Alpha Channel - Motion to FCP to QT to FCP

I wanted to make an animated logo with audio with an alpha channel that I could drop into any sequence.
I made the animation in Motion, and exported a QT movie with alpha. I imported the QT movie into Final Cut. So far so good. The alpha worked when I placed that clip over another one. I deleted the test clip - not the logo animation -- and added audio, then exported that as a QT with alpha.
Now, when I bring that QT movie back into FCP, there is no alpha channel! I'm sure I'm missing something simple, and would really appreciate any advice.

Avoid rendering inside FCP and use Prores 4444.

Similar Messages

  • I'm creating a lower third in Motion and importing into FCP X, but the alpha channel is gone when I import into FCP.  What am I doing wring?

    I'm trying to export from Motion 5 with an alpha channel, but in FCP X the alpha is gone. What do I do?

    if you're exporting video animation out of Motion and you need transparency, then you need to make sure that the codec used is ProRes 4444. There are no other options.  From the Share > Export dialog, the default Export option is usually "Same as Source." In Motion, that *should* be PR4x4. You can double check that setting by clicking the summary button and reading the last line.
    You also need to make sure under the Render section that Color + Alpha is selected (that should also be the default setting.)
    However, most of all, you're really wasting your time going about it this way.  If you started a Title project in Motion, all you have to do is Save and give the project a Name; pick a category or create a new one.  In FCPX, in the Titles browser, look for the category you used and find the project name and drag it onto the storyline.
    You have the option of picking parameters in your motion project that you can "publish" to FCPX (things like the lower third background color, text color, positioning, etc... almost every parameter is publishable to FCPX allowing you to customize the project *inside* FCPX.)  Any parameter you publish in Motion will be in the Title Inspector in FCPX. You do not have to "bake" your lower third in Motion before using it in FCPX. You can pretty much turn your project into an FCPX plugin.
    If you didn't start a Title project, you can still build your lower third as an FCPX Generator. Go to the File menu and Publish Template...  In the dialog box, make sure you check Publish As Final Cut Generator. Give the project a Name and select a category (you'll need to wait a few seconds until the Categories update to the FCPX categories...) You can create a custom category if you like and save the project. In FCPX, instead of the Titles browser, look for your template/plugin in the Generators > WhateverCategory > YourLowerThird.

  • Alpha channel from photoshop changes on import to FCP

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    Many thanks
    John

    David,
    I just had a breakthrough with this. The original file was CMYK. Creating an alpha channel and importing it into FCP gave me the problem. Converting it to RGB first, then creating the alpha channel and importing it, solved the problem. Doh!
    Your line "sounds like you didn't create one" gave me the clue. Many thanks.
    John

  • FCP Motion=lose alpha channels in pict files?

    Hi there! I'm a regular FCP and AE user, just starting to dip my toes into Motion...
    I just sent to Motion from FCP a section of my sequence that had logos being animated with accompanying text. I prepped the logos in Pshop and added alpha channels to cut out their backgrounds so they could float on black; saved as .pict with alpha. They read correctly in FCP but when sent to Motion the alpha channels disappeared. If I re-import the original .pict file then the alpha is read correctly but then I have to re-do all my moves, fades etc. which kinda defeats the purpose of sending to Motion (at least on this job). Also the text generators disappeared completely; I know I could re-do in Motion with better results but still, that's annoying.
    Are these just "features" of Motion or am I doing something wrong?
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    Hey John,
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  • Alpha Channel Export from FCP?

    Hi all,
    I need to export video with the alpha channel embedded. The video is going to be used for Flash (.FLV). Is this possible to do from FCP6?

    Avid Codecs from their website, they are freely available for both Mac and PC and can work very well as an alpha channel capable compressed interchange format
    all of their codecs except Avid 1:1x support embedded alpha data, even their DV codec<
    Andy, having never used Avid (what's that?) I had no idea there was a DV codec that could carry an alpha. According to ancient writings by the ancient and venerable Philip Hodgetts (IIRC), "DV" has no capacity to do so, simply can't be done.
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  • Problems with Apple ProRes 4444 and alpha channels in Motion 4 after upgrade to Snow Leopard.  Has anyone seen this?

    We've just now upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard and are having a problem with Apple ProRes 4444 and alpha channels in Motion 4.  A clip with an alpha which keyed perfectly before the upgrade, now will not key.  If I convert the clip to the Animation codec, it keys perfectly.  If I export the Motion project as a ProRes 4444 self contained movie, it will key when brought into FCP 7 but if I import the project into FCP 7, it will show the key in the viewer but not the canvas.  Has anyone seen this or have any suggestions on how to correct this?  Is it a bug? 
    Thanks,

    Motion 4.0.3
    It just doesn't seem to recognize the alpha at all. 

