White-based Alpha channel for flv export

I'm trying to export a sequence into flash (.flv) and include the alpha channel. The default alpha channel base color is black, but I need white because the black creates an outline around the object (check out www.wavereel.com to see the video I exported as an example). There is a way to change the monitor preview video to a white background for frame-by-frame previewing, but whenever it's played, it reverts back to black. How do you change it to white?

I just found this info, which may help us.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4791917&#4791917
which discusses using the Animation Sequence setting and likely a Compressor export as Animation codec from un-rendered timeline.

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Transparent alpha channel in flv not working

Bringing a raw avi file into Premiere Pro 2, I applied a
color key effect to the background to make it transparent. I then
exported it as a flv file using Adobe's Media Encoder. The video
codec was set for On2 VP6 with the "encode alpha channel" box
checked. Importing this flv file into Flash 8 using Progressive
download in the wizard, I placed the flv on layer 2 and a
background image on layer 1. When I play it, the background image
pops up, then the flv, but the background image doesn't show
through the transparent area of the flv. Any suggestions on what
I'm doing wrong?

Did you ever figure out what the fix is for your problem with
transparent video? I'm having the exact same issue and have tried
everything -- still no transparency (although my keying was done in
AE).

Alpha Channel - can't export to psd after update?

Been doing this for years... from After effects CC
Composition, Save frame as, File, Photoshop, RGB+Alpha etc - and its worked fine exported with transparency like you'd expect.
Updated Photoshop CC this morning and suddenly alpha channel not being recognised...
Bug...or have I gone mad in the last 24 hours??

Maybe I misunderstand your question but Photoshop CC opens psd files with Alpha Channels just fine here, so it seems likely that the issue is with the files.
But you seem to be mixing Alpha Channels and Transparency – so what are you talking about exactly?
Could you post screenshots to illustrate what you are doing and what results you get?

Alpha channel loss at export

Hey guys,
HELP!! I can't figure out why I get a blinking effect (when I say blinking, it might blink 2-3 frames of black throughout a 60 second sequence)when I try to export my alpha channel animation sequence. It plays back just fine in FCP until I export it and open it up into motion. Everything looks great in motion except for the 2-3 frames the background blinks to black. I'm trying to get this project done ASAP, but this tiny problem is holding me up!! Any ideas??
Also, just FYI: as far as filters that I'm using on the clip: Chromo keyer, 3-way color correction, 8-point garbage matte, and I'm using a slight drop shadow with the motion tab. THANKS

Zoom in on the timeline in whatever program you created the sequence in. Zoom in to the trouble area and make sure you don't have a very small gap between the clips. Unless you are all the way or at least almost all the way zoomed in, you would not be able to see a small 2-3 frame gap.

Enabling alpha channel for PNG file

I want to include a logo with a transparent background in an iMovie video, but when I import a PNG file with a transparent background, the background turns black. I think this is because the PNG needs to have alpha channel enabled.
When I attempt to save the file as a new version, the "alpha channel" option is greyed out. How can I save the file with the alpha channel enabled?

Hi,
You might want to visit this thread for more info on iMovie's handling of transparency:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=13123097
It sounds like iMovie converts the PNG to a JPG internally for some cases (fit, crop, Ken Burns effect).
regards,
steve

Alpha channel for targa files in Elements 4?

I've created a .psd, and I need it to be in the tga format, with an alpha channel. No option is provided to save an alpha channel. I've tried everything I can think of, including following the instructions here: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=1544
I spent quite a bit of money for this program, but now I'm about to uninstall it, and put on an old copy of Photoshop 5.5. It's almost 1:00 AM, and I've got to get this done tonight.
Why on earth did they break the format??? How about, um, letting the USER decide how to save transparency? Like with a checkbox or a dropdown? Duh. Gads. Yeesh. *sob*

Barbara and Terri,
Thanks so much for your comments!
So, one solution is to select the whole image, and save the selection as a .TGA? That sounds like a workaround for a bug, which is fine with me. I'll try that out tonight.
I was able to generate my .TGA last night by downloading and installing a free program, called "gimp". I loaded the .PSD in it, then saved it as .TGA, and it worked perfectly, first time. No contortions required. Maybe if they open-source photoshop, bugs like this can be fixed.
We'll see if Second Life (the program I'm needing the file for) will recognize the alpha channel.

Alpha Channel for graphics

Hi,
I placed a 32 bit targa file with an alpha channel in my project as a drop zone but it retains a white background. Is there anywhere to specify in DVD Studio Pro to recognize the alpha channel or will it not accept an alpha channel? I swear, the manual is totally useless.

