .swf player.

Kind regards

M

[pauland]

The link you gave is to a site with a video that plays - it's not flash. You are correct that it uses javascript to switch between jpg and video.

[Riftvalley]

Hi, I thought that it was flash video because when I right clicked is said 'About Adobe Flash player 10.2..' I now see that it is .mp4, other videos on the site are .flv.

To re-phrase my question it is really how to present video like this on a web page. .swf files are OK but they replay every time the page is accessed, which can be a bit tedious. Much preferable that the user only plays the video when required.

As an aside I believe that the video in the website is produced using a program called Opus, which is the one that I use and the output from Opus can be virtually any format from .swf through .mpg4, .avi through to .exe files or DVD video. Runs rings round powerpoint!

Kind regards

M

[pauland]

We are kind of going around in circles. You can do it in javascript (I'm not going to write and debug it - I don't have time). Normally the flash will include a pause to click, but I guess yours doesn't. What size in pixels is the swf and what is it called?

[Riftvalley]

Apologises for the confusion, I will re-phrase. I need to put some presentation material on-line and don't know the best way to do it. I can produce video material in any format, .swf, .flv, .mpg4/2/1, .avi etc. Not sure yet how long the video will be. I would prefer not to use YouTube or Vimeo. Assume the total video length will be less than two minutes.

I just need to know how to do it. I want to avoid pure .swf as this will play each time the page is accessed.

Thanks

M

[Riftvalley]

Apologises for the confusion, best that I re-phrase the question. I am required to put some video on-line for a web page and don't know the best way to do it. I can produce presentational video in any format .swf, .flv, mpg4/2/1 .avi .wmv etc. The video would not be longer than say two minutes.

I use a program called Opus 7 to produce my presentational material, which is the same program (I believe) that is used in the refrence websites I mentioned previously.

I want to avoid, if possible, just using a .swf file as this will re-play each time the user visits it. I also want to avoid YouTube or Vimeo.

So what I am after is some information on how best to put short video clips on a web page.

Kind regards

M

I think that there is a hold up in the forum as my previous post did not load for some while so I thought it had failed so apologises for duplication.

[pauland]

Well, you can use MP4 and dig around to find some javascript to do the loading. There's a good example on the web page you referred to, though I'm not suggesting you copy it.

If you want to use swf, I'll make you a flash loader that waits for a click, but I need the dimensions and filename.

[Riftvalley]

Many thanks Paul,

What I will do is to produce the presentation first (draft version) and then experiment to find the most effective way to display it.

What I want to avoid is boring stuff on the website that the users are exposed to each time the page loads.

Ta
M