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?
TIA, JK

Hey John,
Maybe Motion is incorrectly guessing the premultiplication of the alpha. Did you look at the media settings for the PICT? Go into the Media tab of the Project View, select the PICT media item, then go into the Media tab of the Inspector. There's a popup there for the premultiplication settings.
Good luck!

Similar Messages

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.
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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.)
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I'm trying to create transparent flv files to embed in Abobe Captivate.
I shot and keyed some test greenscreen (yes, I have the checkerboard in the canvas) and have tried exporting it a number of ways (rendered/unrendered, recompressed all frames/not, etc, etc) and converted it to flv a number of ways (change mov to flv, encoding software), but when I embed it and play it back I have a black background.
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Message was edited by: Meg The Dog to fix what I was trying to say

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Hi,
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Barbara and Terri,
Thanks so much for your comments!
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Premiere Pro CS6 won't recognize alpha channel in .tiff file from photoshop

Hey Everyone,
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Thanks Ann!!! Seriously, you just saved me hours of aggravation. I didn't know I had to select that in Photoshop. I was under the impression that Adobe product files were seamless.

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I am not sure this a bug.
It could be. But note that I can produce an identical case in which this behavior is not a bug.
The thing is, in the world of video applications, Alpha Channel means "fourth channel used to store transparency values".
In Photoshop, it normally means the same thing, but it can also mean "arbitrary channel created and stored for whichever reason the user may want it on the future". Typically, to save a selection so that it can be retrieved later. In fact, you can have many of these arbitrary channels.
So, imagine this scenario:
1. User makes a selection of the outline of the house.
2. Instead of cutting the pixels outside the house, or creating a layer mask, the user goes to the Channels panel and hits the "Save selection as channel" button (or equivalent menu command).
Photoshop creates a fourth channel (or even a fifth or a sixth if there were additional channels already), which is called "Alpha" but the user never did anything to make the information in that channel produce transparency.
If after making the selection, the user would have cutted pixels or created a layer mask, then that operation would be relfected on what we normally consider as Alpha channel.
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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.
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MtD

Saving transparent tga files without making alpha channel

I've been using Photoshop 7.0 for awhile now. I haven't upgraded to any other version yet because the original 7.0 actually has a certain bug in it that has been very useful.
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How do I create or export a logo in Illustrator CS5 with an alpha channel to use in Final Cut Pro 6?

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I have created a logo using Illustrator CS5 and need to import it into a video sequence in Final Cut Pro 6. The logo has a transparent background. It seems FCP 6 will import both native .ai files as well as .tiff files, but when I open them in FCP 6, the alpha channel (transparent background) is no longer there; there is just the logo over a white background. Is there a setting or step I am missing?
Shaun MacLellan

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The most effective way I've found to get an AI image into Final Cut is to:
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2. Create a new file with a transparent background in Photoshop and paste.
3. Merge the layers and make sure the mode is RGB.
4. Save out as a .PNG or .PSD.
5. Drag the result into Final Cut (or Motion).
6. Resize and position the result to taste.
Attempting to export directly from AI to .PSD or .PNG is a wasted effort and the results may not even be recognized by Final Cut.
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Hello, mi format plugin loads a rgba image. I see it with transparency, that's ok, but when I go to the channels tab I only see 4 items (RGB, Red, Green and Blue).
How can I see the alpha channel of my file in the channel tab?
Thanks!