I figured this out. In case anyone is wondering....
The Targa with alpha channel wasn't working. But a Photoshop file with the Color Profile of NTSC and saved with a transparent alpha channel background worked.
ciao.

Presets For .flv Export Different in Pro CS5 vs. Elements 4

Hello:
I have been using the simple Premier Elements 4 to read in Flip Video 640X480 movies.
When I export them, I can choose a Flash Video preset of NTSC Flash Video 7 (320 X 240).
But, in Premier Pro CS5, that's not an option. The closest I can come is FLV Flash Video 8 And Higher, with different dimensions: 368 X 272. Unfortunately, the 368 X 272 will not fit in the space on my web page. It needs to be 320 X 240.
Does anyone know why they changed the dimensions? I can change the preset to a lower pixel dimension, but what problems will that create?
Regards,
Rich Locus
Logicwurks, LLC

One change that may be related is that we didn't include the Sorenson Spark codec with Premiere Pro CS5; we just included the On2 VP6 codec for FLV files.
The On2 VP6 codec was introduced with Flash Player 8, so (sometimes) "Flash Player 8" is a different way of indicating On2 VP6, and "Flash Player 7" is a way of indicating Sorenson Spark in preset names.
This shouldn't present any practical problems for you on export, but it may explain the difference that you're seeing. I can't be 100% sure, since I don't have Premiere Elements installed on this laptop, so I can't check what its presets contain.

I need to mask video, and maintain the alpha channel for the masked video!

I wanted to know how to mask video in Final Cut Pro 6, I am sure there are options to do so, can someone please help me with getting started. I want to be able to mask video and maintain an alpha channel.
Thanks in advance,
Sebastian

Did you get anything to show up on the tv? If you got a aura wallpaper then it's working.
If you did then it's in extended desktop mode or a logical extension of the desktop to the right. Drage the player off the right side of the screen to the right and it will appear on the TV.
All the options are in System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement tab.

Using the output of one layer as an alpha channel for another

I was messing around last night trying to create my own sharpen edges filter. I duplicated a nested layer, applied find edges to the top one, then used the track matte filter on the one below, set the layer above as the target for the effect, and chose luma. Could not get it to work. I then attempted to make the layer above have alpha by using an luma key and changed the track matte to use alpha, but that didn't work either.
Is there a way to do this?

Be easier to understand if you showed what you are trying to achieve.
I got lost half way thru 2nd sentence.

Replacement for FLV with alpha channel

Hello,
is there some way how to encode video with alpha channel for usage in Flash, when Adobe removed flv encoder from all applications in CC?
Thank You,
T.

I wonder too if this issue has been addressed yet in CC 2014, or are user till forced to go back to older version of ME if this functionallity is essential to them?

How to export a video with an alpha channel that can be switched off

Hi!
I'm stuck with something that I think might have a simple solution:
I need my video to have an alpha channel while still keeping all the RGB information in place too. This is for Syntheyes, which can take the alpha channel for a video and use it as a garbage matte while tracking.
The problem is that if I draw a mask around my video and then export as a PNG (with alpha), the RGB information seems to be gone even when I choose to ignore the alpha channel. I know how to edit the alpha channel in Photoshop while still keeping the RGB elements untouched, but how should I do that in AE?
Any help will be appreciated!

Okay I will answer my own question:
This worked as soon as I did a proper export as a PNG image sequence. I did my tests with only single frames by using the "save frame as file" -function, which did not work properly (the rbg information was gone).
So the simple solution to this question was:
Draw a mask on the video layer and export with alpha. The RGB will be there, even though the mask hides it in AE.

DNxHD (.mxf) export with alpha channel

Hello!
I'm working with one Finnish children's feature film which will star end of this year as an DIT. Movie will include lot's of green screen and the production want's me to do chroma keyed DNxHD 36 renders with alpha channel for AVID editorial. So far I have found out that neither davinci desolve nor assimilate scratch can't do it. Is it possible to render DNxHD with alpha channel from AE? And can Avid import these files with alpha channel? All help is needed and appreciated.
Cheers
Antris

