PSD Lower Thirds & FCP: Help!

Hi all, I have a lower thirds graphic as a PSD Photoshop file.
I am having difficulty incorporating the file into FCP. I have imported as layers into FCP but the formatting is all off. My project is 1920 x 1080 16:9. In Photoshop, I tried to save the document as a JPEG flattened. The background is not transparent. I used clipping paths and fooled around with background layer opacity but the background was always opaque on bringing into FCP.
Does anyone have suggestions on making the bg transparent in PS and saving in that program for easy manipulation in FCP. Or properly formatting a PSD layered doc in FCP?
Thanks!

Here are the steps I follow when prepping a psd for FCP:
Start out by making sure your pixel dimensions and aspect ratio are correct for your frame size.
1. save a copy because you will be flattening some elements
2. merge all background elements into the background
3. flatten out all type, vector, masked, or effected (styles) layers using the following method for CS2+:
-select the layer to flatten
-make new layer
-select both layers , make smart object & merge
this will rasterize the type and effects in the layer.
Now your file is ready to import to FCP. If you are pixel aspect ratio correction in photoshop, then the file should import correctly according to your easy setup, if you have been owrking in square pixerls in photoshop, then be sure to correctly identify the aspect ratio in the sequence setting for the sequence fcp creates when you import the psd - these will inherit the pixel aspect ratio setting for the sequence preset set in your easy setup, which is usually not square.
Hope this helps. Really, you shouldn't have to bother with extracting alpha channels and keying out layers in FCP.

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You need to use the Animation Codec with colors set to Millions+ (the "+" is your alpha channel) also, you should make sure your lower third is not rendered.
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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.)
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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.

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When I create a lower thirds display in FCP, the font always defaults to Lucida Grande. Is there a way to set the default to another font?

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I am sure this has been covered, so I apologize.
I learned video on Adobe Premiere, and the Pro versions had title templates with lower thirds already created. I also sometimes would draw a box on my title screen and color it accordingly to make my lower third.
I like FCP 1000x times better, and since there are no lower third templates or title designer menus, I was wondering if someone could tell me how to make lower thirds in FCP. I prefer not to use Photoshop because I only have CS1 and it runs rather slowly in Rosetta on my machine.
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Why deny yourself the joy and pleasure to create your own,
It is far easier and faster than it may sound. Use a combination of applications like Motion, FCP, AE, Photoshop etc.
Use the tools don't make them use you. Manuals, the forums and a few selected tutorials can help you if you feel not confident with any of the software mentioned, but if you are passioned enough there's nothing more rewarding that learning while nurturing your creativity.
Just thought you may want to consider that as an option,
Message was edited by: gogiangigo

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I am using FCP 6.0.5 and have a two parter...
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is the lower third considered a text generator)?
Yes it is. But you'll get much better results using the Boris Title 3D text generator or Photoshop.
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Hi, I'm new to Motion so forgive if this is a newbie question!
I would like to use one of the custom lower third templates bundled with Final Cut Studio 2. How do I make the black background opacity transparent so I just have the lower third grx section? The dimensions should be 640X480.
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Hi. I would like to know what the video output size to use for a (horizontal) Lower Third. I will be very grateful for your help. Thanx in advance. Sam.

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hi everyone,
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I have dug up so many youtube tutorials and forum posts on how to export lower thirds with alpha channel from AE... and everyone has the same solution,
Here is my lower third on AE, as you can see it is transparent:
Export using the following settings as everyone has taught:
Import into Premiere, I layer it over my footage and it just doesn't show up...like it is not there.
Yet, the footage preview shows the lower third, but my preview doesn't...
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I downloaded a free web-based sample lower thirds quicktime (Created with: Adobe After Effects CS5.5 10.5 Windows 64)
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Rome-mulus wrote:
Anyone else have any ideas?
Just one: what are the dimensions of your Premiere Pro sequence?
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Hi - Got a problem with a lower third I created. It requires 4 video tracks. I have created this within a sequence which - if I pull onto the main sequence - does what I intend, giving me an animated lower third, whilst leaving the underlying video untouched.
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Your MPEG2 has no alpha channel, which is required for transparency.
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Thanks, but nope, if you look closely, you can see that there is a black drop shadow already set ... unselecting it just gives you the same double image in white, just without the black drop shadow ... bizarrely, it's only ever the top line that is doubled up ... it's as if a second copy of the top line is created ... it is also un-selectable on screen, i.e. if you click on the second copy you can't edit or move it ... the second copy only appears after the project/library is closed and re-opened ... i.e. it all looks fine when you create it

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Hey man, have you made ANY progress? You're asking for help, and I basically TOLD you how to do it. No luck? Do you want me to make it for you? Should I charge at my "friends and family" rate?
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Not trying to be a jerk, but it's almost comedic...
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Highlight all the clips in your lower third and create a Compound Clip.
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PSD Lower Thirds & FCP: Help!

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