OK, something must be wrong... but I don't find it!
That's my whole code (resumed). I ommit some code (saving file code (not used) or main function, where I only call te "DoSomething" functions. You can see that I use layers. The DoReadContinue function is only used to show the preview.
In the DoReadStart function I set the parameters for the layers (and the preview), and I fill the "data" and "layerName" params in the DoReadLayerContinue function. I hope you can understand the code!
const int32 IMAGE_DEPTH = 32;
SPBasicSuite * sSPBasic = NULL;
SPPluginRef gPluginRef = NULL;
FormatRecord * gFormatRecord = NULL;
intptr_t * gMxiInfoHandle = NULL;
MXIInfo* gMxiInfo = NULL;
int16 * gResult = NULL;
#define gCountResources gFormatRecord->resourceProcs->countProc
#define gGetResources   gFormatRecord->resourceProcs->getProc
#define gAddResource    gFormatRecord->resourceProcs->addProc
CmaxwellMXI* cMax;
static void DoReadPrepare (void){
    gFormatRecord->maxData = 0;
static void DoReadStart(void){
    char header[2];
    ReadScriptParamsOnRead (); // override params here
if (*gResult != noErr) return;
    // Read the file header
    *gResult = SetFPos (gFormatRecord->dataFork, fsFromStart, 0);
    if (*gResult != noErr) return;
    ReadSome (sizeof( header ) * 2, &header);
    if (*gResult != noErr) return;
// Check the magic number for avoid no-mxi files
    int headerID = CheckIdentifier (header);
    if( headerID != HEADER_MXI ) *gResult = formatCannotRead;
if (*gResult != noErr) return;
// The file is OK. Let's continue to obtain the data of the image.
cMax = new CmaxwellMXI( 0 );
strlen((char*)gFormatRecord->fileSpec->name);
gMxiInfo->filename = _strdup((char *)gFormatRecord->fileSpec->name + 1);
bool res = cMax->getMXIIInfo(
                (const char*)gMxiInfo->filename,
                gMxiInfo->width, gMxiInfo->height,
                gMxiInfo->burn, gMxiInfo->monitorGamma, gMxiInfo->iso,
                gMxiInfo->shutter, gMxiInfo->fStop, gMxiInfo->intensity,
                gMxiInfo->scattering,
                gMxiInfo->nMultilightChannels, gMxiInfo->lightNamesList,
                gMxiInfo->availableBuffersMask,
                gMxiInfo->widthPreview, gMxiInfo->heightPreview,
                gMxiInfo->bufferPreview);
if(!res) return;
// Check the available extra buffers
int count = 0;
if( gMxiInfo->availableBuffersMask & CmaxwellMXI::ALPHA_BUFFER ){
    // We will use that string to obtain later the desired extra buffer.
    gMxiInfo->extraBuffersList[count] = "ALPHA";
    gMxiInfo->hasAlpha = true;
    count++;
else{
    gMxiInfo->hasAlpha = false;
gMxiInfo->nExtraBuffers = count;
switch( IMAGE_DEPTH ){
case 8:
      gMxiInfo->mode = plugInModeRGBColor;
      break;
case 16:
      gMxiInfo->mode = plugInModeRGB48;
      break;
case 32:
      gMxiInfo->mode = plugInModeRGB48; //96 gives me an error
      break;
// SET UP THE DOCUMENT BASIC PARAMETERS.
VPoint imageSize;
if( gFormatRecord->openForPreview ){
    // Preview always RGB8.
    imageSize.v = gMxiInfo->heightPreview;
    imageSize.h = gMxiInfo->widthPreview;
    gFormatRecord->depth = 8;
    gFormatRecord->imageMode = plugInModeRGBColor;
    gFormatRecord->planes = 3;
    gFormatRecord->loPlane = 0;
    gFormatRecord->hiPlane = 2;
    gFormatRecord->colBytes = 3;
    gFormatRecord->rowBytes = imageSize.h * gFormatRecord->planes;
    gFormatRecord->planeBytes = 1;
else{
    // Configure the layers. All RGBA32.
    imageSize.v = gMxiInfo->height;
    imageSize.h = gMxiInfo->width;
    gFormatRecord->depth = IMAGE_DEPTH;
    gFormatRecord->imageMode = gMxiInfo->mode;
    gFormatRecord->layerData =
        2 + gMxiInfo->nMultilightChannels + gMxiInfo->nExtraBuffers;
    gFormatRecord->planes = 4; // RGBA.
    gFormatRecord->loPlane = 0;
    gFormatRecord->hiPlane = 3;
    gFormatRecord->planeBytes = IMAGE_DEPTH >> 3;
    gFormatRecord->rowBytes = imageSize.h * gFormatRecord->planes * ( IMAGE_DEPTH >> 3 );
    gFormatRecord->colBytes = gFormatRecord->planes * ( IMAGE_DEPTH >> 3 );
    gFormatRecord->transparencyPlane = 3;
    gFormatRecord->transparencyMatting = 1;
    gFormatRecord->blendMode = PIBlendLinearDodge;
    gFormatRecord->isVisible = true;
SetFormatImageSize(imageSize);
gFormatRecord->imageHRes = FixRatio(72, 1);
gFormatRecord->imageVRes = FixRatio(72, 1);
VRect theRect;
theRect.left = 0;
theRect.right = imageSize.h;
theRect.top = 0;
theRect.bottom = imageSize.v;
SetFormatTheRect(theRect);
// No resources for now.
if (sPSHandle->New != NULL) gFormatRecord->imageRsrcData = sPSHandle->New(0);
gFormatRecord->imageRsrcSize = 0;
    return;
/// Called for prewiew only.
static void DoReadContinue (void){
    // Dispose of the image resource data if it exists.
    DisposeImageResources ();
if( gFormatRecord->openForPreview ){
    VPoint imageSize = GetFormatImageSize();
    gFormatRecord->data = gMxiInfo->bufferPreview;
      if (*gResult == noErr) *gResult = gFormatRecord->advanceState();
    if( gFormatRecord->data != NULL ){
      delete[] (Crgb8*)gMxiInfo->bufferPreview;
      gMxiInfo->bufferPreview = NULL;
      gFormatRecord->data = NULL;
// De momento nos olvidamos de los icc profiles [TODO]
