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  Wild FX & Wild FX Pro FAQ's
  General Questions
  1. Why can't I import my Wild FX Flash text effects into Flash?
  2. Why does the size of my fonts sometimes change when I actually bring the Wild FX produced SWF into Flash?
  3. How do I change the duration of a Wild FX Flash text effect?
  4. What is SWF?  
  5. Can I use Wild FX -created SWFs in other SWF-creation tools? 
  6. Why doesn't Wild FX support Macromedia .FLA or Adobe .LIV files?
  7. How do I apply the effect to the entire text simultaneously?
  8. How do I adjust the duration of the effect animation?
  9. Do I have to use Macromedia Flash to use Wild FX or to use the effects on my website?
  10. What different fonts can I use?
  11. Why does the text look jagged in my Flash movie, but properly anti-aliased in the preview window?
  Wild FX Pro video Questions
  12. Why can’t I export video?
  13. Why are my effects getting cut off when I export to video?
  14. What types of video files will Wild FX Pro output?
  15. What video software will Wild FX Pro’s video output work with?
  16. What is the difference between the effect fps and the video framerate?
  17. What effect fps (framerate) should I use?
  18. How can I change the speed of my effect?
  19. What “is title safe area”?
  20. What are “color safe” colors?
  21. What fonts can I use?
  22. Why should I avoid using small fonts or serif fonts for video titles?
  23. How do the different effect versions affect my video output?
  24. What is a video codec?
  25. What video codec should I use?
  26. How do I make the background of my Wild FX Pro video export transparent?
  27. How do I make a credit scroll?
  28. Why did I receive a warning about low disk space?
  Answers
1. Why can't I import my Wild FX effects into Flash?
    Wild FX includes over 417 installed effects: 176 Standard effects (which have an "S" or "3" icon) 196 Dynamic effects (which have a "D" or "4" icon) and
45 "Custom" effects.You can import the standard effects created by Wild FX into Adobe Flash. To bring the custom or dynamic effects into Flash, you should use the "Load Movie" ActionScript command. For more information on Load Movie check out our Load Movie Tutorials in the tutorials section of our site.
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2. Why does the size of my fonts sometimes change when I actually bring the Wild FX produced SWF into Flash?
    We know that the bug exists and we will fix it in an update. For now, just create your original text 8 points smaller if you want to use it in Flash. If you're going to deploy it as-is, then create it at the desired size. The Flash player renders the effect at the size set in Wild FX , but there is an issue when you bring the effect into the Flash program.
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3. How do I change the duration of a Wild FX effect?
    The duration of the effect can be changed by setting the "delay of X frames" setting in Flash. Any number greater than one will cause Wild FX to insert extra frames after the appearance of each letter, thus changing the total duration of the effect.
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4. What is SWF?
    SWF is an open-source animation and sound delivery format owned and marketed by Macromedia, which also releases Flash, the standard SWF creation tool, and the Flash Player - the most widely distributed internet software ever. For this reason, SWF files will play in most browsers without a download. For those users who do not have the Flash player, the download is under 200K.
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5. Can I use Wild FX -created Wild FX in other SWF-creation tools?
    Yes. Simply use Wild FX to create your effect, save the SWF, and import it into any software that recognizes the SWF format, such as Macromedia Flash. For more information on saving SWF files in Wild FX , consult the Wild FX help file.
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6. Why doesn't Wild FX support Macromedia .FLA or Adobe .LIV files?
    Both .FLA and .LIV are closed, proprietary formats. Only Macromedia and Adobe, respectively, can read and write to them.
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7. How do I apply the effect to the entire text simultaneously?
    In the effect settings tab, underneath the effects library, check "sync letters."
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8. How do I adjust the duration of the effect animation?
    The actual duration of your effect in time depends on two settings: the "duration of [x] frames" value in the effect settings tab; and, the "fps" (frames per second) value in the movie tab. For example, if your movie is set to 12 fps, and your effect is set to last 18 frames, it will last one and a half seconds. (Please note this feature is disabled in the online demo.)
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9. Do I have to use Macromedia Flash to use Wild FX, or to use the effects on my website?
    No, you do not. Wild FX operates independently of any other SWF-creation tool, and you can use Wild FX -generated SWF movies on your website. However, Wild FX is a very useful tool for developers using Macromedia Flash because they can import the SWF into larger movies.
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10. What different fonts can I use?
    You can use any ATM, or TrueType font installed on your system, except for unicode fonts.
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11. Why does the text look jagged in my Flash movie, but properly anti-aliased in the preview window?
    First, when exporting the main Flash movie, select "High-quality". Then, set the HTML EMBED tag to include "quality=high".
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12. Why can’t I export video?
    Make sure you have the complete “recommended” install of the free Quicktime player. If you do have the complete “recommended” install, not all of the necessary components may be installed on your computer.
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13. Why are my effects getting cut off when I export to video?
    Wild FX Pro's Dynamic and Custom effects are dynamically created when they play, so the actual number of frames in an effect may be fewer than the total number of frames required to display the animation once it is output to video. By adding frames to the end of an effect, you can be sure that the entire effect will display. You can extend the ending by using the "Insert __ frames at end" option and/or the "Estimate actual duration" option both of which are in the video tab.
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14. What types of video files will Wild FX Pro output?
    Wild FX Pro outputs standard video files in any format and codec on your system that is supported by the Quicktime system including .mov, .avi, .dv, .mp4 and image sequences, among others.
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15. What video software will Wild FX Pro’s video output work with?
    Wild FX Pro outputs standard video files that will work with any video software that imports standard video files.
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16. What is the difference between the effect fps and the video framerate?