  • Saving out with Alpha channel intact to windows machine? (Motion v3)

    I am working with someone who does video on his windows machine using Premier, but I use Motion to add effects to thier video.
    They are sending me a wmv version of the video, which I convert into prorez to work on (keeping frame rate and video size intact) and send the video to Motion to add the effects. Once I'm done I turn off the layer with the original video and send back to FCP.
    I want to save out a quicktime video from FCP with alpha channel intact so I can send the FX-only layer back to my workmate so he can drop it into his timeline on his machine and have everything align properly.
    Any advice on how to do this?

    If you have Compressor 4, check and see if you have the Animation codec. If you do, send the Motion project to Compressor and select the Animation codec with the setting 'Million Colors+'. The + (plus) is the transparent setting for the codec.
    Open the Motion app and drop the Animation video on top of something to make sure you have the transparency.
    Motion has ProRes 4444 that can contain a transparent background. Unfortunately, Windows computers do not support the ProRes codec.
    BTW, a transparent background will look black (sometimes white).

  • Alpha Channel Problem from After Effects into FCP

    Hello
    Using After Effects I've masked out a figure in some footage so I can composite it into a timeline. When I import the new .mov I render out (using RGB + Alpha channels and Millions of Colours +) into FCP the figure is surrounded by a solid black background.
    I've repeated the process a few times and then tried importing the .mov into FCP on another computer. This actually worked, the channel became transparent and the mask was there. So this should mean there's something wrong with my version of FCP?
    I'm using After Effects 6.5 and FCP 5.0.1 on my Mac and FCP Studio 2 on the computer it worked on.
    Any help is greatly appreciated.

    Wait a second, there was a huge thread here a few weeks ago about bad alphas. The victims eventually (IIRCC) were forced to do a complete reinstall of EVERYTHING Tiger/Leopard and FCS2. It was an ugly shouting match and reinstalling/reverting to an earlier version of QT did not solve it for them. Check the revs of software on the two machines and compare them carefully.
    bogiesan

  • Motion 5 Alpha Channel Support

    Does anyone have an answer on what is supported? I know Prores444, but I can get transparency information out of the Animation Codec, but  it results in jerky vision when field based media is imported into Avid.  The file does contain an alpha channel, but there is a problem, on import to Avid V6
    Anyone recommend a good workflow for getting Video + Alpha out of Motion 5 and into a PC based Avid that doesn't have Prores, and surely it doesn't involve a 2 pass output with separate Matte and Fill.
    John

    ProRes 4444 has a playing bandwidth that can choke all but the fastest computers. FCPX uses Optimized versions of video to get the playability down to a reasonable rate. ProRes 4444 makes editing video simple, and therefore provides a better environment for frame level edits.
    I didn't know you could export Animation out of Motion 5...  I have the Animation codec, but it doesn't appear as an option for me...
    Anywho...
    You have other options.
    1) you can export Alpha channel as a travel matte in any codec you like. From the Share > Export Movie dialog, in the Render section, the Color dropdown menu, select Alpha (only). You will also need to export the Color channels as a separate video.
    [*I know you already stated you do not want to use this option but it means you can use any codec.]
    2) you can Share > Export as Image Sequence and use PNG, PSD or TIFF
    Image sequences seem messy, but if you group all the images into a dedicated folder, it's not that different from a video file. You could even import them into Avid and export a compatible video file, then delete the sequence (just assuming - I haven't tried using Avid since the 1995 Mac version so I have no real idea if that's the case.)
    Any self-respecting NLE can handle travel mattes and image sequences.
    HTH

  • Motion 5, Importing a PNG, Alpha Channel Wonky

    When I import a PNG into motion the alpha map gets brighter— brighter than it looks in photoshop, preview, pixelmator, etc.
    Then in motion if I just export the project as a movie, the alpha channel values seem to return to normal in the MOV file. It's comforting to know that the final product will turn out ok, but how am I supposed to know what it will look like wihtout having to export the project everytime I want to see what it looks like. Note: I don't ever remember encountering any problems like this with Motion 4.
    Any help appreciated. Thanks.

    Very top right of the Motion interface, 4th icon from the right, check those settings.

  • Best Codec for exporting animations with alpha channel from FCP timeline

    Whats the best codec for exporting animations (hopefully using loseless compression) that will retain alpha channel, and use the current sequence settings for fps and size?
    Currently Im exporting image sequences, but I'd prefer a wrapper.. I don't know much about the 'Animation' export codec.. I did notice that set to current size had some funky value of 753x450 or something.. instead of my current project size of 1920x1080...
    Anyhow.. Just seeing what others are doing..
    basically Im reading out some titles that I'll end up dropping over video later.. but since they render out so slowly (**** lower 3rds is slow) Im trying to get a jump on the process..
    Tx..

