[RESOLVED] Using video as a background image

[davidosullivan]

I know this is not a PHP question (or is it?) but you guys have been so helpful in the past I hope you dont mind being my first port of call.

I am wondering if any one knows how to, or where I could go to find information on using video instead of images as the background image of a site.

For example, I have just about finished this site redesign www.hendredestate.co.uk/newsite/home.php and if you have a look there is a large background image there. Now I am thinking that it could be nice to take this further and make the leaves and grass sway about in the wind etc. The way I would want it to work would be to use a flash movie that would have the existing image as its opening frame and then proceed to download a short clip of the leaves swaying around etc (or two movies linked etc)- the panels in front are already transparent so this would just show through.

However this doesn't work just by setting the background image to a swf. I wonder if you guys know any work arounds or if you can point me in the right direction.

All comments welcome obviously, but please don't send anything negative to the clients!

Thanks in advance

Dave

[Threehearts]

hi dave.

well, yes and no...
animated gif -> yes. technically. if you can live with large files

movie files: never tried but propably not
flash/shockwave: nope.

reason: the flash plugin (and i guess its the same for quciktime and so on, although you'll have to try that) "cuts out" the section of your page where it is displayed.
do even if you put the flash file into a layer/div that is below your content-in-front it will display in the upmost layer...

so no flash backgrounds, so far.
possibly with ie7 they changed that, but i would be surprised.

easiest way would propably be to go all shockwave/flash.

about the only way i can think of without going flash is to load animated images in the background and replace the static ones as soon as that is done...
tricky and slow though.

hope this helps however.
jakob

[davidosullivan]

Thankyou very much for you explaination.

As hard as I have tried, there doesnt seem to be any wizarding way of doing what I want apart from total flash which is just a plain pain!

Anyway I though it was woth asking and thankyou for replying

Dave