Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Video Studio Techniques
ISBN 978-0-321-48037-8
Author: Robert Reinhardt
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Copyright 2008
List Price: $54.99

Review by Michael Griffith, June 2008

Available for check out to TAG members for one month.

Anyone who has been involved with web development for any amount of  time knows that no matter how deep your knowledge of a particular topic, there are likely gapping holes in your total understanding of  that topic.  This, in my opinion, is half the fun of being a web  developer - knowing that the tools and techniques I use today are  under constant revision and that I need to start every project, even  if I have done it a hundred times, with a quick round of research to  see how others are solving the problem.  Being a veteran of many Flash  video-enabled websites, I approached reading "Adobe Flash CS3  Professional Video Studio Techniques" looking to fill in my holes,  pick up a new technique or two and make sure my approach was up-to-date.

Now, if you haven't had the chance to work on a Flash video site,  don't fret. Mr. Reinhardt does an excellent job of laying the  foundation that anyone working with video on the web needs before they  shoot their first frame of video.  In fact, he quickly covers location  scouting, hiring actors and making the right equipment choices which  are just as important (if not more important) than the specific lines  of ActionScript that are going to place a video player on the stage.

As with any "hard media", this book has some elements that  are already out-of-date.  Two things to note are that Adobe Premiere, which is used in a number of examples in the  book, has returned to the Mac platform with the release of Creative  Suite 3 and at least one additional High Definition format has gained  popularity  - AVCHD.

Where Mr. Reinhardt shines is in "The Tricky Bits" -  selecting the right codec and settings that make up your compression  profile, making the decision to use a Flash Media Server over  progressive download and an excellent discussion on the dollar cost of  hosting that really popular video given a hosting plan that has a set  amount of transfer per month.

Having guided you in making all the right choices for exporting your  video, the book then turns to creating your player.  Using Adobe  Dreamweaver, the Flash FLVPlayback components (for both AS2 and AS3)  and creating your own player from the parts provided in Flash are all  covered with step-by-step guides.  One of my personal holes was using  a Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) file to offer  multiple versions of the same video so that, if your viewer has the  bandwidth, they can see a bigger or less-compressed version of the  video.

Bottom line: Regardless of your experience with video on the web, you  are likely to find useful information and applicable techniques  presented in understandable language in this book.

Bonus tip: Don't miss the author's website: http://www.flashsupport.com/cmx/  which has great articles and an active forum.