Can't export alpha channel on a lower 3rd

I was able to sucessfuly change the font color of my live type.
I am intermediate to graphics and I was using the Digital Duice Editor's Took kit #10 - #239 lower third to use as a lower third while adding text in motion. I thought the alpha channel was built in. When I export in motion to .mov I get the lower third, my animated text, but a black background (no alpha to lay over the video) Slap me if this has been asked before, but I have tried a lot of things and still have the black background exported. Do I need to add the alpha overlay that comes with the lower third #239 in motion to make this a mask?
The Digital juice lower third works well in FCP and allows me to super impose it over video. Do I have to set up motion to have an alpha background before I impor the lower third?

I am intermediate to graphics and I was using the Digital Duice Editor's Took kit #10 - #239 lower third to use as a lower third while adding text in motion.< </div>
You are rendering out of Juicer 3? You have done in the past, going to FCP, and the alpha is intact? Then it must be your settings out of Juicer or you have not interpreted the alpha prperly in Motion. It might be straght or premultiplied, depending on your settings in Juicer.
Exporting out of Motion with alpha is easy if you know how to select the proper codec. It must be Animation (ther are other alpha-aware codecs but Animation is idiotproof).
Without watching over your shoulder, it's difficutl to tell whaich of the many beignner's mistakes you could be making. Once you figure it out, though, you wil lnever make them again.
bogiesan

Similar Messages

Why can I no longer export alpha channels in the new FCPX update (10.0.6)?

While the new update is rich with new goodies- I am having some issues doing some things. My main concern is the inability to export alpha channels in the 10.0.6 updated version of FCPX.
I followed the following steps, same as before the update.
I used the Keying effect to remove the greenscreen and did some cleanup using the "sample color" refining tool.
I cropped and resized the clip so that the actor is the correct size for my clip.
Now it looks great in FCPX, except that I now need to put that footage into Motion 5 and do some motion tracking and match move.
I export the keyed clip as Apple Pro Res 4444
Now when I import that file into Motion 5 everything that is supposed to be transparant is black!
Is there an additional setting in the new version that I need to fix in order to export alphas? Is there a new way to do it?
I am operating Mountain Lion, OSX Version 10.8.2 with a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor.
Thank you so much! This is a key element in almost all the projects I do and now I am stuck!

You got me curious so had to test and validate some of the above, forgive me if I go a little OT in the process.
Have you set your background to checkerboard, I find psycologically this makes a difference, though in exporting it does not...
screen grab below, from 422 timeline, showing original, exported 444 and then imported file comp'd in and scaled down for differentiation in FCPX, note that the project render parameter is actually set to 422 NOT 444 as fox_m suggested, it still works.
This one below shows the above scenario exported 444, with background set to black in pref's, note the overlap showing transparency, again in FCPX. This is purely to illustrate that the checkerboard and black backgrounds are not relevant, only that the 444 on export is relevant.
Hopefully this illustrates that cropping and 444 exports are working.
Tony

Exporting alpha channel problem

i have simple file, no footage; just illustrator artwork. the only way i can see the alpha channel in motion is to have the project background (set in the project prefs) set to 0% opacity (i'm using white). when i do this, i can see that there is transparency using the pulldowns in the upper right. the problem is when i export a frame as a png still...the color looks like it is being premultiplied with black, as it's really off in the transparent areas. but i'm in a catch 22: the only way to get the color right is to set the background opacity of them project to 100% - and that negates the alpha channel.
can't i premultiple with white, as in ater effects?
what's up?
macbook pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Heya,
Just change the alpha interpretation for the footage. Select the image and press Shift+F to shortcut to the Media tab settings. Change the alpha type to Premultiplied - White, or whatever you want.

How can I dispaly alpha Channels to proxy and show transparency correctly?