    //DoReadICCProfile ();
static void DoReadFinish (void)
    // Dispose of the image resource data if it exists.
    DisposeImageResources ();
    WriteScriptParamsOnRead (); // should be different for read/write
// write a history comment
    AddComment ();
// Clean some memory.
if( gMxiInfo->lightNamesList != NULL ){
    for( unsigned int i = 0; i < gMxiInfo->nMultilightChannels; i++){
      if( gMxiInfo->lightNamesList[i] != NULL ){
        delete[] gMxiInfo->lightNamesList[i];
        gMxiInfo->lightNamesList[i] = NULL;
    delete[] gMxiInfo->lightNamesList;
    gMxiInfo->lightNamesList = NULL;
if( gMxiInfo->bufferPreview != NULL ){
    delete[] gMxiInfo->bufferPreview;
    gMxiInfo->bufferPreview = NULL;
if( gMxiInfo->filename != NULL ){
    delete[] gMxiInfo->filename;
    gMxiInfo->filename = NULL;
if( cMax != NULL ){
    delete cMax;
    cMax = NULL;
static void DoReadLayerStart(void){
// empty
static void DoReadLayerContinue (void){
int32 done;
    int32 total;
VPoint imageSize = GetFormatImageSize();
// Set the progress bar data
done = gFormatRecord->layerData + 1;
total = gMxiInfo->nMultilightChannels + gMxiInfo->nExtraBuffers + 2;
// Dispose of the image resource data if it exists.
DisposeImageResources ();
uint32 bufferSize = imageSize.v * gFormatRecord->rowBytes;
int nPixels = gMxiInfo->width * gMxiInfo->height;
char* lightName = NULL;
// SET THE BLACK BACKGROUND
if( gFormatRecord->layerData == 0 ){
    gFormatRecord->data = (void*)new byte[bufferSize];
    for( int i = 0; i < nPixels; i++ ){
      ((float*)gFormatRecord->data)[ i * 4 ]     =
      ((float*)gFormatRecord->data)[ i * 4 + 1 ] =
      ((float*)gFormatRecord->data)[ i * 4 + 2 ] = 0.0;
      ((float*)gFormatRecord->data)[ i * 4 + 3 ] = 1.0;
    // Set the layer name.
    gFormatRecord->layerName = new uint16[64];
    gFormatRecord->layerName[0] = 'B';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[1] = 'a';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[2] = 'c';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[3] = 'k';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[4] = 'g';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[5] = 'r';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[6] = 'o';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[7] = 'u';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[8] = 'n';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[9] = 'd';
    gFormatRecord->layerName[10] = '\0';
// LOAD THE LIGHT LAYERS
else if( gFormatRecord->layerData < gMxiInfo->nMultilightChannels + 1 ){
    void* lightBuffer = NULL;
    void* alphaBuffer = NULL;
    byte foob;
    dword food;
    // Get the light buffer.
    bool res = cMax->getLightBuffer(
                           (char*)gMxiInfo->filename,
                           gFormatRecord->layerData - 1, IMAGE_DEPTH,
                           lightBuffer,
                           gMxiInfo->width, gMxiInfo->height, lightName);
    if(!res){
      *gResult = readErr;
      return;
    if( gMxiInfo->hasAlpha ){
      // Get the alpha buffer.
      res = cMax->getExtraBuffer(
                            (char*)gMxiInfo->filename,
                            "ALPHA", IMAGE_DEPTH, alphaBuffer,
                            food, food, foob);
      if(!res){
        *gResult = readErr;
        return;
    else{
      alphaBuffer = (void*)new float[ gMxiInfo->width * gMxiInfo->height * 3 ];
      for( int i = 0; i < nPixels; i++ ){
        // Only need to set the red channel.
        ((float*)alphaBuffer)[ i * 3 ] = 1.0;
    // Put them together.
    gFormatRecord->data = (void*)new byte[bufferSize];
    for( int i = 0; i < nPixels; i++ ){
      ((float*)gFormatRecord->data)[ i * 4 ]     = ((float*)lightBuffer)[ i * 3 ];
      ((float*)gFormatRecord->data)[ i * 4 + 1 ] = ((float*)lightBuffer)[ i * 3 + 1 ];
      ((float*)gFormatRecord->data)[ i * 4 + 2 ] = ((float*)lightBuffer)[ i * 3 + 2 ];
      ((float*)gFormatRecord->data)[ i * 4 + 3 ] = ((float*)alphaBuffer)[ i * 3 ];
    delete[] (float*)lightBuffer;
    delete[] (float*)alphaBuffer;
    // Set the layer name.
//LOAD THE EXTRA CHANNELS
if( ... ){
//READ THE RENDER BUFFER
if( ... ){
// User can abort.
if (gFormatRecord->abortProc()){
      *gResult = userCanceledErr;
      return;
// Commit the layer.
if (*gResult == noErr) *gResult = gFormatRecord->advanceState();
// Update the progress bar.
(*gFormatRecord->progressProc)( done, total );
// Free memory.
if( gFormatRecord->data != NULL ){
    delete[] (float*)gFormatRecord->data;
    gFormatRecord->data = NULL;
if( lightName != NULL ){
    delete[] lightName;
    lightName = NULL;
static void DoReadLayerFinish (void)
// Nothing to do.
And that's the image that I obtain loading a 8 layer image:
The layers have transparency (when I set "transparencyPlane" to -1, or 0, or 1, or 2, or 3, or 4....., I got the same result!). The blending mode is still "normal". I had set it to "linear dodge" The "isVisible" param works OK.
Alpha 1 is still black.
Is possible that I need to set something in the .r file? I had to add "FormatLayerSupport { doesSupportFormatLayers }," to manage layers, for instance.

