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.

Similar Messages

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!
>

BufferedImage from PNG : Alpha Channel disregaurded

I'm trying to load a PNG with an alpha channel into a BufferedImage, and
then sample the BufferedImage at various pixels for some operations.
However, the alpha channel seems to get lost upon creation of the BufferedImage.
For example, I'm using a PNG that is 100% transparent, and when I
load it into a BufferedImage and display it on a panel all I see is the panel's background color.
So far so good. Now, the problem. When I try to sample a pixel, the alpha is always 255 or 100% opaque
which is clearly not right. Also, when I print out the BufferedImage's type, I get 0 which means the image
type is "Custom". Care to shed any light as to how I can accurately sample an image with an alpha channel?
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.io.*;
import javax.imageio.*;
import java.awt.image.*;
public class PNGTest extends JFrame {
    public PNGTest() {
        setLocation(500,500);
        BufferedImage img = new BufferedImage(640,480,BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB);
        try {
            img = ImageIO.read(new File("C:/folder/folder/myPNG.png"));
        } catch (Exception e) {
        setSize(img.getWidth(), img.getHeight());
        getContentPane().setBackground(Color.white);
        getContentPane().add(new JLabel(new ImageIcon(img)));
        setVisible(true);
        //Sample top left pixel of image and pass it to a new color
        Color color = new Color(img.getRGB(0,0));
        //print the alpha of the color
        System.out.println(color.getAlpha());
        //print the type of the bufferedimage
        System.out.println(img.getType());
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new PNGTest();
}Edited by: robbie.26 on May 20, 2010 4:26 PM
Edited by: robbie.26 on May 20, 2010 4:26 PM
Edited by: robbie.26 on May 20, 2010 4:29 PM

Here ya go robbie, ti seems to work for the rest of the world, but not for you:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.image.*;
import java.net.URL;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.imageio.*;
public class JTransPix{
JTransPix(){
    JFrame f = new JFrame("Forum Junk");
    JPanel p = new MyJPanel();
    f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    f.add(p);
    f.pack();
    f.setVisible(true);
public static void main(String[] args) {
    new JTransPix();
class MyJPanel extends JPanel{
    BufferedImage bi = null;
    MyJPanel(){
      try{
        bi = ImageIO.read(new URL("http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/4/47/20100130232511!PNG_transparency_demonstration_1.png")); //here ya go--one liner
        this.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(bi.getWidth(), bi.getHeight()));
      }catch(java.io.IOException e){
        System.out.println(e.toString());
    public void paintComponent(Graphics g){
      super.paintComponent(g);
      g.setColor(Color.BLUE);
      g.fillRect(0, 0, bi.getWidth(), bi.getHeight());
      g.drawImage(bi,0, 0, this);
}Please notice how the BufferedImage is declared and set to NULL, then allow ImageIO to set the type--Just as I said before. If you have any question about the PNG producing an ARGB image with ImageIO, then change the color painted onto the backgroun din the paintComponent to what ever you want and you'll see it show through.
BTW: even in the short nobrainers--you still need to have VALID CATCH BLOCKS.
To get what you are looking for, you can mask off the Alpha component by dividing each getRGB by 16777216 (256^3) or do a binary shift right 24 places.

Importing mov with alpha channel doesn't work

Installed the new and "improved" Premiere Pro CC 2014 and having lots of issues.
First off, importing .movs with an alpha channel doesn't work.
Second, the playback in Premiere is much worse, dropped frames and dropped audio quite frequently.
Anyone have any solutions or experiencing similar problems?

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!
>

Import QuickTime with Alpha channel into Flash CS3

Is it possible to import a QuickTime movie with alpha channel into an FLA and have the FLA recognize the Alpha channel? When I've done this, it just shows opaque black instead of an alpha channel. I need that black to be transparent so I can see the layers below the video layer.
Thanks in advance for any help.

I don't know the answer to your question.
Do you have a video player where you can verify that the alpha channel in the video is displaying as you expect?.... that is, the background is transparent?
I have used flv files with alpha and a NetStream vid player to overlay Flash video on a Web page.... but not directly in the timeline.:
http://www.mrfilmbiz.com/
the walkon... could have had other action (like Flash artwork) going on in the background... but that may not really be what you are looking for.
But lacking any other solutions, you could have your alpha channel vid file playing in one Flash file over the top of a second Flash file doing the artwork stuff.
Adninjastrator

Imported logos with alpha channel in titler bug

Hi!
If I import this logo in Titler the small black text disappears, but if I import it to premiere then All OK.
Why?
LD_logo_3d_horizontals.png

OK, while it is a bug in the Title Designer as far as I am concerned, it is the same one from the very first Premiere Pro version.
The Title Designer does not like graphics with partial opacity. Your PNG file is partially transparent.
This is your graphic blown up in Photoshop. It is obvious to me what the problem is when I look at it.
I took your text and filled in all of the partially transparent pixels with solid black, and it worked in the Title Designer just fine. I didn't do it carefully, I just sampled the lighter pixels and filled them in. The text got a bit ragged when I did that.
I don't know what font that is and I don't have time to figure it out right this minute, but I suggest that you delete the text and type in new text. Or, very carefully fill in the light spots in the text you have.

FCPX/Motion - creating a circle with alpha channel?

