Inspiring

Answered

Converting SWF to MP4 or MOV

Forum|Forum|10 years ago
August 19, 2015
11 replies
49626 views

Hey community,

I need some help. I am currently trying (but massively failing) to take an InDesign file that is animated and covert it final over to an mp4 or mov file so I can import it into Premiere Pro. As usual, Adobe has made this relatively impossible to do such an easy task since all swf imports are no longer supported.

Indesign animated file to the only movie formated export of SWF. (It would be nice if they could at least give an option for something supported in other Adobe software) From the SWF to MOV. What can I do? Thanks for any help.

Import and export

Correct answer charlottef59125242

I have meet the similar issue with you before. I finally found a way to convert my SWF file to the format supported by my devices through Free HD Video Converter Factory. I have searched for a long time to find this appropriate program and eventually solved my problem. I hope my experience can help you.

charlottef59125242Correct answer

New Participant

I have meet the similar issue with you before. I finally found a way to convert my SWF file to the format supported by my devices through Free HD Video Converter Factory. I have searched for a long time to find this appropriate program and eventually solved my problem. I hope my experience can help you.

R

rayl45510686

Inspiring

I downloaded the Free HD Video Converter Factory and it doesn't convert SWF files. They are not listed as a supported file type. Please tell me how you did it with this software?

https://www.videoconverterfactory.com/free-hd-video-converter/

BobLevine

Community Expert

This thread is three years old and has been answered. This is not an InDesign issue so please find an appropriate forum for your question.

JonathanArias

Brainiac

Adobe media converter works great. i have also use this program a lot:

Miro Video Converter FREE - Convert any video to MP4, WebM (vp8), iPhone, Android, iPod, iPad, and more.

HOWEVER, adobe media converter is faster. Miro is simpler to use, but it uses more of the computer resources.

S

stunamii

Inspiring

Can it handle converting SWF with ACTIONSCRIPT animations (not timeline ones)? Media converter can encode SWF videos but can't run actionscripts to a movie file. That would require Adobe Flash Player and a screen recorder like Quicktime. If your SWF is a web banner or other non-video standard then you need to use .MOV because it supports custom dimensions. MP4 codecs do not.

JonathanArias

Brainiac

i don't now. read the product website.

W

windj92137408

New Participant

As we all know, premiere pro supported formats include H.265, H.264, DNxHR, Apple ProRes, ASF, AVI, DV, MOV, M4V, MXF, etc. and SWF is not included. so you need to convert SWF to MP4 or MOV, that is right. During this process, you need the help of third-party software, you can try this. it can help you solve the problem.

A

Anonymous

What Is SWF Format?

SWF, an Adobe Flash file format and stands for Small Web Format, capacitates users to watch graphics or videos from a storage drive or online. Currently, SWF is the dominant format for displaying "animated" vector graphics on the Web. It may also be used for programs, commonly browser games, using ActionScript. Besides, SWF are commonly used when embedding video in websites, either as large animations or small effects buttons.

There are two kinds of SWF, vector based animation and raster based video. Strictly speaking, vector based animation is not video, most of them need user interaction, so it's hard to convert them to other video format. Raster based video, is the same as FLV format, you can easily convert to any other format.

Why Convert SWF to MP4?

However, most devices and players including Mac system, iTunes, iPhone, iPod, iPad, iMovie, QuickTime, PS3, Xbox 360, Android, Windows Media Player, PowerPoint and Windows Movie Maker etc, don't natively support SWF format, so that, it failed when you tried to play SWF files on the above devices or players. In this case, you have no choice but to convert SWF to MP4 for playback anywhere with any hassle.

More info:

SWF to MP4 - How to Convert SWF to MP4?

W

Warren Heaton10841144

Community Expert

Hi Eric:

Did you try After Effects yet? Since I haven't imported a SWF in years, I tried again real quick just now. It worked fine on my end. Of course, then you have to export it. I'd be happy to do a quick rundown of the steps involved if needed.

Did you try a screen recording yet? That's really your quickest way. QuickTime Player X's record movie is pretty straight forward, but there's also SnapZPro or Camtasia for more control.

Export to MOV or MP4 from InDesign is good idea. Maybe submit a feature request? (Feature Request/Bug Report Form)

Regarding this comment:

As usual, Adobe has made this relatively impossible to do such an easy task

While it's definitely frustrating to not be able to get directly from one format (SWF) to another (MOV), the reason you can't do this goes beyond just Adobe. There was a time the SWFs and MOVs were easy to covert (back when QuickTime 5 was the latest version of QuickTime); however, QuickTime has changed. And while support for SWF was pretty broad at one point, that isn't the case now.

I see Adobe as making anything possible. With their applications, if you can imagine it you can create it.

-Warren

ericbnpusaAuthor

Inspiring

So if nothing I've tried so far has worked, then would any of you have a suggestion of a software that can convert this format while maintaining the interactive pieces?

BobLevine

Community Expert

What does “while maintaining the interactive pieces” mean?

ericbnpusaAuthor

Inspiring

I have tried to use some converters, but most of them are stating that they can't see a timeline. The SWF plays fine in Flash player like it's supposed to, but the converters are saying that there is no timeline? Is there a reason for this? Am I not exporting the files correctly from InDesign?

BobLevine

Community Expert

InDesign is not the right tool for this, IMO.

Try After Effects.

ericbnpusaAuthor

Inspiring

Ok, then is there a way to convert HTML5 into a mp4 or mov format? I need the animation for post production.

ericbnpusaAuthor

Inspiring

Is there any way that Adobe can add this feature in the future for InDesign? It's highly limited to have great software like this which can animate but can't use the animations in a movie format for post production use and the only option is a format not supported by 99% of all adobe software. I recommend to Adobe that it add this format for exporting. Otherwise I have to go back to Powerpoint and recreate this thing and use Powerpoint because it has the option to export in MP4.

Steve Werner

Community Expert

These days everyone is using HTML5 for animations. There are very few people still using Flash because it's because it's not supported on mobile devices and many desktop computers where users have refused to install Flash.

It's highly unlikely that Adobe would do that. You should probably check out the video format converters Jeffrey mentioned.