Alpha Channel Question

Hello,
I have an animation with a white drop shadow on it that I animated in Aftereffects. I export the file from Aftereffects and no matter what I try the white drop shadow shows up as a dark shadow every time in Premiere as if it's matted with black. So I'm wondering if there is a setting I'm missing or something I need to do differently when importing to Premiere, or even when exporting from aftereffects, although I've exporting it several different way so far to no avail.
So here is what I have,
I'm using Adobe CS4 for AE and Premiere, on Windows 7
When I export from AE I'm using the color setting for unmatted (and I've tried it matted with black too just for fun, clearly that didn't work out for me:)
I've tried it as an avi and as a mov file too.
Sooo, in case your answer is for me to use Dynamic Link, I can't get that to work either. And I'm sure that is just user error since I've never used it before. I can get the aftereffects sequence to show up in my project files in Premiere, I can even get the animation to show up and play in the preview monitor, but when I put it on my Premiere sequence over the background it doesn't show up, just seems like a blank layer.
Any ideas?
Nina

Thanks for your replies! So I'm not very good at explaining myself. I did export (and by export i mean, make movie by adding it to the render queue) the file as both of you are recommending. As a movie file, with an alpha channel, all one file. The reason I was trying to do it separate next was because it wasn't displaying properly that way.
Finally, what I did as a work around, is just export the background I was using from premiere, import it into aftereffects, Put everything together in aftereffects and then render the finished file without using an alpha at all. In pic #1 so you can see how premiere cs4 won't properly display an animation with a white shadow behind it if it's imported with an alpha channel and placed on top of a background. #2 shows how it was supposed to look.. how it looked once I put everything together in Aftereffects instead. I just thought there should be a way to fix my problem without the extra step of exporting the background. But I don't think there is.
However,
THANK YOU for your replies and trys!!
(Oh yeah I should also mention that I did try, PSD sequence, Quicktime rgb+alpha, Lossless with alpha etc.. none of which seemed to work for what I was trying to do.)

Similar Messages

Knuckleheaded Alpha Channel Question of the Week

OK...I rarely monkey around in Motion, but I have amazingly just created about 10 different animated versions of my client's logo for use in various films (cut in SD in FCP). I need to be able to library these rascals so I can just drop them into FCP when I need them.
However, and here is where the knucklehead deal enters the picture.
I am baffled as to how to export the logos out of Motion so there is no black background! I want to create a QT file of each version that I can library and then import into FCP. I have already checked the all of the Alpha channel questions dealing with this issue and the answers are like me and algebra in the 7th grade...huh?
Can somebody give me the kindergarten version of how to get rid of the black background behind my little purple animated logo.
Thanks in advance and I promise to close Motion and step away from the keyboard as soon as one of you mavens helps me solve my little non power user dilemma.

Easiest would be not to export at all, but save a different project file for each version - then just bring the Motion project file into FCP. As long as you have set the background to be transparent (Edit > Project Properties), then the project file will have transparency.
If you want to export, you need to choose a codec that supports an alpha channel, such as Animation or PNG.

Photoshop file to Shake -- alpha channel question

I've been staring at my screen for an hour wondering about this, even though I know it must be simple, so any advice is greatly appreciated:
I have a short video clip of a syringe with no needle. I want to add a VFX "needle" as a composite in Shake. I drew the needle as a .tiff file in Photoshop. I added an alpha channel in Photoshop, so I have R,G,B,A channels in my .tiff file drawing. The alpha channel has a white shape that corresponds to the needle drawing and black for the background. I was thinking that my alpha channel will mask out everything except the Photoshop "needle."
I bring the Photoshop needle file into Shake and set up my Shake script as follows: "Needle" into the left hand input of an Over node and Syringe video into the right-hand input of the Over node.
I was expecting to get just the needle "floating" on top of the syringe video clip, and I would position it to connect up with the syringe. What I got was the "needle" with its square white background floating on top of the syringe clip. My alpha channel from Photoshop did not mask out the white background.
But when I load the needle into the viewer by itself and put my cursor over it and hit the "A" key, the alpha channel is plainly there -- a white area in the shape of the needle and black everywhere else.
Also, in the Node View window, when I put the cursor over the needle and hit the "A" key, the thumbnail clearly shows the alpha channel, a white area in the shape of a needle and black everywhere else.
But when I load the Over node into the viewer, the needle is surrounded by a white background. Does it work to build your mask in Photoshop and bring it into Shake? Is there a parameter in Shake that you have to set to make the Photoshop alpha channel active?
Jim

Thanks much, Zebulun. Toggling premultiply worked. In a side experiment, I later saved my Photoshop image as a .psd file rather than .tiff and when I brought that one into Shake, it came in with its clipping-path/mask working without using premultiply in the Over node. Not sure what the difference would be in how Shake treats the two file formats, but they both achieve the same end result.

