Help importing a logo into FCP

[Lee Berger]

Try saving as a PNG instead.

Lee Berger
http://www.leebergermedia.com

[Bret Williams]

Import the psd instead. You’ll get a sequence. Use the sequence as a graphic or open the sequence and copy and paste the layer of your choice into your current sequence.

[Saya Hillman]

Thanks so much, you are saviors! Worked perfectly. Happy holidays –

[Bret Williams]

Just be careful changing that photoshop file. FCP is no After Effects or Premiere when it comes to linking to Photoshop files.

[Bob Cole]

I agree – PSD has been quite problematic for me. Why do you recommend it?

Bob C

MacPro 2 x 3GHz dualcore; 10 GB 667MHz
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[Arnie Schlissel]

April, I would urge you to learn how to add an alpha channel to a .tiff, .tga, .png or.pct. This is an issue that will come up time and time again, and it’s not that hard to create the alpha channel.

OTOH, you can always save individual layers in a .psd file, and it will keep it’s transparency in FCP. If you’re importing several layers at a time, it’s very convenient. If you’re only dealing with a single logo, it’s a slight pain.

Arnie
Now in post: Peristroika, a film by Slava Tsukerman
https://www.arniepix.com/blog

[Bret Williams]

Oh it imports just fine, but you have to know what you’re doing if you make changes to any of your layers. If they change shape or size, FCP doesn’t recognize that and simply stretches the new layer to fit into the old size.

But no need to utilize alpha channels since it’s using the layer right from PS. No need to save another file and keep up with it either.

For one file, it’s kind of a wash. But if you’re building complex bullet point lists, it’s much easier to bring in a big layered psd file instead of multitudes of tiffs or picts or pngs.

[Bret Williams]

You can also bring the psd into FCP, place your cursor in the psd sequence, and press shift+N to create a still. Place the still in a bin. Instant FCP still with perfect alpha. No link back to the original psd either.

[Saya Hillman]

Totally agree Arnie –
tried sitting with my PSD manual and doing it, but I obviously did something wrong, as my exports still all had the white square. Will keep trying.

[Arnie Schlissel]

April, when you look at the alpha channel in Photoshop, you should see the transparent parts as pure black, the opaque parts as pure white, and the semi-transparent parts as grey. What does it look like to you?

Arnie
Now in post: Peristroika, a film by Slava Tsukerman
https://www.arniepix.com/blog