MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-FLASH, Use Manual, Page: 228 / 678

228 Using Filters and Blends (Flash Professional only)
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If you place movie clips on two different frames with different filters applied to each, and
you apply a motion tween between the frames, Flash first processes the movie clip with the
most filters. Flash then compares the filters applied to the first movie clip against those
used by the second movie clip.
If no matching filters are found in the second movie clip, Flash generates a “dummy” filter
with no parameters and the color of the existing filters.
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If a motion tween exists between two keyframes:
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If you add a filter to the object in one keyframe, Flash automatically adds a dummy
filter to the movie clip when it reaches the keyframe at the other end of the tween.
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If you remove a filter from an object in one keyframe, Flash automatically removes the
matching filter from the movie clip when it reaches the keyframe at the other end of
the tween.
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If you set filter parameters inconsistently between the beginning and end of a motion
tween, Flash applies the filter settings of the starting frame to the interpolated frames.
Inconsistent settings occur when the following parameters are set differently between the
beginning and end of the tween: knockout, inner shadow, inner glow, and type of gradient
glow and gradient bevel.
For example, if you create a motion tween using the drop shadow filter, and apply a drop
shadow with a knockout on the first frame of the tween, and an inner shadow on the last
frame of the tween, Flash corrects the inconsistent use of the filter in the motion tween. In
this case, Flash applies the filter settings used on the first frame of the tween—a drop
shadow with a knockout.
About filters and Flash Player
performance (Flash Professional only)
The type, number, and quality of filters you apply to objects can affect the performance of
SWF files as you play them. The more filters you apply to an object, the greater the number of
calculations Macromedia Flash Player must process to correctly display the visual effects
you’ve created. For this reason, Macromedia recommends that you apply only a limited
number of filters to a given object.
Each filter includes controls that let you adjust the strength and quality of the applied filter.
Using lower settings improves performance on slower computers. If you are creating content
for playback on a wide range on computers, or are unsure of the computing power available to
your audience, set the quality level to low to maximize playback performance.