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Tips & Techniques

Here you will find some tips to get you started using Digital-Groove audio, or any audio for that matter, in your new media projects.

Subject areas include:

• Importing Digital-Groove Audio into Flash 5.0/MX libraries 
• Synching Audio to a Flash Presentation - BPM (Beats per minute) and FPM (Frames per minute)
• How to use the Sound Object in Flash MX/MX2004

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Importing Digital-Groove Audio into Flash 5.0/MX 

The best way to get any audio file into Flash is to use the >file>import feature in Flash. Once you do so, all the audio you import will be available for all projects within your library.

You also may want to create flash objects from the audio files so they can be used in non-flash presentations (HTML pages can use Java Script commands to fire off an object, for example).

In order to create Flash objects in Flash, see Creating Flash Objects with audio files. 

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Synching Audio to a Flash Presentation - BPM (Beats per minute) and FPM (Frames per minute)

If you want different segments of audio to loop seamlessly in Flash, you must be sure of 2 things:

1. That the audio you use is prepared to loop correctly (i.e. all lengths within 3 ms of each other or the double or half of each other).

2. That you match the BPM rate of the audio with the FPM rate of the movie to ensure loops end at the end of a frame.

Note: All of the Sonic Groups on Digital-Groove.com are perfectly matched in length to provide seamless construction in your published Flash movie. An example explains how this works the best.

Also Note: This solution will eliminate most but not all of the synch problems within Flash 5.0. The very nature of Flash and its multiple timelines for events can cause varied results on different machine/browser/connection speed configurations. Consult the Flash 5.0 manual for a full details on how Flash keeps things in synch.

Okay, say you have a Flash movie that you want to add audio to. You purchase Atmospheres Vol. 1 from Digital-Groove.com, download the sounds to your machine, and import the audio into Flash. Since the loop set is perfectly looped at 120 bpm or 2 bps, a setting of 12 FPM will loop the audio in a seamless manner in Flash 5.0/MX.

GROOVE MASTER FLASH BPM/FPS TABLE in 4/4 Time 

Note: Cells in blue are good matches for loop integration in Flash.   

FPS=Frames per second setting in Flash - BPF = Beats per frame

Another Example:

Say you have a movie that is set at the default 12 fps setting in Flash. In the process of finding the perfect audio for this movie, you find the audio set listed below on Digital-Groove.com:

Atmospheres Vol.#2  - A loop set. contain the following .wav files:

Main1, Main2, and Main3. All recorded at 130 BPM and 636 kb in size as 16 bit/44.1 KHz wav files.

In order to ensure that the end of the loops match the end of frames in Flash as close possible, we must determine if the number of frames per second are evenly divisible by the beats per minute based upon the time signature.

First a little math...

130 bpm is 32.5 4 beat measures per minute in 4/4 time. Ideally, you want the beats per frame calculation to be even - no decimal remainder. Since this is not a round number, this tempo is VERY hard to match based upon the frame rate involved for loops in flash.  When this BPM rating is placed into the Groove Master Flash Calculator,   the result for good fps settings would be 13 frames per second.

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How to use the Sound Object in Flash MX/MX 2004 

This is a great tutorial for everything sound-related in Flash. http://www.flashkit.com/tutorials/Audio/Flash_MX-Kenny_Be-824/index.php

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