Using Captivate, you can record full motion movies (also known as "drag-and-drop recording") in AVI format that show detailed motion such as drawing/painting features, dragging, 3-D effects (like "talking heads"), and animation. When you record using the full motion option, Captivate automatically begins capturing slides at a higher frame rate so that motion is displayed very realistically. The resulting AVI movie is converted to SWF format and added to a slide as an animation. The SWF file has no color limitations and high compression is applied to reduce file size as much as possible without compromising quality. The slide appears in Storyboard View as an animation slide.
Note: It is important to set the correct frame rate before creating full-motion slides. The default setting is 30 flash frames per second and is appropriate in most cases. You may need to change the rate if the location that will be hosting the SWF file requires a specific frame rate. Change the frame rate using the Movie preferences dialog box.
The full motion recording option is a powerful and flexible tool that can be used in numerous ways. You can even include as many full motion slides in your movie as you need in order to accurately show a concept to users.
A Captivate author needs to create a movie about a software application used for drawing. The author begins recording the Captivate movie using the standard screen capture method, but then wants to show how the software application can actually be used to draw. At this point in the recording process, the author presses the full motion recording shortcut key (F9, but can be customized) and Captivate automatically begins recording in AVI format. The author uses the software application to draw, Captivate captures the action, and when the drawing process is complete the author presses the end full motion recording key (F10, but can be customized). The author can then continue capturing normal screen captures until finished and press the End (or other defined) stop recording key. The screen shots captured at the beginning of the recording process are saved as normal slides, the full motion animation recorded in AVI format is imported as an animation slide, and the remaining screen shots are saved as normal slides.
For step-by-step procedures, see Creating full motion slides.
For more information about full motion slides versus regular movie slides, see Comparing full motion slides and movies.