    If you are outputting a video the effect fps represents the number of distinct frames per second in your output. So if you have an effect fps of 15fps and your video framerate is 30fps you will have 15 distinct frames per second – so one distinct effect frame will be displayed for 2 video frames.

NOTE: If you’re outputting a .swf then the effect fps is the .swf framerate of your output.
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17. What effect fps (framerate) should I use?
    You can use any effect fps that you want. However, you should make sure your effect framerate is a factor of the output video framerate. In other words if your output video framerate is 30, set your effect framerate to a number that can be divided into 30 without a remainder: such as 10, 15 or 30 fps. As a convenience there are two preprogrammed options that will automatically set the effect fps to 15 fps for video set to export at 30 fps (NTSC standard) and 12 fps for video set to export at 25 fps (PAL standard). If your video output uses a fractional framerate (such as 29.97) for the purposes of determining the appropriate effect framerate just round it up to the nearest whole number.
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18. How can I change the speed of my effect?
    There are a few ways to change the speed of an effect: 1) you can change the effect fps, 2) you can change the letter delay and/or line delay of the effect, and 3) if you are using a custom effect which has a speed control, you can adjust the speed control.
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19. What “is title safe area”?
    In video there is an area of the screen known as the title "safe" area: This is the area in which all type must be placed if you want to ensure that it will display on all monitors. The visible image on a computer monitor does not extend fully to the edge of the monitor screen, so even when a movie is played full screen, the entire image is visible. On a television set, however, the image extends beyond the edge of the screen, making a certain portion of the image not visible. While this amount varies from TV to TV, the general rule is that title safe represents 80% of the image from the center to the edge. Wild FX Pro has an automatic title safe preview option that you can use.
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20. What are “color safe” colors?
    Broadcast video imposes its own limitations on color, which are tied to the limits set by the NTSC video standard which is unable to handle some colors, especially very saturated ones. Colors that fall outside these limits are considered not broadcast safe, or "illegal" colors. They will typically look bad on TV. Wild FX Pro offers a built-in color safe option that you can use. However, the only way to be completely certain a video image contains only broadcast safe colors is to run it through a broadcast waveform monitor, a device designed for this purpose. However, advanced non-linear editing software programs such as Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere include a software version of waveform monitors. While this is not 100% as dependable as hardware scopes, it should give you a pretty close idea of whether your colors are NTSC legal or not. You can also color correct a video after it's done using this type of software.

NOTE: you cannot preview the effects using the color safe option in Wild FX Pro, so the only way to see it is to actually export the video.
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21. What fonts can I use?
    You can use any TrueType or Postscript font on your system.
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22. Why should I avoid using small fonts or serif fonts for video titles?
    Small fonts will be very difficult to read when converted to video. The general rule in broadcast is that all type should be at least 18 points in size. But keep in mind your original frame size. If you are scaling your movie up 200% to get it onto video, you can have 9 point type. If you are reducing it to 50%, you should use 36 point type or greater. Another thing to keep in mind is to use a font without serifs (such as arial). The simpler the font the better the output will look. This does not mean that you cannot use complex and/or serif fonts. It just means that you need to be aware that the results may not be exactly what you wanted and you may have to experiment a bit more to achieve the results you want.
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23. How do the different effect versions affect my video output?
    In general there is no difference between the Flash 3, Flash 4 and Custom effects, except that Flash 3 effects will export faster than Flash 4 or Custom effects. However, depending on the font and amount of text you may find that certain effects work better than others. Also, some of the effects which contain images may suffer from quality issues depending on the settings you choose.
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24. What is a video codec?
    A codec is an algorithm used to “COmpress” and “DECompress” video to make them smaller – as opposed to uncompressed video. There are many different codecs available that have different capabilities and features.
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25. What video codec should I use?
    You can use any codec that you have installed that works through the Quicktime system. However, you may find that some codecs work better than others. As a general rule, we advise selecting the best possible video codec you have installed. The better the video codec you use the better your output will look. For broadcast purposes you may find that uncompressed video works the best, however, it can generate very large file sizes. If you want to use the alpha channel transparency feature, then you will need to use a codec that supports alpha channel such as the Indeo codec (for more information on Indeo codecs, check out: http://www.ligos.com/indeo.htm.) As with every other aspect of video titling, experimentation is the key.
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26. How do I make the background of my Wild FX Pro video export transparent?
    You can use the transparent background option in the Video tab to utilize an alpha channel which will enable you to make the background transparent when you import your Wild FX Pro video output into a non-linear editing software that supports alpha channel. You will need to use a codec that supports alpha channel to export video with an alpha channel For more information on Indeo codecs, check out: http://www.ligos.com/indeo.htm.) Many non-linear editing programs will also allow you to “chroma-key” out the background color. This is a process of selecting out a particular background color and making it transparent.
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27. How do I make a credit scroll?
    You can select one of the scroll effects located in the scroll folder of the effects library. Then you can set the “Letter Delay” value to 0 so it will apply the effect to all the letters simultaneously, and then you can set the “Line Delay” value to whatever value is appropriate to delay the appearance of different lines in your video output.
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28. Why did I receive a warning about low disk space?
    When you create a title using a Flash 4 or Flash 5 effect, Wild FX Pro uses an interim step to produce the output because those effects are generated dynamically and do not actually create the required number of frames to write the effect without an interim step. (This is why Flash 3 effects generate faster.) Wild FX Pro uses uncompressed video for this interim step to maintain the best possible quality, but uncompressed video can take up a lot of space, so if you do not have ample space on your hard drive you will receive a warning. You can change the location where the interim file is saved in the Options window in order to save the file to a different volume with more space.
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