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Deconstructing the ActionScript 3.0 Flash video gallery application


Dan Carr

Dan Carr

Dan Carr Design

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Overview of the application and top-level files
  3. Exploring the source files
  4. Preloading and file management
  5. Preparing Flash video files
  6. Building controls using ActionScript 3.0
  7. Adding your own videos to the gallery
Comments
Created:
30 April 2007
User Level:
Advanced
Products:
Flash

The Flash video gallery has been a very popular Flash video application, dating back to the Macromedia Flash MX 2004 era. The Flash video gallery was originally produced by Macromedia as a marketing piece but the source files were later released as an example of a Flash video application. Due to the popularity of the previous article and those sample files, we have updated the Flash video gallery to be fully enabled with external FLV usage and a modern ActionScript 3.0 structure.

Updates to the Flash video gallery include the following:

  • Greater performance using less code (easier to understand)
  • Simplified and organized template structure and XML structure
  • More easily scalable code framework using ActionScript 3.0
  • ActionScript 3.0 XML handling (cool stuff, very easy to use!)
  • ActionScript 3.0 components
  • Complete skinning control for custom branding and design
  • Detail video using an external FLV file, the FLVPlayback component, and the custom UI components
  • Detail video playable in full-screen mode
  • Thumbnail video using external FLV or embedded video

A sample of the ActionScript 3.0 Flash video gallery is available online for review. The video gallery is composed of three primary features: the video thumbnails on the left, the video filter controls below the thumbnails, and the video detail view on the right. Clicking the filter buttons activates video choices using two user-defined filter options. Clicking a video thumbnail launches a detailed view of a video, which displays the full video clip and further details as specified in the accompanying XML source file.

Of course, along with an impressive application comes an impressive list of features to power it. In this article and the sample files, you'll get an overview of the files and structure necessary to create an application of this type. We'll explore the source files for the video gallery as a case study.

Note: The look and feel of the ActionScript 3.0 Flash video gallery is similar to the previous version, but the development experience and range of features has been improved. Please see the previous version of this article, Deconstructing the ActionScript 2.0 Flash video gallery application, for more information about using the ActionScript 2.0 source files.

Requirements

To make the most of this tutorial, you'll need the following software and files:

Flash CS3 Professional

Sample files:

Prerequisite knowledge

  • Before you begin, read Examining the ActionScript 3.0 Flash video gallery source files to get a better understanding of how the application works.
  • General experience in Flash and application development is advised, but this article is geared towards anyone interested in an overview of application development techniques in Flash CS3 Professional.
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About the author

Dan Carr is owner, lead developer, and trainer for Dan Carr Design in San Francisco. With years of history developing for Macromedia and Adobe, Dan has created a range of features available in Flash, including e-learning templates, UI components, and Developer Resource Kit extensions. Dan teaches Flash design and ActionScript classes in San Francisco and develops e-learning and web applications for the public, as well as for Adobe product teams.