Lottie support

[nclm]

Lottie is an open format for vector animations. It’s initially a JSON representation of the AE format, that can be played back in different places thanks to several player libraries for the web and various other platforms.

I think it could be great for Friction to offer exporting to the Lottie format, and possibly importing?

Some free software that supports Lottie already:

• https://synfig.org
• https://glaxnimate.org
• https://haikuanimator.com

Ressources:

• Format website: https://lottie.github.io
• Format specification: https://lottie.github.io/lottie-spec/latest/

[rodlie]

There are no plans to support lottie (the web does not need another "flash player"), we only support web standards.

[B4uti4github]

There are no plans to support lottie (the web does not need another "flash player"), we only support web standards.

That's true, but there's a catch: I don't think the SVG SMIL face will be supported in SVG 2.
I think it would be good if, since you have a similar Flash base based on the similars properties, we could port it to OpenFL HTML5.

[nclm]

I didn’t realise Friction was SMIL centric, that’s great. Is the internal format mapped to SVG/SMIL like Inkscape is fundamentally SVG native? Anyways, if everything that can be done in Friction can be exported to SMIL losslessly, then perfect :)

I still think Lottie support would be useful.

I’m not sure I see the connection between Lottie and Flash? Flash was a closed format, developed by a for-profit company, that could only be played with a closed-source player, that users had to install. Lottie is an open format, currently hosted by The Linux Foundation, that can be played with various open-source libraries (though most indeed developed by for-profit companies) that can be integrated without users having to do anything.

Usefulness of Lottie export:

• Lottie is not only for the web, but also for native apps for various OSes. I don’t know if there is SMIL support in non-web environnements?
• Providing Lottie files to a client requesting them (if technical choices have been done already for the project, though if they can be convinced to use SMIL instead, good!)

Usefulness of Lottie import:

• Great for moving projects from AE to Friction? That’s likely simpler than supporting .aep import?
• Allows importing/adapting stock assets that are commonly found online in the Lottie format. For non-animators, beginners (or busy animators ?), that enables to work in Friction from those.

Edit: Adding:

• Interoperability with the aforementioned free software apps: Synfig, Glaxnimate, Haiku Animator

[enumouse]

Adding on to what was said above, I am fond of Lottie because there's often a runtime for most platforms; ie Flutter, Web, native iOS, etc, which allows me to create an animation once, then can use it across mobile apps and the web. I'd love for Friction to be an option for me for these workflows, as afaik many platforms that have Lottie packages lack ways of presenting SMIL animations.

At the end of the day though, I will respect any decisions made; These are just my own experiences. :)