Slow and sluggish transitions - any insight?

hey everyone,

can anyone tell me what might contribute to the sluggish behavior of scene transitions that accompany externally loaded (w/ preloader) swf’s??

for instance, i have these transitions (animated masks) that i can’t seem to run smooth. i even have the frame rate set at 50!! and it’s preloaded…

any insight would help.

thanks,
s.