This chapter gives a quick overview about how to create a multimedia presentation with Fluition. If you are new to Fluition and SMIL we recommend that you read this chapter to understand the basics of using Fluition as well as streaming media.
If your presentation is intended for the Internet careful creation or re-purposing of media assets will ensure a more successful streaming media presentation.
With CD-ROM or local presentations file size and bandwidth considerations are not as important as with delivering your content over the Internet. Make sure you pay close attention to the file sizes you are using when creating images or encoding media files. Most graphic programs will allow you to export your file at more or less quality allowing for differences in file sizes. With streaming on the Internet, there will be times where you will have to sacrifice size and quality for the sake of successful streaming. SMIL presentations created with Fluition can be any size you choose. However, keeping your presentations tight with smaller media files will allow for smoother streaming of your final presentation within your chosen player and delivered over your chosen delivery platform.
Occasionally it may be necessary to break up your presentation into multiple presentations to compensate for file size requirements. A great aspect of Fluition is that you can have links to all your presentations in your main presentation so that the viewer never has to leave the player to find your other links. Indeed, your first presentation might not contain any audio or video but rather only graphics with links to other SMIL files that actually contain the video and/or audio files.
In this section we will guide you through the basics of creating a presentation with Fluition.
Before you begin creating your presentation you will want to create a folder on your computer where your presentation will be saved. Place the media you want to use in your presentation in this new folder. This will ensure that path handling with your final presentation will be handled more efficiently.
Fluition comes with sample media on the install CD-ROM. To access media files on the Fluition CD-ROM, insert the CD in to your CD-ROM drive. To access media files that have already been encoded for RealPlayer open the SampleMedia folder and copy the media from the Tutorial Files folder to your new folder.
If you are new to streaming, it is important that you understand that there are specific streaming media file types for the various players. For instance, RealPlayer uses RealMedia files. To encode files such as .mpeg, .avi, .mov, .wav, .mp3, to a streaming media file for use in RealPlayer, RealProducer is also available on the Fluition install CD-ROM.
If you are not intending to stream your presentation on the Internet, these considerations may not apply to you. For instance, RealPlayer will play .avi or mpeg files in a presentation, however presentations with .avi or .mpeg files will not stream properly as the file sizes are too large. If your presentation will be played locally, is intended for download, or will be distributed on CD-ROM you may choose to use these larger files.
To install RealProducer on your computer, insert the Fluition CD in your CD-ROM drive and open the Real folder. Install RealProducer by double clicking on the RealProducer icon. If you do not have RealPlayer installed on your computer you can also install RealPlayer from this folder. Free updated versions of RealPlayer and RealProducer are available from RealNetworks at www.real.com.
Fluition also comes with sample .mov files in the Vids folder within the SampleMedia folder on the Fluition install CD-ROM. You can try encoding your own files by encoding these files to .rm files. Copy the .mov file to your hard drive, open RealProducer, browse the .mov file, select your settings and click start on RealProducer to start encoding your files. For more information on encoding with RealProducer check the RealProducer documentation. (If you intend to author for QuickTime, visit www.apple.com/quicktime for information about encoding streaming media files for use within QuickTime. The .mov files on the Fluition install CD have not been optimized for streaming.)
Streaming is a sophisticated and exciting technology and Fluition makes the most of this technology. Careful preparation of your media will ensure a more successful streaming experience. If you have not already done so, please read the section at the top of this Chapter called Getting Started - Bandwidth Considerations. You may also want to refer to the Chapter on File Types.
Now that you have your folder with the media files for use in your presentation, lets get started using Fluition.
Launch Fluition, close the QuickStart Window, and select New from the File menu. Name your file, click the Browse button and save the file in the same folder that you created earlier containing your media.
Enter the name of your presentation in the Name field, change the size of your presentation if you wish by using the Width and Height fields and click OK.
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Select the draw tool from the Tools Palette.Draw your Regions in the Layout Window by dragging your cursor. Draw one for your video Region and one for your graphic Region.Note that the information concerning your Regions has been added to the Regions Window. |
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You may want to name your Regions (i.e. video Region) for easy reference. When you make a change to any of the information in the Fluition Windows you must click the Apply button (or press Enter on your keyboard) to have those changes applied to your presentation.