Hi all! I have a problem. Please help me. Thank you very much.
I want to display alpha Channels to proxy and show transparency correctly. I have get the datas of alpha Channels and RGB color. Following are the codes:
void HiddenData::PaintPreview()
if( !channelData ) return;
PSPixelMap pixels;
int spotChannelCount = gFilterRecord->documentInfo->alphaChannelCount;
pixels.version       = ( spotChannelCount > 0 ) ? 2 : 1;
pixels.bounds.left   = proxyRect.left;
pixels.bounds.right = proxyRect.right;
pixels.bounds.top    = proxyRect.top;
pixels.bounds.bottom = proxyRect.bottom;
int32 proxyWidth = proxyRect.right - proxyRect.left;
int32 proxyHeight = proxyRect.bottom - proxyRect.top;
pixels.imageMode     = gFilterRecord->documentInfo->imageMode;
pixels.rowBytes      = proxyWidth * gFilterRecord->documentInfo->depth / 8;
pixels.colBytes   = 1;
pixels.planeBytes    = proxyWidth * proxyHeight;
pixels.baseAddr   = channelData;
// new for version 2 of PSPixelMap
PSPixelOverlay* overlay = NULL;
if( spotChannelCount > 0 ){
overlay = new PSPixelOverlay[ spotChannelCount ];
if( overlay ){
   int j = 0;
   for( int i = 0; i < spotChannelCount; i++ ){
    overlay[i].data = channelData + pixels.planeBytes * (4 + i);
    overlay[i].rowBytes = pixels.rowBytes;
    overlay[i].colBytes = 1;
    overlay[i].r = (unsigned8)spotColorList[j++];
    overlay[i].g = (unsigned8)spotColorList[j++];
    overlay[i].b = (unsigned8)spotColorList[j++];
    overlay[i].opacity = 50 * 2.55;
    overlay[i].overlayAlgorithm = kStandardAlphaOverlay;
    overlay[i].next = ( i == (spotChannelCount - 1)) ? NULL : overlay + i + 1;
   pixels.pixelOverlays = overlay;
   pixels.colorManagementOptions = kViewAsStandardRGB/*kViewAsMask*/;
pixels.mat = NULL;
pixels.masks = NULL;
pixels.maskPhaseRow = 0;
pixels.maskPhaseCol = 0;
(gFilterRecord->displayPixels)(&pixels, &pixels.bounds, 0, 0, (void *)hdc);
delete[] overlay;
But there is a problem.The image of alpha Channels in proxy is not clear, because overlay[i].opacity = 50 * 2.55.
It looks like diffrent from displaying in photoshop.I do not know how to use pixels.mat and pixels.masks.
Thanks!

I run the plugin. But It can not show alpha channels. Can you show the code in your example clearly.Thanks! Following are the frames.
The original document:
The result:
Can not show the alpha channels.

Can't export audio channel

Hi everyone,
I have this big and long project (1h30) I'm trying to export and it takes a while to do it (4-5h).
I tried couple format and I finally exported it with MPEG -> HDTV 720.
Problem the audio channel is missing. as it's really long to export it again, I tried to export only the audio part but I always get the error "Error commpiling move. Unknow error".
Expert if I'm exporting with aac format but this gives me a really ugly kinda noise.
I tried with only the 2 1st minutes of the movie and it exported well.
Any suggestion? Please this is kinda of urgent!
I'm using PE 10
Thanks!

With "Error compiling movie," I would start with the links in this Tips & Tricks article: Got "Error Compiling Movie?" This Might Help
Good luck,
Hunt

How to export a video with an alpha channel that can be switched off

Hi!
I'm stuck with something that I think might have a simple solution:
I need my video to have an alpha channel while still keeping all the RGB information in place too. This is for Syntheyes, which can take the alpha channel for a video and use it as a garbage matte while tracking.
The problem is that if I draw a mask around my video and then export as a PNG (with alpha), the RGB information seems to be gone even when I choose to ignore the alpha channel. I know how to edit the alpha channel in Photoshop while still keeping the RGB elements untouched, but how should I do that in AE?
Any help will be appreciated!

Okay I will answer my own question:
This worked as soon as I did a proper export as a PNG image sequence. I did my tests with only single frames by using the "save frame as file" -function, which did not work properly (the rbg information was gone).
So the simple solution to this question was:
Draw a mask on the video layer and export with alpha. The RGB will be there, even though the mask hides it in AE.

Alpha Channel Transparency Rendering

Forgive me if this is somewhere on this forum as the forums are a bit confusing to me. If it is please point me in the right direction.
I am trying to create a simple effect and then use that effect as a luma matte in a NLE like Final Cut Pro or Avid. What I am not sure how to do is to render the video file so that it will have an alpha channel or transparency information. A work around I have tried was to create the image and lower its hue/saturation and then remove the hue/sat and use the two together but that had unpredictable results. If it helps I'm using the spike light ball effect on a black solid with its count turned up and its global angle animated to +15 after 10 seconds so basically the light does a cool rotate effect. Thanks for any help :)

Render and export to a format that can include an alpha channel. Make sure that you have selected the option(s) in the export settings that tell the encoder to include the alpha channel. One such setting is the bit depth Millions Of Colors+, in which the plus sign refers to the alpha channel. Another example of such a setting is the Encode Alpha Channel option in the Video tab of the export settings dialog box for FLV output using On2 VP6 codec.
For more information, see the
"About alpha channels and mattes" section of After Effects Help on the Web.