This film has a lot of scientific apparatus. I need to be able to circle certain elements as they are described/discussed. I crudely made myself a red circle on black background in Pages, exported out as a PDF, then tried to find a composite mode in FCPX that would get rid of the black. The closest I got was a sort of semi-transparent red circle.
I'm wondering what the easiest way to create a red circle (red opaque, background transparent) might be, that I can drop onto an FCPX timeline and manipulate?
If I have to use Motion, I want to be able to just create the circle there. I don't want to work on the sequences in Motion (too much as yet unpredictable about the sequences). I want to do everything in FCPX if I can (other than maybe constructing the circle).
All ears,
Ben

Aha!
There it is! Tra-la. Right in FCPX. Perfect. Thank you T. And Andy, I was looking at Ripple Training the other day ... so will go back and check out some more possibilities.
Hey guys, what I'd love to find: Soft Wipes ... the kind that allows me to set a point and have the wipe either right, left, top, bottom, or radial even, with really controllable feathering. I've been looking for a set ever since I can no longer use that wonderful plug-in I was using in FCP7 (FXScript DVE's by CGM?) And haven't found anything.
I would so love to be able to create controlled dissolves, where one image metamorphoses into the next ...
That, and Joe's Filters - the amazing 'Joe's Colour Glow' filter ... that allowed you to pump and bloom the whites. Joe has retired I believe, from making filters. The nice thing about his Colour Glow was that there was no yellow in it, no alternative 'colour', only the white ... playing with it allowed me make sequences, when required, look very very 'clean' ... the whites were so super white. I can't find anything in FCPX that does this. The 'Bloom' I think allows me to play a bit with the whites, but it then adds a yellowish tint that I can't get rid of.
There, two little wish list thingies I've been wanting to find for a long time. Soft Wipes, and Joe's Colour Glow filter.

Alpha channel in HTML5 format

Hi all,
I use Captivate 7 Subscription Edition on Windows Home Premium 64bit , and
I have a problem with alpha channel and html5.
I often make projects importing videos with alpha channel   (transparent background).
When I decide to publish my   projects in Flash (SWF) all works smoothly without problems, but when I check the HTML format the alpha channel doesn't work anymore. In fact in the publishing process Captivate opens the Media Encoder to transform the videos from FLV to   H.264 (.MP4) format. When I go to see the SCORM in HTML5 the videos doesn't have anymore alpha channel and other times they neither don't show anything, just audio works...
I read on internet that the H.264 format doesn't support   alpha channel but I can't find any other solution to make it work in a captivate SCORM 1.2 in HTML5 format.
Can someone give me a workaround or a solution??
I need the HTML5 format to make our company projects work on   mobile devices (such as Ipad, Iphone, Android, etc).
Roberto.
P.S. I found this jquery library: https://code.google.com/p/jquery-seethru/ the problem is that I can't make it work with the SCORM and   don't know if it really can work...

You've found the answer - h.264 doesn't support alpha channels (which I find a bit silly).
So the only real option you then have is .FLV...but if you need to deliver to mobile, then FLV won't work...
So then seems like your only option is to layer in the background within the video, export that as .MP4/h.264, then bring that in to the CP project and match it up as best you can with the rest of the background.
-E

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.)

Paint effect to create an alpha channel

Can one use the paint effect in Motion 3 to create an alpha channel. I want to be able to create a matte around someones eye. I wanted to be able to create my key by painting it on. Will paint effect do this or do I need to use shake. Or is there another way of achieving this with Motion 3.

This is really easy to do and there might be an even easier way, but this i how I did it:-
1) Create a group with your image you want to mask
2) Add an image mask to your image and toggle to invert mask and stencil off
3) Create another group but turn the visibilty off
4) drop this group into the image mask
5) Within this group, select the paint stroke tool basic solid and paint away!
Be careful you don't have the write on enabled as the mask will draw on, but maybe thats what you want!
Peter
MacPro 3G 6G RAM FCP6 M3 FxF1.06 Mac OS X (10.4.9) XSR Decklink & loads of cool new plugins, Gaggia TD auto

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

.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.

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.

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

.mov files with alpha channels won't import on Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Just FYI, Apple:
This issue with Quicktime not seeing .mov files in Finder (or I should say, not playing them) is a HUGE problem for anyone who edits video.
If you export a file as .mov in After Effects, and have any transparency (RGB+Alpha channels), there is no way to import them into current projects. None.
PLEASE fix this, as I quite enjoy my job, and don't feel like losing it because my client doesn't understand why they can't have lower thirds in their video I'm contracted to do (and subsequently fires me and finds someone on a Windows rig).
Thanks.

What is up!
Based on my tests, it appears that the Mavericks embedded QT structure no longer considers many of the legacy compression formats to be supported under Mavericks. These formats were, by default, turned off under Lion and Mountain Lion which may indicate that Apple intends to drop even passive native support sometime in the future. Files containing Animation or PNG compressed data are no longer QL compatible and now force automatic QT X v10.3 conversion as mentioned above. Even worse, it appears other commonly used fomats like DV/DV in DV and AIC/PCM in MOV are also being relegated to this group. Luckily, DV/PCM in MOV, HDV/PCM in MOV, and ProRes422/PCM in MOV, along with all of my H.264/AAC/AC3/Chapter M4V distribution/iTunes managed files remain fully compatible with both QL and QT X v10.3 under Maverisks. This last is significant for me since many files containing AC3 as the primary audio stream are no longer QL/QT X v10.3 compatible with certain file extensions and/or container types which now appear to be checked in specific situations. Unfortunatly, what we've seen and learned thus far seems to be just the "tip of the iceberge."

Motion 5, Importing a PNG, Alpha Channel Wonky

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