Resolution, audio, alpha channel, and backup questions (newbie)

Hello!
Well, after a few weeks of fidgeting around with FCE, I've come up with quite a few questions:
Image/Audio questions
A. What is the best still image size for import to a NTSC DV movie? Is it the 720x480 px (3:2 aspect ratio) standard of the DV image, or the 4:3 ratio of your generic CRT TV?
I know it depends on pan/zoom. This brings up the next question:
B. I have a still image - literally a blue and black two-color image - that I'd like to zoom. It will start out with a very close shot - and zoom out until it takes up around 10% of the screen. The ending frame (the DV size) will be about 10-12 times smaller than the original image. Does this mean that I should make the original 10-12 times bigger (in both directions) than a DV frame?
This clip is essentially an imitation of the opening of the movie "Home Alone", where the screen begins blue, and as it zooms out, you see it's a stylized house, which zooms out to a tiny size. That's essentially the effect I'm going for.
Audio/Video sync issue
C. Some of the clips I've imported from old iMovie projects are a little out of sync. It's not a conversion issue, but an issue with bad editing on my part . So, I have a still image that's about 1.5 seconds too short - it cuts to the next still, which is 1.5 seconds too long. I've added edit points at both ends of the out-of-sync clip, so that I have a 1.5 second clip, with its own audio and video.
The problem is that the audio is perfect, but the video is bad. So, I need to replace the video, without changing the audio. How is this done?
D. Sometimes, I'll end up with either audio or video that's not quite right after importing a movie. However, FCE locks them together. Is there a way to unlock them so that I can change either? Essentially, is there a way to change the audio and video from one clip into two seperate clips?
E. Can I export a single clip or two only? (eg - the same as the "Share selected clips only" check box the iMovie's share menu)
Alpha channel/marquee question:
In one idea I had for this short, I have a still image (and some video) where I'd like to highlight a small area in one part of the image. In one part, it's a small object in the background that I'm highlighting. If you've seen a documentary where they have a group photo, and highlight the face of one particular person, that's the effect I'm going for.
I've made some Photoshop images that can achieve this effect - using a transparent background, a black top layer (at ~40-80% opacity), and an eliptical marquee for the highlighted portion. I then import it, and fine tune the location/size. It works, but it takes a lot of time to talor each shot. Is there some way to do this IN Final Cut Express? A filter perhaps?
In addition: (alpha-video)
is there a way to turn part of a video into an alpha channel, so that it's transparent in the final movie? It's not so much a solid color (as the bluescreen/chroma key technique would need), but more of background. For example, I would like to take some footage of my family walking in front of trees, remove the background, and place an entirely different video/still in. Is that possible?
Backup: FInal question:
I have my source media organized fairly well on my external drive. However, if my drive should die, It would be incredibly tedius to re-link all the files. (I do have a fairly current backup of the external files). Not to mention finding the orignal capture files, re-timing the project, and so on. The project file itself is probably the easiest to back up.
So, how do you back up EVERYTHING? Some projects may have hundreds of files, all over my external drive. Is there some easy way to back up all the files into a single place, like a single folder or DVD, so that if my drive should fail, all the files are in one spot?
I can export them back to a miniDV tape, but I don't have that many, plus they're $5 a pop. I can do this with Toast, but I'll likely end up missing some out-of-the-way files. If only .Mac's Backup had a Final Cut preset.....
I know that's a BUNCH of stuff up there, so if you can help with any of them, i'd be appreciative.
Thanks,
Daniel
15" 1.67 Powerbook G4 (non-HiRes), Slot loading iMac DV SE Mac OS X (10.4.7) 1G RAM on PB, 384 MB iMac.

Try breaking these up into separate questions. Easier to answer and easier to be found by someone searching for answers to the same question.

