Resolution, audio, alpha channel, and backup questions (newbie)

Hello!
Well, after a few weeks of fidgeting around with FCE, I've come up with quite a few questions:
Image/Audio questions
A. What is the best still image size for import to a NTSC DV movie? Is it the 720x480 px (3:2 aspect ratio) standard of the DV image, or the 4:3 ratio of your generic CRT TV?
I know it depends on pan/zoom. This brings up the next question:
B. I have a still image - literally a blue and black two-color image - that I'd like to zoom. It will start out with a very close shot - and zoom out until it takes up around 10% of the screen. The ending frame (the DV size) will be about 10-12 times smaller than the original image. Does this mean that I should make the original 10-12 times bigger (in both directions) than a DV frame?
This clip is essentially an imitation of the opening of the movie "Home Alone", where the screen begins blue, and as it zooms out, you see it's a stylized house, which zooms out to a tiny size. That's essentially the effect I'm going for.
Audio/Video sync issue
C. Some of the clips I've imported from old iMovie projects are a little out of sync. It's not a conversion issue, but an issue with bad editing on my part . So, I have a still image that's about 1.5 seconds too short - it cuts to the next still, which is 1.5 seconds too long. I've added edit points at both ends of the out-of-sync clip, so that I have a 1.5 second clip, with its own audio and video.
The problem is that the audio is perfect, but the video is bad. So, I need to replace the video, without changing the audio. How is this done?
D. Sometimes, I'll end up with either audio or video that's not quite right after importing a movie. However, FCE locks them together. Is there a way to unlock them so that I can change either? Essentially, is there a way to change the audio and video from one clip into two seperate clips?
E. Can I export a single clip or two only? (eg - the same as the "Share selected clips only" check box the iMovie's share menu)
Alpha channel/marquee question:
In one idea I had for this short, I have a still image (and some video) where I'd like to highlight a small area in one part of the image. In one part, it's a small object in the background that I'm highlighting. If you've seen a documentary where they have a group photo, and highlight the face of one particular person, that's the effect I'm going for.
I've made some Photoshop images that can achieve this effect - using a transparent background, a black top layer (at ~40-80% opacity), and an eliptical marquee for the highlighted portion. I then import it, and fine tune the location/size. It works, but it takes a lot of time to talor each shot. Is there some way to do this IN Final Cut Express? A filter perhaps?
In addition: (alpha-video)
is there a way to turn part of a video into an alpha channel, so that it's transparent in the final movie? It's not so much a solid color (as the bluescreen/chroma key technique would need), but more of background. For example, I would like to take some footage of my family walking in front of trees, remove the background, and place an entirely different video/still in. Is that possible?
Backup: FInal question:
I have my source media organized fairly well on my external drive. However, if my drive should die, It would be incredibly tedius to re-link all the files. (I do have a fairly current backup of the external files). Not to mention finding the orignal capture files, re-timing the project, and so on. The project file itself is probably the easiest to back up.
So, how do you back up EVERYTHING? Some projects may have hundreds of files, all over my external drive. Is there some easy way to back up all the files into a single place, like a single folder or DVD, so that if my drive should fail, all the files are in one spot?
I can export them back to a miniDV tape, but I don't have that many, plus they're $5 a pop. I can do this with Toast, but I'll likely end up missing some out-of-the-way files. If only .Mac's Backup had a Final Cut preset.....
I know that's a BUNCH of stuff up there, so if you can help with any of them, i'd be appreciative.
Thanks,
Daniel
15" 1.67 Powerbook G4 (non-HiRes), Slot loading iMac DV SE Mac OS X (10.4.7) 1G RAM on PB, 384 MB iMac.

Try breaking these up into separate questions. Easier to answer and easier to be found by someone searching for answers to the same question.

Similar Messages

Alpha channel and imaging lingo

I have a 32 bit image with an alpha channel. When placed on
the stage only
the black anti-aliased text shows and no background shows
(using the copy
ink)
I'm scrolling this image with imaging lingo where I take a
sliding portion
of the original image in one direction or the other. When I
do this the
background of the portion on the stage is white instead of
transparent.
I'm creating an image and assign a portion of the text image
to it. I tried
pImage.useAlpha = TRUE but I get an error saying the property
can't be set
which is rediculous I know. pImage is definitely an image, I
checked it
with the debugger.
useAlpha might not be the correct solution but it brought up
a second
question. First, how can I maintain the alpha channel with
imaging Lingo
and second why do I get the error telling me that the
useAlpha property
can't be set?
Craig
Craig Wollman
Lingo Specialist
Word of Mouth Productions
212-928-9581
www.wordofmouthpros.com