Alpha channel in videos

Hi,
i would like to use an video alpha channel. VP6 files with alpha channel are not displayed in a javafx applet. Is there any other format which supports alpha channels in javafx? The corresponding MediaView has compositable == true.
Thanks
Thomas

What else does Adobe "as always" do differently?
I know Adobe Photoshop is very different to FCP Photoshop
FCP7 is very different to PPRO also . eg. PPRO is loved and supported by ADOBE ....and FCP 7 is an abandoned orphan courtesy of Apple
Just winding you up IvanThe ConvertEditor.

Importing .bmp with alpha channel

Is there a difference between the way that the Windows and
Mac versions of Flash 8 Pro handle alpha channels on .bmp files? We
are working with a .fla that was created in the Windows version of
Flash 8, but we are editing it with the Mac version. When we import
the .bmp files that we made on our Mac, the alpha channels don't
show up. But the same .bmp files that were imported with the
Windows version do display their alpha channels. We had to change
the format to .tif in order to avoid "losing" the alpha channel.
Can anyone shed any light on this? Thanks!

Use PNG-24.
Chris Georgenes
Animator
http://www.mudbubble.com
http://www.keyframer.com
Adobe Community Expert
*\^^/*
(OO)
<---->
masterys wrote:
> Is there a difference between the way that the Windows
and Mac versions of
> Flash 8 Pro handle alpha channels on .bmp files? We are
working with a .fla
> that was created in the Windows version of Flash 8, but
we are editing it with
> the Mac version. When we import the .bmp files that we
made on our Mac, the
> alpha channels don't show up. But the same .bmp files
that were imported with
> the Windows version do display their alpha channels. We
had to change the
> format to .tif in order to avoid "losing" the alpha
channel. Can anyone shed
> any light on this? Thanks!
>

Problem with Alpha Channel

The top level track on my project contains an alpha channel. However, being the top level track the tracks below it are invisible.
I have read the "Compositing, alpha channels, and adjusting clip opacity" page. It tells me that I "can choose how to interpret the alpha channel in a file in the Interpret Footage dialog box. Choose Invert Alpha Channel to swap areas of opacity with areas of transparency, or choose Ignore Alpha Channel to not use the alpha channel information at all."
However, when I do this (ie. inverse the alpha channel in the asset) I get the following before and after results:
Summary of goal: I want to adjust the transparency of the top track so that the lower tracks appear.
Help.

If you want to adjust the transparency of a clip, you modify its Opacity property.
Changing the alpha channel properties in the Interpret Footage settings is for when the alpha channel of an asset is not being interpreted/used correctly by the application.

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.
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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.
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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.)

FCP Motion=lose alpha channels in pict files?

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