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.

Exporting Alpha Transparency for a PC from motion5...?

I am trying to export alpha transparency for a lower third I've done in Motion5.
I know that proress422(proxy) can be used , but this does not import well into my PC (premiere pro).
Is there anyway of creating alpha transparency from m5 so that my PC will happily recognise it ?
thanks,

If you're using Alpha for *anything* -- you must use ProRes 4444 (if Premiere will accept it.) It is the only ProRes that supports transparency and the only export option in Motion 5 that supports transparency. (Older versions of Motion could export with the "Animation" codec which also supported transparency.)
If Premiere (on the PC) doesn't handle ProRes 4444, then
You can export just the alpha channel from Motion and use a "Track Matte Key" in Premiere (as I *understand* it -- I've never used premiere.)
On export, go under the Render options panel and set Color: to Alpha (default is Color + Alpha).
It's basically a B&W movie of the alpha data -- the "layer" is used as a luminance map in the travel matte key. I actually don't think it matters what codec you use for export -- it's not really transparency -- black is transparent and white is opaque.
HTH

Can't export .MOV in AE cc render queue, But I can Export .MOV using Media Encoder cc

I get “[file path and name].mov”. An output module failed. The file may be damaged or corrupted. (-1610153464) when trying to export .mov using AE cc render queue but works fine in media Encoder cc. My problem is that i need to export animation with alpfa channel for a client and cannot find an alpha channel option in media encoder.
Please help

To export with an alpha channel in Adobe Media Encoder, choose "32 bit" from the Depth menu under the Video tab in the export settings. (That refers to 32 bits per pixel: 8 each for R, G, B, and A.) Of course, that option is only available if the codec can include an alpha channel, such as with the Animation codec in a QuickTime container.
To deal with QuickTime problems with After Effects CC (12.0), start here:
http://bit.ly/QT_AE_CC_12

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

ProRes 4444 with BOTH Alpha Channel AND Timecode?

Recently did a large project of creating alpha channels from green screen footage.
Made the timelines 4444 and tried to output.
If I export as Quicktime, I get the timecode but not the Alpha channel.
If I export as Quicktime Conversion, I can get the Alpha channel, but not the timecode.
Am I doing something fundamentally wrong?
Is there a way to get both on the same output?
Like I said, this project is large -- 91 files -- and it takes more than 8 hours to export out either way even on a current 6 core machine.
What I really do NOT want to have to do is some crazy copy and paste of the timecode information from two separate exports.

You said, "'export as Quicktime' is a very vague description."
Actually, it's not.
A person only has a few choices in Final Cut Pro. If you want to get really specific;
File > Export > QuckTime Movie...
Or
File > Export > Using QuickTime Conversion...
That's it!
With the first and ONLY the first, it will export whatever is on your timeline and you can get Timecode, but I can't figure out a way to make it output the Alpha channel with it.
With the other, you can get any sort of converted output you can input, including ProRes 4444 and Alpha, but unfortunately not the Timecode track.
UNLESS some Guru out there knows some sort of trick.
I'm hoping to find somebody that knows one.

.png animation files... how to import keeping alpha channel please!

My graphics man has buit me a animation on white swirly things on his system
and given me them as sequential files.
On gfx without alpha I open then in quicktime, open a sequential files then export to dv.
Now of course dv will not keep alpha channels so any help on how to take this animation alpha .png and get it into my fcp time line would be much appreciated,
regards
daz

Apple Animation is a high quality video codec that can support an alpha channel.
While there are other formats that also support alpha channel, Apple Animation is the codec of choice on the Mac because it lets us transfer files between different software packages without any hassle.
For instance, you could export a 3D scene from Maya, manipulate it further in After Effects then drop it into the FCP Timeline, all without converting it to something else at each stage.

Automator or Applescript using png files with alpha channel

I have hundred of png files with alpha channel.
I want to suppress alpha channel.
How can i do it using Automator or Applescript ?
Thank you very much.