Tip: For the most effective layout of your presentation make the size of your Regions the exact size of the media that will be contained within that Region. If the Regions are a different size, the file will be stretched to the size of that Region. Using the Meet tag in the Fill field in the Regions Window and clicking Apply may help you achieve your desired effect when using different size Regions and media files
To add media to your Regions Fluition uses the Clip Library.
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Use the Region Select tool on the Tools Palette to select the Region to which you will now add your media. You will note that when a Region is selected it is highlighted and the corresponding information is displayed in the Regions Window. |
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Click the Add button in the Clip Library, browse your presentation folder, select the clip you wish to add and click open. Fluition will display the details for your media clip in the Clip Library. You will now see the File name and the Clip ID (you may change the Clip ID to a name of your choice if you wish, and click Apply to make the change).
You will also see the Region that your clip has been assigned to as well as the Group that it is in. The Grouping aspect handles the sequencing of media and Regions and is unique to Fluition. Regions are placed in a parallel group (Group 1 here) so that they all play at the same time, and media files are placed in a sequential group (Group 2 here) so that when multiple clips are placed in a Region, they will play one after another. For more advanced presentations you may want to control the Grouping aspect more precisely. For this presentation, make sure that your Regions are all in Group 1 (in the Regions Window) and your media files are all in Group 2 (in the Clip Library).
Add your media files to your other Regions by selecting the Region with the Region Select Tool and clicking the Add button in the Clip Library. For graphics files such as .gifs or .jpegs you will want to add a Freeze tag by using the drop down menu in the Fill field and clicking Apply. This will ensure that your graphic will remain in the Player for the duration of your presentation. Alternatively, you can add durations to your media files. If you add more than one image (such as slides) to a Region, you may wish to add durations in the Duration field to your images. (In this case you will not want to use the Freeze tag except for on the last image.)
Note: Remember to click Apply (or press Enter on your keyboard) when you change information in the Fluition windows.
Anchor drawing is a great feature of Fluition. It's one of the more advanced features Fluition offers and is easily accomplished. Anchors allow you to place "hotspots" within media files that can link to other Fluition presentations, or web sites, email links, etc.
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To draw an Anchor first you must select the media clip in which it will appear. To select the clip, choose the clip from the media list in the Clip Library. This file will now be highlighted in the Presentation Layout Window. |
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Because multiple clips can be placed within one Region, the Anchor is drawn in the media clip not the Region. Fluition allows you to place multiple Anchors in multiple clips in a presentation even if those clips are all contained in one Region.
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After you select your clip, select the Anchor Draw tool from the Tools Palette and draw the Anchor by dragging your cursor within the selected media file Region. You will note that Anchors are drawn in red. Open the Anchors Window by clicking on the Anchors icon on the Tools Palette. Alternatively, you can choose Show Anchors from the View menu. |
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Now we will define the Anchor using the Anchors window. Enter a link to a website (i.e. http://www.fluition.com) into the URL field in the Anchors Window and click Apply. Select "Pause" from the drop-down menu beside the Show field and click Apply. You will note that the information you have entered into the field are also displayed in the Anchor list. Close the Anchor window.
The presentation is now ready for previewing. Click the "Preview" button on the Tools Palette.
Congratulations, you have just created an interactive video presentation. While viewing your presentation, place your cursor over the Anchor you have drawn and click to see what happens.
The next section will explain the basic process behind getting your presentation streaming on the web.
To stream your presentation you will require the services of a Streaming Service Provider. If you already use an Internet Service Provider to host your web site, you may want to contact them to see if they offer streaming hosting services. If not, there are a number of streaming hosting providers out there that are easy to find. Streaming is still a relatively new technology; so when you find a streaming service provider, don't be afraid to ask questions. Be sure to mention that you are creating SMIL presentations and tell them the Player (i.e. RealPlayer) you are creating the presentations for, as well as the type of files you intend to include in your presentations.
Once you have secured the services of a streaming service provider you can upload your presentation to the Web. To upload your presentation folder to your streaming server, you will use a FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software program. Be sure to enter the location of your FTP program into the Options window in Fluition. When you click on the Publish button on the Fluition Tools Palette, Fluition will launch your FTP program. Upload your presentation folder.
