Keeping the Key channel

[Walter Biscardi]

Nope, FCP does not export an Alpha channel.

Best bet is to either export from After Effects with Lossless+Alpha, or create a Key Matte to be used in conjunction with the item.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Jeremy Garchow]

Then have the DDR run the logo at the end instead of putting it in your video.

[Bob Vick]

Think maybe this is a big enough need to have Apple put this ability into FCP?
b

Bob Vick sr promo guy @ ch3 wwmt tv, kalamazoo, mi

[Walter Biscardi]

[Bob Vick] “Think maybe this is a big enough need to have Apple put this ability into FCP?”

I think this has more to do with the codecs. The Lossless codec is the only one that I know of that supports the Alpha channel. If you’re working in any other codec, you’re not able to retain the alpha anyway, even from After Effects.

If your artists can play lossless codec stuff in realtime, then you’d be good to go exporting from Motion or After Effects.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Tom Matthies]

Or…
Harken back to the Golden Years of analog video and produce the end of the show using Super Black and have the on-air guys do a lum key on the show? We used to do this on sports events back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Tom

[Ben Holmes]

Bob

This may be an impossible solution (or I guess you wouldn’t be asking) but can’t you put a green background behind the logo? The switcher would be able to key under then.

Alternatively, assuming you’re in a broadcast situation, and have two decks for playback in the show, create a second reel with identical timecode, with just a matte for the end key at the end. That’s how we usually do it. The decks can be ganged together simply enough – just kid them into thinking they’re running an insert edit or similar techniques.

Ben

Editec Broadcast Editing Ltd
EVS & FCP specialists for live OB operations.

Producer/Director “The Supercar Run” now available for international distribution from http://www.electricsky.com

[Jeremy Garchow]

I’m a little confused with your post. Why do you need to do a live key? THis is mostly for TV when they need a bug. Why don’t you just bake the logo on to your video?

[Bob Vick]

Thanks for the advice everyone. To answer a few questions…

I have produced a sports open to run for the local H.S. Football show. The last part of the open has a show local animating over a football field Graphic. I want the field to effect off the screen leaving the logo of the show displayed over a wide shot (camera) of the set. The open is produed in a FCP suite which I have learned cannot retain alpha channels. The open will run out of our Thunder, a pinnacle DDR. Now the Thunder and the Switcher can do keys if there is one embedded n the movie. So our Art director will create the ending of the open with alpha (via AE) and send it to the thunder for playback.

COuld I have created an animation+ sequence in FCP and then exported it out the same keeping the key signal?

b

[Keith Putnam]

I frequently need to be able to pull a key in FCP (or Avid for that matter) and then export a quicktime movie with an alpha channel. It’s frustrating and seems nonsensical that FCP doesn’t have this capability; it’s not terribly exotic or arcane.

[Keith Putnam]

Hey, folks. I have discovered how to export QT movies from FCP WITH alpha channels.
The trick is to “export with quicktime conversion” and set the color depth to “millions of colors +”.
The end result is a quicktime movie with an alpha channel.
Hooray!

Keith