FCP: Alpha Channels, Cross Dissolve, Convert to FLV

Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

FCP: Alpha Channels, Cross Dissolve, Convert to FLV

Posted by Brian Lynn on October 30, 2009 at 3:58 pm

So…. This should be easy, I know. Essentially, we’re taking green screen video (keyed and composited) with alpha channels, and dubbing French audio into them. (Odd, sure, but that’s the deal.)

Pretty simple right? Import orig. quicktime. Import French audio. Unlink orig. QT picture/sound. Match start of French audio to start of orig. audio. And delete orig. (English) audio.

Now, many (if not most) of the French audio files are LONGER than the orig. English files. No worries, right? Grab a video clip where the subject is standing relatively still, not speaking, not using their arms. Bring that into the timeline, trim the tails back to the tail of the French audio.

In this case (as I mentioned, it’s a frequent case), I would also choose to add a CROSS DISSOLVE between the two clips so as to minimize the jump cut. So, trim back the orig. video clip 6 frames, trim the heads of the new “idle” video clip back 6 frams. Drop in a standard cross dissolve. And Voila!

You now effectively have a video clip where a woman mouths in English and a French voice speaks – looks pretty goofy, but again, it’s what the client wants. French overdubbing. There’s a subtle dissolve into another clip that plays through the end of the French audio. Pretty simple.

Now, export as Using Quicktime Conversion.
Compressor: Animation
Depth: Millions of Colors+ (to include the Alpha Channel)
Quality: Best

Your quicktime should looks perfect – Feel free to import that clip back into FCP and prove to yourself that you’ve done it right. Slot any ol’ PNG, JPEG or PSD file behind it. You can see the picture, AND you can see the subject in the original clip (and, oui oui! You can hear the French audio, too!)

Now, here’s the sticky thing… Converting to FLV.

I’m using Adobe Media Encoder CS3.

I bring the new French quicktime into Media Encoder.
Settings are as follows:

Video:

Encode Alpha Channel: MUST BE CHECKED
Video codec: On2 VP6
Quality: Medium, 400kbps
Frame rate: Same as source

Start Queue.

Now… according to my programmer, when that FLV is slotted into the client website… the alpha disappears…. but not at the beginning, no no, that would be too easy. THE ALPHA DISAPPEARS AT THE START OF THE DISSOLVE AND REMAINS GONE THROUGH THE END OF THE CLIP!!!

As if Media Encoder KNEW there was a dissolve! But… THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!

I am stumped. And I could use your help/knowledge/guidance/suggestion/experience. 🙂

Thanks,
Brian

Ricki Susic replied 16 years, 8 months ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
2 Replies

David Bogie
October 30, 2009 at 6:02 pm

You’ve got to export the entire QT out of FCP including the alpha. It sounds like you are exporting the clips, unrendendered.

Your post is dense but it’s incomplete. I can’t tell what exactly you;’re bringing into Media encoder since you use the term “your quicktime” in many places but the references are unclear.

Your quicktime should looks perfect – Feel free to import that clip back into FCP and prove to yourself that you’ve done it right. Slot any ol’ PNG, JPEG or PSD file behind it. You can see the picture, AND you can see the subject in the original clip (and, oui oui! You can hear the French audio, too!)
Now, here’s the sticky thing… Converting to FLV.
I’m using Adobe Media Encoder CS3.
I bring the new French quicktime into Media Encoder.

bogiesan
Ricki Susic
January 10, 2010 at 11:19 am

Weeee – I figured it out now.
Here is what I did to make it work:

Goal: To make a color keyed video and implement it with the alphachannel on a web page.

1. Key the video and do not render it!
2. Export directly to FLV from QT conversion. In the “Options” choose the On2 VP6 encoding and check “encode alpha channel”
3. Make a new layer in a html-page in Dreamweaver or similar program.
4. Place the FLV-file ( you just created by exporting from FCP ) on the new layer.

Now to something important!

5. Edit the html-code where the FLV-file is inserted. Write
param name=’wmode’ value=’transparent’ before the object end-tag.
6. Edit the javascript that produced by Dreamweaver looks something like this
<script type=”text/javascript”>
AC_FL_RunContent( ‘codebase’,’https://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0′,’width’,’477′,’height’,’268′,’id’,’FLVPlayer’,’src’,’FLVPlayer_Progressive’,’flashvars’,’&MM_ComponentVersion=1&skinName=Clear_Skin_1&streamName=Blood_Greenscreen2/sunday&autoPlay=false&autoRewind=false’,’quality’,’high’,’scale’,’noscale’,’name’,’FLVPlayer’,’salign’,’lt’,’pluginspage’,’https://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash’,’movie’,’FLVPlayer_Progressive’,’wmode’,’transparent’ );

Note the ‘wmode’,’tranparent’ part

Publish your site and you’re good to go 🙂

Thank you all for your inputs. It was all necessary to make this work.

/Ricki

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