Flash 8 FLV Alpha Channel Tutorial

This is a short tutorial on how to use the new Sorenson Squeeze 4.2 beta to create VP6 FLV files with alpha channels.

Step 1) Mask out your source video using After Effects or other similar application. For this example I did a very rough mask job of a statue that I shot in Las Vegas.

Step 2) Add some feathering to your finished mask so you can sample the 8-bit alpha channel support in Flash 8.

Step 3) Export your video from After Effects and be sure to embed the alpha data. I chose to export as an AVI file.

Step 4) In Sorenson, create a new FLV preset and select the On2 VP6 codec.

Step 5) Check off the “Compress alpha channel” checkbox.

Step 6) I then placed this FLV file over some regular Flash content using the standard NetConnection/NetStream method. Then I published this SWF as a Flash 8 file. See the results below!

    

And just for fun, here is the same FLV with it’s blend mode set to difference!

I love Flash 8!