Thanks. You're right, I did need to create the image in 32
bits but
otherwise I only needed to set useAlpha to TRUE and the alpha
was maintained
perfectly without any other changes.
Craig Wollman
Lingo Specialist
Word of Mouth Productions
212-928-9581
www.wordofmouthpros.com
"Lukewig" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
news:ek0ibj$c9k$[email protected]..
> Hi Craig,
>
> If "pImage.useAlpha = TRUE" gives a 'cannot set this
property" error, then
> pImage.depth is less than 32. Change your code to
something like this to
> confirm:
>
> if pImage.depth < 32 then put "oops, no alpha to use"
> else pImage.useAlpha = TRUE
>
> As how to "maintain the alpha channel with imaging
Lingo", I gotta scratch
> my
> head each time (its kind of counter-intuitive). Basic
rule of thumb is
> turn off
> alphas for copypixel operations, extract your alphas and
copypixel them
> separately, and then reset the alpha of the final
composite image (of
> course,
> the details depend on whether your are wanting to
combine your alphas or
> not).
>
> -- Luke
>
>

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.

Alpha channel and ProRes 4444

I have a number of AE files that I would like to render in Media Encoder with their alpha channels using the ProRes 4444 codec. I cannot figure out how to make ME give me an alpha channel. If I render in AE, I get the alpha channel without a problem. How can I get ME to give me an alpha channel? I am using ME 2014 on a Mac.

Hi Remy,
Choose QuickTime. Then from the list of formats in the Video tab, choose ProRes 4444. Scroll down to "Depth" and choose 32 bit. This will allow you to export with an alpha channel.
Thanks,
Kevin

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.

IDCS3: Alpha Channels and InCopy: Bug!?

We use the InDesign/InCopy CS3 workflow.
So this is what I do in InDesign: I place a psd image in my layout and use its alpha channel to wrap text. Then I manually adjust the channel's path for my preferred result.
If another user edits the attached .inca file, saves and closes ist again, the manual adjustments to the psd file's alpha channel in the InDesign file have gone!
Does that sound familiar to anyone and is there a solution out there?
Thanks in advance!
Sven

Yes, I've seen it. First make sure you're all fully patched to 5.0.4,
then check to see that text wrap only effects text beneath is disabled
in your prefs.
If none of that works, try opening the InDesign file in InCopy.
Bob

Exporting with alpha channel and edges are ragged

I've got a short animation that is mainly a PSD of a map of NC with some animated push pins on it. I've got a local cable provider wanting an export of the animation with an alpha channel. He's using Premiere on a Mac, I'm on PC. No matter what codec I use that supports an alpha channel, the outer edge of the graphic of the State comes out ragged. Zooming in to the PSD in PhotoShop shows that the edge is antialiased, so I would imagine that this is what is causing the ragged edge on export.
Here's grab of the export. This is with QT Animation codec-quality 100, but the same results occur with DNxHD, Cineform, PNG, etc.

I think you are just seeing the extra areas of the fill.
If the output files works correctly in the editor, you should be good to go.
MtD

Help with simple OS upgrade and backup questions for a dumb old previous PC user...?

