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?

Question

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

Answer 1

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.