Alpha Channel / Media Encoder Question

Hello All,
I have a question that I think is just something I'm overlooking. I have a Comp with a logo. The logo is made up of various files and does not have a solid background. It's very similar to a lower third.When I render it out in AE via the Render Que I have no issues and the Alpha channel works as expected when imported into PPRO. The setting I use is QuickTime>Animation>RGB+Alpha, etc.
This morning I decided I wanted to start rendering via Media Encoder. I watched the video Colin Smith did a bout a year ago to refresh my memory.
I fired up Media Encoder, dragged my logo comp into ME and everything seemed to being going beautifully. I chose QuickTime> Animation codec>etc.
However when imported the file into PPRO the Alpha channel did not render. Where the Alpha channel is supposed to be PPRO read as black video. I went back in ME and doubled checked all of the settings. I do not see anywhere in ME where you can specify an Alpha channel as you can in AE where you can specify "RGB+Alpha".
Is there a setting in ME to activate/read the alpha channel that I'm missing? I'd really like to use ME for future AE comp renderings but unless I can get around the Alpha channel issue I won't be able to.
CS6 all up to date
Win Vista (not that I think any system specs matter in this instance).
Thank you in advance,
Shane

From AME, add the file to the render queue and click either the codec or preset to open the After Effects export settings. Under Basic Video Settings selecting a Depth of 32 bit will enable the alpha channel. If using a 10-bit or greater codec, set the Depth to 64 bit.
As an aside, have you considered creating a Dynamic Link from Premiere Pro to the After Effects file? It eliminates the need for an intermediate file and allows you to maintain a bit depth up to 32bpc.

Question: Quick Look in Finder; problems with alpha channels

Hi
"Quick look" in Finder is great for quick presentations of a folders selected contents but it only works with images that contains no alpha channels or masks. Is there any way to work around this to display say PhotoShop documents with alpha channels? Or any plug-ins/applications that can help?
thanks.

This has been broken forever in OS X, and I don't know why, because it used to work just fine. I suspect the engineers did something to QuickTime that causes this problem, but it has been borked for so long I don't remember when the ability to correctly display files went wrong. I just remember that once upon a time all sorts of things from Apple worked correctly in displaying such files, but pretty much nothing does now. This includes the Finder, Preview, QuickLook, and various third-party image browsers that use Apple's own system level image handling abilities, such as VitaminSee or CocoaViewX. When I need to actually see what's there, I browse with Adobe's Bridge.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Alpha channel export question

I have an editor that keyed the green screen out of some footage but because we're having a problem settling on a background (we're in different locations) I just want him to send me the keyed footage with the black transparent background so I can do that part.
Is there a certain codec he needs to export with to keep the alpha transparent channel so I can place the background in? He's working in FCP 6 and I'm working in FCP7 but it's not going to be a project file, just a uncompressed .mov export from final cut. It was shot with HD 720p.
Thank You,
Steve

'' wrote:
Don't render the Animation codec sequence or the alpha channel
will be re-written with a black bg.
Just to clarify: Prepare your sequence with alpha, make sure it's what you want,
(which may require rendering).
Then, just before you export, do something to force FCP to require a re-render
(like deleting the render file) and +export without rendering+. That will avoid
the black background, and your transparency will be transparent.

Alpha Channel Graphics question

OK, I'm new to KN; I've used Powerpoint for years. I just got iWork (more for pages than KN but. . . ).
Can I not re-size the picture holders on the templates?
If not, then this is rather annoying. On one template page, the picture is basically all that is there, with a text box for a title. Yet, the holder is so small that it barely fills 1/3rd of the page. Perhaps that is a design preference for someone, but I would much rather have my picture larger.
I use powerpoint in the college classroom and often show maps. I don't want to have some tiny picture with lots of empty space around it.
I did note that I can create my own object area and then resize that, but what's the point of using the cool templates then? When I tried to create my own, I assumed that the neat look (like tape on the chalkboard or push pin on the board) would just show up, and then I could resize.
Nope. In that case all I got was the picture.
Please tell me I am missing something obvious and that if I go to X place I'll find the easy way to resize the "Alpha Channel Graphics" (yes, I did go read the PDF guide to see if there was an answer there).

Carl, to stretch the hole, you will need to stretch the entire background graphic. To do this, first set the slide to the master that has the cutout. The cutout is actually a graphic that is covering the entire master, and it is "locked" so that it can't be moved or changed. Click anywhere on the master background (outside of the cutout hole) to select that graphic, and then in the Arrange menu choose "Unlock". Now the cutout image can be freely manipulated, including stretched larger in either or both directions (using either the control handles at the edges and corners of the image, or the Metrics Inspector).
The above procedure will change the master, and so will affect any slide using that master. You are better off to unlock the cutout image on the master, copy it, and then paste it on a separate blank slide. That way, changes that you make to the cutout will only affect that one slide.
I hope this is what you're looking for. As Kyn says, masks give you much more flexibility, and are much easier to use (although admittedly they won't easily give you the borders that some cutouts do).

