• Adobe After Effects

  Transparency Issue

  Posted by Robert Buncher on November 24, 2008 at 5:43 pm

  I am trying something that i think should be simple but I just can not work it out.

  I am working with five layers:

  1. Text
  2. Still (set as a alpha inverted track matte)
  3. 3D camera
  4. Video layer 1
  5. Video layer 2

  This is a title sequence. The text is faded up and appears over the still. The video tracks appear inside the text because of the track matte.

  Good so far.

  I would like to fade the still layer to zero opacity so that the video layers appear. However I do not want the text layer to fade. It should stay transparent, revealing the video layers, and just merge with the video layers. But it does not do this as it is track matted with the still layer and fades with it, appearing grayed out as it fades.

  I have tried different track matte and blend settings and tried masking and precomps but have not gotten this to work.

  Could someone point me in the right direction?

  Thanks,
  Bob

  MacbookPro 2.33 2gb os 10.4.11
  FCP 5.1.4 After Effects Bootcamp XPpro

  Robert Buncher replied 17 years, 5 months ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
• 3 Replies

• 

  Darby Edelen

  November 24, 2008 at 6:04 pm

  I’m confused about how you have your composition set up. You have text that you want to use as a matte for a still and a few videos?

  One way to do that would be to set the text to the ‘Stencil Alpha’ blend mode, but this will only work if you want EVERYTHING below it to take on the text’s alpha.

  You could then nest that composition inside of another with a background if you want something else visible behind the text.

  Alternatively you could put the text layer at the bottom of the composition and enable the ‘Preserve Transparency’ layer switch on the still and video layers above it.

  Perhaps the most flexible way to do this is to put the still and video assets in one composition. Animate your transitions there. Bring this composition into the comp with the text and set it to use the text as an alpha track matte.

  If I’m confused about what you’re trying to do you might need to describe it in greater detail or upload a picture of your current composition’s set up.

  Darby Edelen
• 

  Robert Buncher

  November 24, 2008 at 6:06 pm

  The more I stare at this comp, it looks as though the video layers, as they are revealed in the text layer, are not as dark and rich as the underlying video. It is as though a gray haze covers the video.

  So perhaps the lack of richness if not due to fading out the video layer. It appears to be a function of the track matte alpha invert.

  Any ideas.
  Thank,
  Bob

  MacbookPro 2.33 2gb os 10.4.11
  FCP 5.1.4 After Effects Bootcamp XPpro
• 

  Robert Buncher

  November 24, 2008 at 6:09 pm

  Darby,

  I have cross posted with you.

  I will look at your suggestions.

  Thanks,
  Bob

  MacbookPro 2.33 2gb os 10.4.11
  FCP 5.1.4 After Effects Bootcamp XPpro

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