    PNG should do it. I think PNG is lossless (that's what they say, anyway). But realistically, if you use PNG, Animation, or JPG2000 set on highest quality, I'd dare you to tell a difference.
    I use PNG because it's supposedly lossless, renders twice as fast as Animation in a FCP timeline, and is usually about half the size.
    If you use "Export Using Quicktime Conversion", you will need to check all of the settings manually to make sure they match your sequence settings. This is always true, no matter what codec you use.
    If that sounds risky, your other option is to go into your sequence settings and change the codec to the one you want to render to (this will probably turn your whole timeline red), and then choose Export -> Quicktime movie.

  • Alpha Channel issue Final Cut Pro 7 to Premiere Pro & FCP X

    I have an Apple Pro Res 4444 file that is not read in Premiere Pro as having an Alpha Channel.
    The file was not was not automatically detected. But it was read in FCP 7 as having an Alpha Channel after I changed the preferences in to Alpha Type 'Straight'.
    After I sent the XML data to FCP X and Premiere Pro they would not recogise the alpha channel even though I changed the preferences.

    I agree - it is just that currently Premiere Pro does not display the transparency of the file in the viewer by showing checkerboard where the file is transparent, like FCP can do. It always shows the clip over black. If you are used to seeing the transparency this might throw you off.
    Next version of Premiere fixes this, and displays checkerboard where the file is transparent.
    MtD

  • Alpha channel not be interpreted in FCP 7

    Dropping in a .motn file into FCP 7's timeline - the alpha channel is not being recognized. If you render out a file and bring into FCP 7, then the alpha is recognized. Anyone else experience this?

    You may need to right/ctrl-click on the .motn file in FCP and tell it to interpret the Alpha channel... (or it might be clicking on it and going under the Clip menu and setting the alpha channel)...
    Patrick

  • Motion tile a video with an alpha channel

    Hi!
    I'm trying to use the motion tile effect to fill transparent edges that are the result of stabilization with the prodad mercalli plugin. The problem is however that because the stabilization hasn't been done using keyframe movement in AE, it sees the transparent edges as part of the frame and applies the motion tile so that the transparent areas stay intact. In other words the motion tile effect doesn't see that the image is moving around because only the alpha channel is changing.
    Is there any smart ways to solve this problem in AE so that I can apply the motion tile effect to get rid of the alpha transparency around the edges of the stabilized footage?
    Any help will be appreciated!

    Hi and thank you for helping out!
    Unfortunately I didn't get this to work with shift channels. I'm not sure what you meant by separating the components? I put shift channels on the videoclip and told it to use alpha from the video of the alpha.
    Actually I'm a bit confused on why shift channels should help. The way I see it, the problem is that the "motion tile" effect is seeing the "whole" pixel dimension of the video that also includes the alpha channel and is applying itself to the whole frame instead of just the opaque area (the actual stabilized  video). Because of that the motion tile effect is tiling the whole frame, including the alpha of it which leaves transparent gaps between the two tiles.
    Maybe there was a miscommunication between us or should I just try the shift channels effect again? If that's the case, then could you explain what you mean by separating components?
    Thank you very much!

  • The Most FCP-Friendly Codec for Offline Editing of Clips w/ Alpha Channels

    Working with full-quality DigitalJuice animated backgrounds with alpha channels in a DV timeline can feel like swimming through molasses. There are a number of options for temporarily replacing the clips with low-res proxies (Uncompressed, JPEG2000, TGA, etc.). Before conducting extensive tests, I was curious as to whether or not anyone has an opinion on which 32-bit codec might be the easiest one for FCP to process, resulting in snappier playback while offlining.
    Thanks,
    Zap

    no, at least not last time I looked.
    the avid meridian codecs for QT are downloadable from their website
    http://www.avid.com/content/7952/Avid%20CodecsLE120Macpkg.zip
    sme tips quoted from http://dvinfo.net/conf/archive/index.php/t-78006.html
    it is important to move these components out of the root Library and put them into the User Library. That way they won't cause any conflict during startup.
    I've since done some trial and error testing and it appears the only component that causes a conflict during startup is AvidAVUICodec.component.
    The rest work just fine with compressor and seem to add support for:
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    Avid D100 (AvidAVd1Codec.component)
    Avid DNxHD (AvidAVdnCodec.component)
    Avid DV (AvidAVdvCodec.component)
    Avid Packed (AvidAVpkCodec.component)
    Avid Meridian (AvidAVDJCodec.component)
    The original AvidAVUICodec.component was part of the Meridian codecs paired with AvidAVDJCodec.component for ABVB systems, but it doesn't seem to be required anymore. Very odd.
    Now, what works with FCP 5.1.2????
    Everything except Avid D100 codec (AvidAVd1Codec.component) and the AvidAVUICodec.component.
    So, if want to use Avid codecs with FCP 5.1.2, just install them, trash AvidAVd1Codec.component and AvidAVUICodec.component, then move the remaining components from Macintosh HD/Library/Quicktime to Users/User name/Library/Quicktime.
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