You can use the free command line image processing tool ImageMagick in your Applescripts or Automator workflows, as well as from a Terminal shell.
You can download ImageMagick from http://www.imagemagick.org, but Cactuslab has simplified installation by putting together an installer package. It’s available at http://cactuslab.com/imagemagick/. Download the package and double-click on it. Follow the instructions to install. It will install ImageMagick into /opt/ImageMagick and add it to your $PATH by creating a file in /etc/paths.d/. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
The two ImageMagick commands we’re concerned with are “convert” and “mogrify”. Convert is more efficient for multiple and piped operations on the same image file, and mogrify is more efficient for batch processing. Generally speaking, convert will output a file separate from the input file. Unless a path is specified, mogrify will overwrite the input file with the output file. An important distinction.
You can perform various operations on the alpha channel using arguments after either the convert or mogrify command. Two of the available arguments are:
-alpha off - Disables the image's transparency channel. Does not delete or change the existing data, just turns off the use of that data.
-alpha remove - Composite the image over the background color.
Also of use are the -flatten and -background options:
-flatten - overlay all the image layers into a final image and may be used to underlay an opaque color to remove transparency from an image.
-background - sets the background color.
Start off using the convert command with a single image to see the effect and adjust to your liking. Once you’ve achieved the desired outcome, then use the mogrify command to batch process the chosen images.
Before getting into how to use Automator or Applescript in your workflow, use Terminal and the command line to see the effect on a single image. Copy one image to your ~/Desktop. In Terminal change the directory to ~/Desktop by typing the following command and pressing the Enter key:
cd ~/Desktop
Then choose the option you are looking for, -alpha remove for instance, type the following command and press the Enter key:
convert input-photo.png -alpha remove output-photo.png
You can check the alpha channel (transparency) and background in the Preview app, go View > Show Image Background from the menu bar.
Once you’re ready to batch proces, place all the photos you want to convert with the same command into one folder. Copy the folder to your ~/Desktop. Let’s assume you’ve labeled the folder “InPhotos”. It’s prudent to manipulate copies in case something goes amiss. In that event you can copy the folder with the originals again and start over. Create a new empty folder on your ~/Desktop and call it “OutPhotos”. Let’s also assume your home directory is called “Me”. The following command will process the photos from the InPhotos folder and put them in the OutPhotos folder:
mogrify -alpha remove -path /Users/me/Desktop/OutPhotos/ /Users/me/Desktop/InPhotos/*png
According to Apple Technical Note TN2065:
"when you use just a command name instead of a complete path, the shell uses a list of directories (known as your PATH) to try and find the complete path to the command. For security and portability reasons, do shell script ignores the configuration files that an interactive shell would read"
So, you need to use the full path to to ImageMagick commands, unlike in the shell where you can just use the command name.
To batch process using Automator, use the “Run Shell Script” action (note: retain the single space at the beginning of the last line):
/opt/ImageMagick/bin/mogrify \
-alpha remove \
-path /Users/Me/Desktop/OutPhotos/ \
/Users/Me/Desktop/InPhotos/*png
To batch process using Script Editor (Applescript), use the “do shell script” command:
do shell script "/opt/ImageMagick/bin/mogrify -alpha remove -path /Users/pd/Desktop/OutPhotos/ /Users/pd/Desktop/InPhotos/*png"
Further info on ImageMagick:
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/command-line-options.php#alpha
http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/masking/#remove
http://www.imagemagick.org/index.php
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/command-line-tools.php
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/command-line-options.php
Examples:
The original PNG image:
-alpha off:
-alpha remove:
-background black -flatten:
-background blue -flatten:
-channel alpha -evaluate Divide 2:
-channel alpha -evaluate Divide 2 -background black -flatten:

CS5.5 | ProRes 4444 - Interpret Footage does NOT see Alpha Channel

I thought this problem would have been taken care of by now.
Guess the bug fixes in CS5.5 are few if at all
1) Export any movie to ProRes 4444 and set to export alpha channel straight.
2) re-import to AE
3) Open Interpret Footage Dialog....
One gets REALLY disillusioned when discovering that ALL alpha options have been grayed out.
When is this ProRes MADNESS going to STOP !!!!!

Dan,
if you are ever in Hamburg, Germany. Let me know and the brews are on ME.
In my testing madness I exported a movie WITH NO ALPHA.... That is the reason why I was NOT seeing any alpha options on import.
I dup'ed the vid layer and moved it about and set the opacity to 50... Then exported. And imported. And THERE they were ....
LE ALPHA OPTIONS....
Best Regards
M.

Can't export alpha channel on a lower 3rd

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