Ok...have mercy on me, please...
I am not completely dumb, I know typical board etiquette, and I have searched for various answers (and found many)...but I just want to confirm my personal "research" and get all of this clear up before I proceed with this insanity. I know I could probably search more, but this is taking hours, because of all my various questions, one leads to 10 more...
I have an iMac with Mac OS X Version 10.5.8 (which, though not mentioned anywhere?...is apparently "Leopard", right? Told you I was dumb...)
Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
My main goal: install an app that was in the Mac App store.
However, with Leopard, I can't access the Mac App store with Leopard, apparently.
I click on the Mac App store, and up pops up a Lion advertisement...telling me I should upgrade. Ok, fine...probably a good idea, anyway...
But how do you upgrade to Lion? Apparently through the Mac App store!
The web-redirects on the Apple site are amusing...taking me on an endless cycle...purchase Lion in the app store...click..."you need to upgrade to Lion"...OK...click..."you need Lion at the app store"...OK...click..."you need to upgrade to Lion to get to the app store"....etc.
OK...fine...google searches...ahh, I need to upgrade to Snow Leopard first, apparently! Yes?
(Maybe the Apple redirects should detect that I have Leopard, and direct me to a screen that explains that I must upgrade to Snow Leopard...and then Lion! Do you hear that, Apple? Thanks.)
Anyway...so here's my plan:
1) Upgrade to Snow Leopard
2) Access the Mac app store
3) Upgrade to Lion
Question A: With my iMac (specs above), is it really advisable for me to do this? Can my computer really handle Lion? It seems I barely meet the minimum with my intel core 2 Duo and 2 GB ram...yes? Is this a dumb idea, even if "OK"? I know that "minimum requirements" on a PC often meant: "Well, it will work...but it will be slower than a snail and crash if you run 5 programs at the same time" (which I usually do...) I don't want to upgrade if the "minimum" is really not enough.
Question B: If the answer to A is "not a good idea", then do I just need a new computer (i.e. better processor)? Or do I need more Ram? And can I add Ram to this computer, and is it relatively easy? I have added Ram to PCs tons of times, and you always have to determine type of Ram for your board, make sure they "match", or whatever, and then open up the machine and install. Kind of a pain, but once I have the "right" type of Ram, opening the CPU and installing is within my abilities. Will it be harder for a Mac?
= = =
Next:
When upgrading an OS on a Windows, you pretty much format the harddrive and start all over. Back in the day I was a PC user, there wasn't really a "great" way to back up programs and files, so this was a nightmare. You could NOT just back-up software. You typically had to re-purchase and install it all from scratch. Is this the same with Macs? Furthermore, personal files were scattered all over the hard-drive for the individual software...so trying to back all that up to get it back on the new system = nightmare! I hate PCs.
Anyway...so, my iMac has Time Machine. I am pretty ignorant about this, and based on my previous PC backup program nightmares, I have a distrust for it...and don't really understand how it works. But in any event, my external drive crashed a few months ago, and I haven't replaced it, yet. So, I am replacing it soon and will get Time Machine back up and running...setting it up again, etc...leading to question C...
Question C: When upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Lion, what is the best way to ensure I keep all my programs and files. My wife and I both access the computer, so two user accounts. Does Time Machine really do a good job backing up everything and all things? Is it just a matter of upgrade to Snow Leopard...then immediately to Lion...and then some sort of "Restore" from Time Machine? Anything for me to "watch out for"...or to do when I buy a new external hard-drive and setup up Time Machine for the first time on it, in order to make this work well? Will I have to re-install all the various applications I have installed on this thing? (like with PCs?)
Thanks for any sincere help.

