The Stereo Mix device captures all sounds from the computer and presents them as an input to other audio applications. SWiSH Max4 requires this device during the export to AVI process to capture sound track audio. In addition, the Stereo Mix device can be used with Windows Media player and audacity to convert midi files to mp3 or wav files which can then be imported into SWiSH Max. Unfortunately, the Stereo Mix device facilitates the potentially unauthorized recording of any streaming audio received by the computer. I suspect that for this reason, its existence is being phased out or hidden. This blog article provides some suggestions on how to gain access to the device and alternate work arounds that allow a soundtrack to be added to an exported avi movie if the device is not available.
Many users may not be aware that it is possible to use SWiSH Max4 to author custom effects such as the one shown below. A custom effect can be based on any of the ten core effects. Custom effects use a Custom interface to offer a specialized user interface that is easier to use than the underlying core effect interface tabs.
The Custom interface for the “Rainbow bulge” effect is shown below. This exposes five parameters instead of the 30+ parameters associated with the underlying Transform effect.
An authored effect can support up to nine Custom parameters. If more control is needed, the original parameters associated with the core effect can be presented in additional tabs.
The sample effect, “Rainbow bulge”, has five custom parameters. In this example, the parameters associated with the core effect (Transform) have been hidden from the end user.
The remainder of this article demonstrates how the above effect was authored. Once understood, the technique can be applied to allow authoring of a virtually unlimited number of custom effects. Read the rest of this entry »
Our Polish friends have created a component map of the European Union in their blog. This map was based on the Map_USA component. They have kindly given us permission to re-publish their work and include their component in future releases of SWiSH Max4.
Radio buttons, along with Check boxes and Combo controls are some of the most familiar interfaces on the web. Every component enabled version of SWiSH Max and SWiSH miniMax (versions 2, 3 and 4), come with a radio button component: Buttons | Radiobutton | Radiobutton. Knowing how to use this component could save you a considerable amount of time when creating your movie.
A keen SWiSH Max user, Lagnajeet Pradhan, has created a novel animated keyboard in SWiSH Max3. He has also authored tools (php or .exe file) that can analyze a dual channel midi file and create Max script to animate the keys. Once the script is created, it can be pasted directly into the script panel. Check it out!
A more detailed video showing the steps can be found here including splitting a midi file into left and right channels (assumes that you have Cakewalk).
I hope the midi enthusiasts among you enjoy this novel approach in animating your files.
Our thanks to Lagnajeet who has given us permission to publish this article.
Following on from previous articles: World Map and Import .svg, we have released a versatile component that depicts a map of the USA. The component allows user selection of the 4 map colors and border color. It also allows the user to adjust settings for the filter that is used during mouse over events.
User configurable stub scripting functions are provided to handle mouse events. These allow the map to be used as a selection tool. For example, to select a local dealership. The supplied sample mouse over script causes an inner glow filter to be enabled while the mouse is positioned over a specific state.
