We’ve just released version 1.1 of the SmartMouth Flash extension with a couple of added features to help with the lip syncing process. This update is FREE to anyone who has already purchased licenses of SmartMouth.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the new version, you should see a button at the bottom of the SmartMouth panel that says Advanced…

New Advanced Features

The Advanced button will bring up a window with 2 new options.

Looping

Loop settings allow you to control the loop setting applied to the outputted symbol instance(s). This can be applied if you want to animate each mouth shape, rather than use static images.

Keyframe Frequency

Keyframe Frequency allows you to control the frequency of keyframes that are automatically generated (1s – every frame, 2s – every other frame, or 3s – every third frame). You can use this setting to animate your mouth at a frame rate lower than that of the rest of your animation. For example, your animation might be set to 30 fps, but you want your mouth to animate at 15 fps, so that the mouth doesn’t look frantic. In this case, you could select 2s.

The image below demonstrates the different outputs generated by altering the Keyframe Frequency.

These new features are based on user requests. Please let us know what you think!

We will be attending again Adobe MAX this year. I will be leading 2 labs on Building Flash Extensions.

Hope to see you there!

I had a customer who was losing Flash configuration data due to roaming profiles in Windows, similar to the situation described on this forum thread.

So, I wrote this script as a potential antidote to that problem. When the script is run (by opening with Flash Pro), it will allow you to either back-up or restore all of your configuration files for that installation of Flash Pro.

In certain specific cases (no guarantees)—where the machine, the username, and the Flash version remain consistent—this could be used to maintain a SmartMouth activation (as well as other extensions and settings) through a Flash, CS, or OS reinstall.

The script is pretty experimental at this point, so please use with caution.

Download
backup_restore_Flash_config.jsfl (right-click and choose Save Link As…)

A number of Flash animators make great use of nested Timelines within graphic symbols. The frame from the graphic that is displayed can then be manipulated using the first frame property of the symbol instance. Unfortunately, when the animator double-clicks on the instance to edit the symbol, Flash displays frame 1 of the symbol’s Timeline instead of the frame assigned to the first frame property.

Dave Logan has a wonderful command called Enter Graphic At Current Frame that resolves this issue. Many Flash animators use graphics symbols  so much that they would prefer “entering at the current frame” to be Flash’s default behavior when they double-click to edit a symbol. A number of these users have sent me requests through the Extension Request Form. So I put together this panel to essentially make “entering at the current frame” the default behavior. The panel simply has to be open for the behavior to work (the Auto jump box is checked by default). There are some extra buttons for some added fanciness.

This is a total freebie, but donations are appreciated (donate button located in the right-hand column).

Download
(Compatibility: Flash 8 & up)
FrameAim.mxp

Version 1.0.2 of the SmartMouth Flash extension is now available. Updates include:

• Upped the Flash Player timeout limit from 15 to 45 seconds for files that take a long time to process.
• Added a warning for files that exceed Flash Professional’s 16,000 frame limit.
• Fixed an error that was occurring when serial numbers were entered incorrectly.
• Upped to the trial limits to 4 100-frame attempts per document.

These updates should help with issues encountered on larger files, as well as allow for more testing with the trial version. We still plan to release some new features to the extension in the near future.

Also, if you didn’t see the previous post, note that 50% of SmartMouth sales for the rest of this month will be donated to the California State Parks Foundation.

Animation with Scripting for Adobe Flash Professional CS5 Studio Techniques is now (or soon to be) available in Spanish. I just received my author copies in the mail. It’s fascinating to see the entire book translated, including most of the screenshots. With my high school and college Spanish, and my familiarity with the original, I can understand much of what I’ve skimmed through thus far. I did some translation work as an undergrad, and I know from experience that this was no small task. It looks like the translators have done a great job.

So far, I’ve only found one purchase location. I’ll post more links as they become available. Hopefully Amazon will have some links in the near future.

If you’ve purchased a copy of Animation with Scripting for Adobe Flash Professional CS5 Studio Techniques, or are thinking about purchasing it, and have been wondering what effect changes in Flash CS5.5 might have, look no further than the official Peachpit store page. The CS5.5 update to Animation with Scripting is available as a FREE download when you register your (print or digital) copy of the book. Locate the orange type on the page linked above that says register your product. The update covers the latest features as they pertain to mobile development, character animation, and Flash design in general.