Luma Channel

[Todd Beabout]

[Jake Abramson] “I have the ability to export the background as a separate part and a luma channel for the foreground text.”

Uh, I think you are talking about “alpha” channels… Sounds like you just need to render out your background lower third with alpha then bring it into FCP, add text, done. Not sure what you meant by the luma channel for foreground text… Couldn’t you use the title tool? Or Photoshop for that matter?

-Todd Beabout
Vazda Studios

[Bret Williams]

By luma channel I figure he means luma matte. Which is essentially the alpha matte info alone. When you render a graphic with alpha channel, you’re rendering with a built-in luma matte.

I’m not sure exactly what he’s getting at, or if it will save any time. I agree the fastest thing would be to render it as an animation file with built in alpha matte in After Effects. It will have to render in FCP again to composite with the other elements and turn it into whatever native codec he’s using, but it’ll be a fast render.

In AE you could also render out a separate matte, but I don’t see where that’s going. FCP can utilize luma mattes via composite modes and via the luma matte effect.

[Nightdesigns]

Thanks for the replies, and yes it is a luma matte (Black and White) which is animated. Goes from totally back and has a transition into white with various effects to do so and back to black (fade in, wait, out)

Ignore the background for now.

I want to use this animated luma matte with a text layer in FCP. That is all I’m really asking.

The reason I don’t want to do all of these in AFX is because i have about 100 of these to do, and I have to build a separate comp for each on in afx, and any changes that need to be made I have to shuffle between programs. It seems a lot easier to build a matte and apply it into FCP.

In AFX it is literally a one click process to do this same thing.

The text, paired with the luma matte, with synch up with the transition of the background animation.

I hope this clears up any confusion.

[Nightdesigns]

Hopefully this helps, video example of what I have and I’m trying to do.

https://irvine.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=20

[Peter Wiggins]

Jake,

Drop the matte on the video track below the text.
Contol click on the text, then select travel matte luma (Kevin!) from the composite mode.

Underneath all this you can have the same matte with a fill for the red lower third.

Peter

https://www.peterwiggins.com

[Will Macneil]

Pop your foreground in V3 and Luma Matte in V2. Assign V3 composite mode to travel matte-luma.

Will

[Tom Meegan]

I’m not in front of my machine to test this but here is a thought.

Layer 1 = Background video
Layer 2 = Your red text background
Layer 3 = Your luma matte (terminology is tricky here, as FCP refers to what you want to do as a Travel Matte)
Layer 4 = Your text (the motion you have on the text could be created with keyframes in the motion tab.)

Right-click (or Control- click) on layer four, and choose Composite > Travel Matte Alpha.

Once you get the timing dialed in, duplicate the sequence, re-name it Lower-Third Shell (or whatever), and clear the background video. I would create a bin called lower thirds, place the shell inside, and then start duplicating, and entering text. Name appropriately, and when the time comes, edit these guys into you finished program, targeting layers 2, 3, and 4. You could alsoedit your shell into the time line and do your text changes then. I hope this helps.

Regards,

Tom Meegan

[Bret Williams]

Exactly. I already said “composite modes.” You’d think someone who is versed in after effects (it works almost exctly the same way) would put out a manual or search the help.

Anyway glad you got it going, Jake. You did, right?