yachadhoo wrote:
I have an iMac with Mac OS X Version 10.5.8 (which, though not mentioned anywhere?...is apparently "Leopard", right? Told you I was dumb...)
Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Apple has discontinued support for 10.5, it's a plaque of our platform that Apple only supports the last two operating systems in circulation.
Where as on Windows you can run the same OS version for 10 years and get updates free (if not stolen), on a Mac we get one year, two tops now and if you don't upgrade and break all your third party software and hardware drivers in the process, then your denied security updates.
On top of that, the OS X upgrades tend to break your older hardware too, or slow it down so much that it drives you to want to buy newer hardware.
It's funny Apple places the AppStore on your OS X version along with iTunes and Safari updates, but then doens't supply necessary security updates, your machine may be compromised and here you enter vital credit card info, banking etc. thinking you have a secure machine.
My advice, since that's a 10.5 era Mac, is to upgrade to 10.6.3 via this disk, then use Software Update until clear. You'll get security updates and your present installed 10.5 software will work in 10.6 using Rosetta.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
Rosetta is not avaialble in 10.7 so it could be a lot of your software will no longer function
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table
I don't see the sense in you buying all new software for a machine that's at it's end of life stage.
You can buy software in the AppStore with 10.6.
Question A: With my iMac (specs above), is it really advisable for me to do this? Can my computer really handle Lion? It seems I barely meet the minimum with my intel core 2 Duo and 2 GB ram...yes?
You will need to buy 4GB of RAM to run Lion well, the 2GB is just a bare minimum, and your processor is a bit dated.
Lion 10.7 is certainly slower than Snow Leopard 10.6, in fact so many wanted to go back to Snow Leopard and one of the resons was Lion was slow.
So I wrote a User Tip, here, but the Tips were implemented only recently.
How to revert your Mac to Snow Leopard
Question B: If the answer to A is "not a good idea", then do I just need a new computer (i.e. better processor)? Or do I need more Ram? And can I add Ram to this computer, and is it relatively easy? I have added Ram to PCs tons of times, and you always have to determine type of Ram for your board, make sure they "match", or whatever, and then open up the machine and install. Kind of a pain, but once I have the "right" type of Ram, opening the CPU and installing is within my abilities. Will it be harder for a Mac?
RAM is easy, you can buy it at Otherworld Computing or Crucial.com and install it yourself, there is a little door under the monitor.
Videos online at YouTube.
When upgrading an OS on a Windows, you pretty much format the harddrive and start all over. Back in the day I was a PC user, there wasn't really a "great" way to back up programs and files, so this was a nightmare. You could NOT just back-up software. You typically had to re-purchase and install it all from scratch. Is this the same with Macs? Furthermore, personal files were scattered all over the hard-drive for the individual software...so trying to back all that up to get it back on the new system = nightmare! I hate PCs.
Mac'soperaing system is seperate, it can be replaced or upgraded indepentantly of programs or user accounts on the machine.
There are some programs that install a kernel extension file at boot into OS X, those get knocked out, but those can be replaced with a new install of the software.
You should always backup your users files as those can't be repalced.
 Most commonly used backup methods explained
Question C: When upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Lion, what is the best way to ensure I keep all my programs and files.
OS X upgrades dont' affect User accounts but they can have a affect on programs installed, which most of your 10.5 programs likely will no longer work in 10.7
However they will (with a slight update) work in 10.6 just like before.
You need to backup regardless, I suggest a manual backup of users files to a storage drive, a 10.5 clone on another drive, the your ready to upgrade to 10.6
10.5 to 10.6 upgrade is rather painless, also 10.6 gives accelerated video drivers, so your machine will appear faster.
However once you install 10.7, you will slow down.
Does Time Machine really do a good job backing up everything and all things?
No, you shouldn't rely upon TM, have a multiple backup stragedy, TM files are hard to access directly.
Is it just a matter of upgrade to Snow Leopard...then immediately to Lion...and then some sort of "Restore" from Time Machine?
No need to restore, OS X upgrades and leaves everything else in place, just some programs (with 10.6) or a lot (with 10.7) when you try to launch them they will fail.
Also when you connect TM it will do a substancial change to reflect the new boot drive.
If you were using TM as a "storage drive" thinking you can use the archived versions later, that wil change upon the new OS X upgrade.
But in any event, my external drive crashed a few months ago, and I haven't replaced it, yet. So, I am replacing it soon and will get Time Machine back up and running...setting it up again, etc...leading to question C..
You need not only TM drive, but a bootable clone and user files on a storage drive.
 Most commonly used backup methods explained
Will I have to re-install all the various applications I have installed on this thing? (like with PCs?)
No, depending upon what OS X version you stop at depends how many programs no longer work.
You will have to buy a lot of new or upgrade versions with 10.7, not so with 10.6 only updates mostly because of Rosetta on 10.6 and not on 10.7
My opinion, since that machine is a bit dated, is to upgrade to 10.6, Software update to 10.6.8, and stay there.
Later on 10.8 is being released after this summer, you may want to consider getting a new machine with 10.8 a few months later to ensure all the bugs are worked out of it.
Your not a comptuer savvy person, you like most Apple users expect your machine to "just work" I think going to 10.7 will be a bad experience for you.
10.6.8 will server your needs until 10.8 is released and on new hardware where Apple will hold your hand for free for three months, 3 years with AppleCare.
Your not a "OS X upgrader type of a person" and Apple needs to get of thier collective assets and pay better attention to it's most common users.

ICloud storage and backup question

According to the most answers that I have been searched here in iCloud ,I found out that iCloud didn't back up all the photos on my photos stream (which I couldnt restore them later -_-") but pictures will be keep in iCloud photos stream just for only 30days Then will be deleted forever. As I experienced updating iOS recently,my phone was cracked during upgrading and I have to restore everything in my iPhone as a default factory setting. once I backup my photos from iCloud,I got only photos that I clicked back-up manually since 2012 :"( and all my new photos were not appeared forever. In this case,that iCloud didn't keep those photos,why my iCloud storage is showing full?? Any idea...pls advice..