Alpha Channel - can't export to psd after update?

Been doing this for years... from After effects CC
Composition, Save frame as, File, Photoshop, RGB+Alpha etc - and its worked fine exported with transparency like you'd expect.
Updated Photoshop CC this morning and suddenly alpha channel not being recognised...
Bug...or have I gone mad in the last 24 hours??

Maybe I misunderstand your question but Photoshop CC opens psd files with Alpha Channels just fine here, so it seems likely that the issue is with the files.
But you seem to be mixing Alpha Channels and Transparency – so what are you talking about exactly?
Could you post screenshots to illustrate what you are doing and what results you get?

InDesign CS5 will not import Alpha Channels from images saved in Photoshop CS6

Just searched through the forums to find this thread in the (now-Read Only) Photoshop CS6 Beta forum:
http://forums.adobe.com/message/4310886
Which is exactly the same issue I'm having. I just cropped about a 1000 images with alphas originally created in PS5 and resaved using PS6.
My client still uses CS5 and the images won't recognize the alpha channels in inDesign5.
I see in this thread that it said a fix for older versions of inDesign was being worked on, this was back in April.
Any news on these fixes? (before I open PS5 and resave all these files)

Hi Peter,
The images in question all use alpha channels to mask out the image backgrounds (usually white) in InDesign layouts.
I opened the images in PS6 to crop out excess background (to get file size down) and saved the new files.
When I go to import the images one by one into InDesign 5 (via Cmd-D, Import options ticked) the Alpha Channel pull down menu is greyed out and I'm unable to select the Alpha Channel.
If I open the image in PS5 and resave, I'm then able to access the Alpha channels in ID5... but that's a lot of images to go back through to fix.
I also tried opening the layout in ID6 (where the alpha channels do work) and saving down to the idml format. When opening up in ID5 the alpha channel is no longer recognized and the background of the image that was masked out is now visible.
Cheers,
Alan

What codec to convert .MXF and MP4 files into to use with alpha channels in Ae and Pr CS6?

When I import .mxf File, shot on a Canon C300, into after effects, the alpha channel options are greyed out, when I look in, interpret footage, main. This also is the case importing .MP4 files, shot on a Gopro hero 3. I used to use final cut and using compressor convert the files to pro res 4444 or 422. What's my new workflow for preparing files with alpha channels to use in After Effect and Premiere and do I use Media Encoder to do it?

When I import .mxf File, shot on a Canon C300, into after effects, the alpha channel options are greyed out, when I look in, interpret footage, main. This also is the case importing .MP4 files, shot on a Gopro hero 3.
Better question: Where do you expect that Alpha channel to come from and contain any useful info for transparency? You're making a fuss over a non-issue. Unless you apply keying or other methods of creating transparency, even if there were an Alpha channel it would be fully opaque and then what's the point?
Mylenium

Alpha channel and imaging lingo

I have a 32 bit image with an alpha channel. When placed on
the stage only
the black anti-aliased text shows and no background shows
(using the copy
ink)
I'm scrolling this image with imaging lingo where I take a
sliding portion
of the original image in one direction or the other. When I
do this the
background of the portion on the stage is white instead of
transparent.
I'm creating an image and assign a portion of the text image
to it. I tried
pImage.useAlpha = TRUE but I get an error saying the property
can't be set
which is rediculous I know. pImage is definitely an image, I
checked it
with the debugger.
useAlpha might not be the correct solution but it brought up
a second
question. First, how can I maintain the alpha channel with
imaging Lingo
and second why do I get the error telling me that the
useAlpha property
can't be set?
Craig
Craig Wollman
Lingo Specialist
Word of Mouth Productions
212-928-9581
www.wordofmouthpros.com

Thanks. You're right, I did need to create the image in 32
bits but
otherwise I only needed to set useAlpha to TRUE and the alpha
was maintained
perfectly without any other changes.
Craig Wollman
Lingo Specialist
Word of Mouth Productions
212-928-9581
www.wordofmouthpros.com
"Lukewig" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
news:ek0ibj$c9k$[email protected]..
> Hi Craig,
>
> If "pImage.useAlpha = TRUE" gives a 'cannot set this
property" error, then
> pImage.depth is less than 32. Change your code to
something like this to
> confirm:
>
> if pImage.depth < 32 then put "oops, no alpha to use"
> else pImage.useAlpha = TRUE
>
> As how to "maintain the alpha channel with imaging
Lingo", I gotta scratch
> my
> head each time (its kind of counter-intuitive). Basic
rule of thumb is
> turn off
> alphas for copypixel operations, extract your alphas and
copypixel them
> separately, and then reset the alpha of the final
composite image (of
> course,
> the details depend on whether your are wanting to
combine your alphas or
> not).
>
> -- Luke
>
>