Are you sure your alpha is there? (check by pressing "a" with the mouse over the view window).
Did you try telling FCP that there is an alpha channel? If you did "Send to Shake", Final Cut Pro doesn't expect that the QuickTime it's getting back will contain an alpha channel (It's meant to match your sequence settings). You might try dragging the output directly into the browser to re-import it and see if it recognizes the alpha...
As a matter of fact, maybe you can check in QT Player, load it into QuickTime Player, cmd-j, click on the video track and play with the transparency setting. Try Straight Alpha - that should lead to the background going white - then you'll know its coming out of Shake properly and concentrate on getting FCP to recognize it...
If all else fails (I did just try it here and it worked), maybe try a TIFF or TGA sequence?
post back,
Patrick

Alpha channel basics from Canon 7D video

Maybe I'm missing something basic here, as I am pretty new to messing with alpha layers/channels on VIDEO. I otherwise have a pretty good understanding of alpha when it comes to animations, photos, etc.ffects
I am trying to make the black in a video of some flames into an alpha layer so I can use them as particles in After Effects.
( like in this video http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/green_smoke/ )
I understand the codec/format restrictions for alpha channels, but the problem is I can't seem to get the black to come out as an alpha layer at all.
I've tried Quicktime with the None codec and FLV and the other formats that are supposed to support alpha channels.
I THINK what's wrong is that the format that the Canon shoots in doesn't have an alpha channel natively so exporting the video into different formats is not having an effect. If this is the case, how does one go about making the black parts of a video into an alpha channel.
I know there are ways to make green into an alpha channel (greenscreening). I can't for the life of me figure out how to get premier OR aftereffects to recognize the straight black as an alpha layer though.
I've looked at some 30 tutorials trying to figure this out, but it would appear I am incapable of asking the right question to get the answer I want.
There's the export settings.
Perhaps someone can point out my gross missunderstanding of what I'm trying to do, or otherwise set me on the right track.
Below is a clip from within aftereffects... the arrow shows that the clip SHOULD have alpha properties... i think, but when I turn off the alpha channel EVERYTHING dissapears.
Do I need to d something in aftereffects? I dunno, I'm lost.
If someone thinks they can help I am willing to make a youtube video showing what I'm doing.

awesome... exactly what I was looking for
you'd think when spending an hour or more asking the question "how do you add an alpha channel to a video" this would think this would come up
having a weird issue now with it rendering a box in the lower right hand corner though... it bugs me that I don't know why it's there... but i'll just crop it out
again... thank you!

Clipping Path vs Alpha Channel

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but wondering which is better for outlined images (no soft transitions, just hard outline.)
I've used both and don't see an advantage to either EXCEPT when converting an InDesign file to PDF. Files with PSDs with clipping paths seem to make much larger pdfs than same file using PSD with alpha channel. Not important for a final press file, but when I have to email screen proofs, then it's a big deal.
Anyone care to weigh in? Thanks.
Ringo

Hi, there,
I found this discussion during a search for alpha channels vs. clipping paths for clipping (for a job I'm working on), and thought I'd offer my own feedback based on my own experiences w/ similar files. I can't really offer a printer perspective, however, although we do work closely with many and also print film fairly regularly for local printers who are not yet Direct-To-Plate.
For what it's worth, I use paths, myself, and save the file as a TIFF. Then I use the Object: Clipping Path menu in InDesign to select the path (I don't specifically designate a path as an actual clipping path in Photoshop anymore, as sometimes an image will have more than one path to isolate different elements).
I find that alpha channels don't look very good when used in InDesign. They're just not that smooth/precise, in my admittedly limited use.
I've uploaded a quick sample to http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr222/Xiebinrui/Alpha_vs_Clipping.jpg -- it's pretty self-explanatory, but the left side shows the bottom of an image using an alpha channel created from the original clipping path (cmd-click on the path to create a selection and then click the "create channel" button in the Channels tab, which automatically creates an "Alpha 1" channel), with the original clipped version on the right. I've tried adjusting the threshold and tolerance in InDesign, but it just always looks bad.
I also haven't used the behemoth Photoshop EPS format since my QuarkXPress/Mac OS 9 days (even then, it eventually became possible to use TIFFs w/ clipping paths -- I could finally see my photo correctly instead of with the horrible Quark EPS preview).
Anyway, re: alpha channels, maybe it's just that I don't know the right way to use them, but they don't seem to be very smooth when importing into InDesign (I was working on a job yesterday and today for which I had to download hi-res images from the client -- many of which used alpha channels instead of actual paths, but they're used on white backgrounds in InDesign, so I just didn't use the channels).
So, anyway, I personally use and recommend paths (vector masks, as Artdirectorringo mentioned, seem to work fine, too) as opposed to standard pixel-based alpha channels, in general, if you're going to be placing the file into InDesign.

White-based Alpha channel for flv export

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