Your iCloud backup only includes photos (and videos) in your camera roll. It doesn't included any photo stream photos. You are correct that photo stream photos only remain in iCloud for 30 days. If you have photo stream photos that are not in your camera roll that you want included in your iCloud backup, you have to save them to your camera roll before performing the backup.
Zushee wrote:
As I experienced updating iOS recently,my phone was cracked during upgrading and I have to restore everything in my iPhone as a default factory setting. once I backup my photos from iCloud,I got only photos that I clicked back-up manually since 2012 :"( and all my new photos were not appeared forever. In this case,that iCloud didn't keep those photos,why my iCloud storage is showing full?? Any idea...pls advice..
Sorry but I don't understand what you're asking here. If your question is why is your iCloud storage full, you can find out by going to Settings>iCloud>Storage & Backup>Manage Storage to find out what is using your iCloud space.

Bridge gallery and iWeb questions, newbie....

Hi All....
I have made myselve a page in iWeb but I´m not happy with the gallery-layout with thumpnails and small sized pictures, I would like my galleries to be scroll down type, OR just one picture at the time and nothing else, except "Next/previous" and a "Menu" sign, either in a good (>>>big pictures) size....
I have this morning realized that I can do that in Bridge, so I have made myselve a testgallery and uploaded to my site via Bridge, and I can see in Filezilla that it is there, but I can´t see it on my page, off course because there´s no link between the two of them, the question is, how do I make my page show the gallery....???
I haven´t been able to locate the testgallery on the web, as mentioned I can see in Filezilla that it is there somewhere, but how to find it out there I don´t know....
My homepage is called www.easerfoto.dk and the gallery I have oploaded is called Bridgegallerytest, if it has any relevance....
If anyone have a page that is made in Bridge and care to share how´s, then please step forward, I´m on zero here, any tip is appreciated....;-)
Maybe I should mention that I am an complete NOOB on all this (managed to have Filezilla working first time last week), but want to learn....
Bjarke

When you created your gallery did you publish the file to a folder? And was one of the files in that folder named index.htm or html? Make sure the gallery works correctly by opening the index.html file with your browser from the gallery copy on your hard drive.
Then upload to the root directory of your account on the server. The url would be something like this: http://www.easerfoto.dk/Folder_name/index.html.
Put that URL in the iFrame code below in an HTML snippet. The iFrame code in the snippet would look like this:
<iframe height="XXXpx" allowTransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:XXXpx;border:none" src=" http://www.easerfoto.dk/Folder_name/index.html"></iframe>
Adjust the height and width dimensions to fit the size of the gallery you want on the page.
Also for what it's worth there are other gallery types of presentations, some from iPhoto with a free plugin, that might be of interest to you:
SimpleViewer and Flash Album Exporter
Flash Album Exporter Postcard and AutoViewer Slideshow Themes
Jalbum Examples
OT

Alpha Channel and Blue Screen

Hi- I have an animated sequence with a transparent backround. Within this animation a window opens revealing a blue screen in which I place a picture. Behind the entire sequence I want to place a backround image, but no matter what, the background image always dissapears once the blue screen portion of the animation is present. I've tried nesting with all of the animation in its own layer and the backround in its own, but it makes no difference. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks a lot.
Robert

I'll try to break this down further. (I'm no wordsmith, so I apologize ahead of time if it's not clear enough)
In a nutshell, what I'm describing will put your window contents ON TOP of your blue screen window (instead of being visible behind the blue screen footage)
I'm going to call your footage (the animation which already has an alpha that you also need to key) Blue screen.
I'll call your window contents Foreground
I'll call the footage that is behind everything (what needs to be visible through the alpha that already is present in your blue screen footage) Background.
There will be 3 individual layers.
Layer 2
Foreground
Image Mask (inverted. Blue screen footage w/ the Keyer applied as the Image)
Layer 1
Blue screen copy
Primate RT
Blue screen
Layer
Background
That is how it will appear in the Layer List.
Steps:
Create your Project
Click the + in the Layer List 2 times to create 2 new layers (for a total of 3 layers. Layer, Layer 1, Layer 2)
Add your Background to Layer
Add your Blue screen to Layer 1
Copy the Blue screen and paste it within Layer 1
Add your Keyer to the Blue screen Copy (I used Primatte RT) and Key out your window.
Add your Foreground to Layer 2
Add an Image Mask to the Foreground (with the FG selected, CommandShiftM)
Drag the Blue screen copy in the Layer List onto the Image Mask
Invert the Image Mask by clicking the Invert Mask checkbox in it's Dashboard or Inspector.
You should now have the Window Contents sitting on top of your Blue screen and your Background all visible. Hope that helps.