With your presentation open in Fluition, choose RAM File Creator from the Extras menu option to create a .ram file that will be used for linking to your presentation on the streaming server. You will see the file name for the presentation you have open in the SMIL File field in the Ram File Creator. The Host IP field is a server field where you can enter the streaming server address and protocol. A typical RAM file has the following contents to reference a SMIL presentation:
rtsp://streamingserver.com/presentationfolder/yourpresentation.SMIL
Save your RAM file to your hard drive. The RAM file will be uploaded to your Web server where your web site is located. Use the Publish button on the Tools Palette to launch your FTP program again and upload your RAM file.
You can now add a link to the RAM file to your web site.
Correct Web Link:
<a href="yourpresentation.RAM">Click to Watch</a>
Incorrect Link:
<a href="yourpresentation.SMIL">Click to Watch</a>
If you want to send a link in an email, your link will look like this:
http://www.yourwebsite.com/yourgraphicsfolder/yourpresentation.RAM
You are now a desktop broadcaster ready to broadcast your presentations to the world.
Creating a presentation with a video Region accompanied by slides with information pertaining to the video file is a common application for Fluition. This section will give you some tips for creating a video with slideshow presentation with Fluition.
First assemble your media (video file and slides) in to a folder on your computer (your media folder). In your slideshow program (i.e. PowerPoint) save your completed files to a graphics file such as .jpg, .gif, (or .png files for further modification in an image editor).
Note: if you have added animations inside your slide show presentation these will be lost when you save your file to image files.
You will probably want to re-size your slideshow image files to fit into the presentation you will create with Fluition. You can either resize your slides in your slide show editor or in a graphics program once you have saved your slide as an image file.
Once you have your slides prepared for use in Fluition, we can begin creating the presentation in Fluition.
(If you are not familiar with Fluition you may want to read the Lets Get Started section above to access a more comprehensive guide to beginning with Fluition)
Open a new presentation by selecting New from the File menu. Define the attributes for your presentation in the Presentation Layout Window and save your file to your media folder using the Browse button beside the Filename field and click OK.
Select the Region Draw tool from the Tools Palette. In the Design Window draw two (2) Regions by dragging your cursor over the section of the Design Window where you want your Regions to be located. One Region will hold your video file, the other your slides. Using the Regions Window adjust one Region to the dimension of your video and the other Region to the dimension of your slide Region. (Remember to click Apply (or press Enter on your keyboard) after adjusting fields in the Regions Window)
Select the Region Select tool from the Tools Palette. Click on your video Region in the Design Window to highlight that Region. In the Clip Library Window click the Add button and browse your video file from your media folder.
To add multiple files to a Region, as we are about to do, you can either add the file one by one by clicking the Add button on the Clip Library or you can use the Add Multiple Clips option in Fluition. To access the Add Multiple Clips function go to the Options window (View>Options for Windows, Edit>Preferences for Macintosh) and click on the checkbox beside Add Multiple Clips and click OK.
Using the Region Select tool, highlight your slide Region and click the Add button on the Clip Library. You will see the Multifile window. Browse your media folder and select all the slides (double click on the slide files or select the file and use the arrow button to move the file to the Clip List section of the Multifile Window) that will be used in your presentation and click Apply. You will see that your files have been added to your presentation in the Clip Library.
Next you will want to sequence your slides with your video. To accomplish the sequencing of slides with your video file Fluition will add Durations to each slide. Using your cursor select the first slide from the Clip List in the Clip Window. Using the Duration field enter a duration to be applied to that slide and click Apply. (i.e. For ten seconds enter 10 into the Duration field and click Apply. Fluition will automatically format your time values)
Select the next slide from the Clip List, enter the duration and click Apply. Repeat this step for all your slides. (Note: For the last slide you may want to add a Freeze tag using the Fill drop-down menu and clicking Apply in order to have that slide remain in your presentation even after the presentation has completed playing.)
You are now ready to preview your presentation. Click the Preview button on the Tools palette to view your presentation. If you would like to modify any aspect of the layout or timing of your presentation, close the Preview Window and modify your presentation.
Note: Fluition uses Groups to sequence presentations. Regions are generally placed in a parallel group so that they all play at the same time, while media clips are grouped in a sequential group in order to play one after the other. If you follow the above steps Fluition will group your Regions and Clips automatically (Regions in Group 1 and Clips in Group 2). You will see the grouping assignments in the Group Window on both the Regions Window and the Clip Library Window. If you are adding a slide show to an existing presentation where your groups have been modified you will want to make sure you assign your slides to a sequential group.