No alpha channel when BCC lens flare applied

Hello
With the help of Andy Neil, I created a light sweep for a lighthouse logo. I added a BCC RT Lens Flare Adv filter to enhance the effect of the light sweeping past the viewer. I looked great.
Then I got to thinking that the lighthouse logo with light sweep would make a great lower third, so I scaled it down to logo bug size and superimposed it over a lower third background.
The problem is that the inclusion of the BCC Lens Flare filter seems to add a black layer over the entire movie so that the lower third cannot superimpose over my talking head. I know it's the BCC Lens Flare because when I deactivate the filter and export, the alpha channel is present and the lower third is superimposed over the footage.
I've tried exporting with Lossless+Movie Alpha and Animation,
My question: Can anyone tell me why this is happening and how I might be able to remedy?
Thank you,
Blake

Yes, the lens flare is the problem. The generator is rendered as a blend mode which blends only with the elements in the project. The blend doesn't export as transparency because a blend mode is only transparent when combined with another layer.
Here are your solutions:
1) Composite the lower thirds with the video in Motion. If the bkg layer is in Motion, then the ADD blend mode applied to the lens flare will work properly.
2) Create an alpha matte layer. This requires you to create a black and white image of your project that defines transparency for your lower 3rd. Export that as well, and then do a Composite Mode-Luma in FCP.
3) Apply a Luma Key to your lens flare before export. This works, but is imperfect because the filter will inevitably key out some of the not-so-bright aspects of the lens flare, leaving you with a diminished result.
4) (My Suggestion): Apply the lens flare in FCP. FCP contains the SAME lens flare generator used by Motion. This will give you the best possible result with the least amount of extra work on your part.
Andy

Alpha channel basics from Canon 7D video

Maybe I'm missing something basic here, as I am pretty new to messing with alpha layers/channels on VIDEO. I otherwise have a pretty good understanding of alpha when it comes to animations, photos, etc.ffects
I am trying to make the black in a video of some flames into an alpha layer so I can use them as particles in After Effects.
( like in this video http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/green_smoke/ )
I understand the codec/format restrictions for alpha channels, but the problem is I can't seem to get the black to come out as an alpha layer at all.
I've tried Quicktime with the None codec and FLV and the other formats that are supposed to support alpha channels.
I THINK what's wrong is that the format that the Canon shoots in doesn't have an alpha channel natively so exporting the video into different formats is not having an effect. If this is the case, how does one go about making the black parts of a video into an alpha channel.
I know there are ways to make green into an alpha channel (greenscreening). I can't for the life of me figure out how to get premier OR aftereffects to recognize the straight black as an alpha layer though.
I've looked at some 30 tutorials trying to figure this out, but it would appear I am incapable of asking the right question to get the answer I want.
There's the export settings.
Perhaps someone can point out my gross missunderstanding of what I'm trying to do, or otherwise set me on the right track.
Below is a clip from within aftereffects... the arrow shows that the clip SHOULD have alpha properties... i think, but when I turn off the alpha channel EVERYTHING dissapears.
Do I need to d something in aftereffects? I dunno, I'm lost.
If someone thinks they can help I am willing to make a youtube video showing what I'm doing.

awesome... exactly what I was looking for
you'd think when spending an hour or more asking the question "how do you add an alpha channel to a video" this would think this would come up
having a weird issue now with it rendering a box in the lower right hand corner though... it bugs me that I don't know why it's there... but i'll just crop it out
again... thank you!

JSFL SpriteSheetExporter exports png's without alpha channel.

Hi,
When I generate spritesheets using the JSFL SpriteSheetExporter it seems the generated png's always come with a solid background. I have found no information in the documentation on how to control this (e.i make the background transparent).
SpriteSheetExporter.format returns "RGBA8888", so the image appearenly has an alpha channel.
Grateful for any information or ideas to help resolve this issue.
Cheers!

Esdebon,
Thanks for the reply.
No, the movieclip has a transparent background.
Note that this question concerns the JSFL SpriteSheetExporter (scripting). The tutorial you refer to seem to cover the sheet exporter in the Flash IDE.

Alpha Channel Question

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