Audio conferencing visibility and security question

All
Small company with CUCM and Unity Connections 8.6. Internally we utilize Meet-Me as the defacto conferencing solution. However, would like to add some security and visibility for the conference owners so they can specify who can connect to their conferences and also some way to see currently connected members of the conference.
Can anyone point me in the direction of any such solution, that preferably won't break the bank
Thanks
Brandon

Hi Brandon,
Unfortunately, this request would require a deeper assessment of your needs and your environment which can hardly be made via this forum. The best way to get the most appropriate answer related to your needs would be to contact your Cisco Account Team. They should be able to get a Cisco Sales Engineer involved to gather your requirements, get to know your infrastructure and user community, and present you with the appropriate options.
On this community, I can provide you with links to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and Cisco WebEx Meetings Server documentation that you can review for more information about these solutions:
1. Cisco Unified MeetingPlace
    http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/conferencing/unified-meetingplace/index.html
    http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/conferencing/unified-meetingplace/datasheet-c78-730364.html
    http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/conferencing/unified-meetingplace-8-5/index.html
    http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/conferencing/unified-meetingplace-8-5/cisco_unified_meetingplace8_5_tech_overview.pptx
    http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/meetingplace/8_6/english/releasenotes/mp86rn.html
2. Cisco WebEx Meetings Server (CWMS)
    http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/conferencing/webex-meetings-server/index.html
    http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/conferencing/webex-meetings-server/data_sheet_c78-717754.html
    http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/collaboration/CWMS/2_0/Release_Notes.html
I hope this can be of help.
-Dejan

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.)

The odd tale of Quickmask and the alpha channel

I'm posting this in hope rather than expectation - as I keep requesting this is fixed, but I seem to be a lone voice.
I understand that this code was written back in the 90's - and I get the impression (from a senior Photoshop engineer no less) that no one really understands it...
The odd tale of Quickmask and the alpha channel
Try this:
With Quickmask set to it's defaults (double click the quickmask icon and ensure it's set to 'colour indicates : masked areas'), paint in black to create a 'red' quickmask area. Hit Q to return to the selection border. You should see two selection borders - one at the edge of the image defining the outer edge of the selected area, and one defining the inner edge of the masked area that you painted.
Now hit the 'save selection as channel' button at the bottom of the channel palette to create an alpha channel.Everything's as expected - the alpha is black ('unselected') where you painted.
Now repeat the process, but with the Quickmask mode set to 'colour indicates : selected areas'.
In this case where you paint in QM mode should be selected. Paint a patch and hit the Q key - it is. You have a single selected area. Now hit the 'save selection as channel' button at the bottom of the channel palette to create another alpha channel.
This time the alpha is incorrect - it's the inverse of what it should be.
And it gets worse:
Ctrl / Cmd click on the alpha thumbnail to load the alpha as a selection -
notice that it even loads the black area as a selection.
It's been like this as long as I can remember... and I really wish it was fixed.
I'm a Photoshop ACI. QM is a tool I'd like to get my students to use more, but this behaviour makes it 'difficult' to teach Quickmask to users, particularly in conjunction with alpha channels. In my experience it seems that most users find it more natural to 'paint on' a selection, rather than than 'paint off' a mask.
So most users would prefer to set 'colour indicates : selected areas'
I've been around long enough to know the rubylith heritage upon which Quickmask is modelled, however I now think it's time that baggage was left behind. I wonder what proportion of current Photoshop users even know what rubylith was?
There are two points here:
1. There should be NO connection between the QM paint state and the subsequent creation (or loading) of an alpha channel.
Whether you choose to label it a feature or a bug, it's clearly wrong to toggle out of QM mode, see a selection on screen, make an alpha channel - and find your alpha is reversed.
And in addition to that - it's a 'freak' alpha that subsequently loads reversed...
2. I think it's time to drop the rubylith baggage and set the QM paint mode to a default of set 'colour indicates : selected areas'.

Charles,
Thanks to your replies I've now discovered another twist to this tale...
When I'm saving a selection, I typically use the 'save selection as alpha' button in the channels panel. That shows the issue I'm referring to.
However, I've just discovered - thanks to your comments - that if instead you use the 'Select > Save selection' menu command you get a 'correct' alpha.
If you care to try that second example again you'll find you can get two different alpha's from the same selection - depending upon which saving option you choose!
This is now getting so complex, I'll have to put a pdf together explaining it and send it to our fiends at Adobe.

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.

Resolution, audio, alpha channel, and backup questions (newbie)

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