Gifs

Question

Level 1

85 points

Gifs

A client brought sum gif loops for me to edit. I need to get them on Final Cut Pro with their transperancy but they are imported with a white back ground. Is there a way I can import them with the transperancy?

G4 dual 1 Ghz processor, Mac OS X (10.4.6), FCP 5.0.4 with decklink extreme

Posted on May 15, 2006 4:39 AM

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Answer 1

May 15, 2006 5:13 AM in response to marpar

I'd think you need to open them in Photoshop, and change the file format from gif to PNG, Tiffs, or Picts, and the alpha will be maintained.

Jerry

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Answer 2

May 15, 2006 5:23 AM in response to marpar

Pretty sure that GIFs are just using color transparency, not alpha transparency. Load your GIF animation into a second video track, select it, go to Effect/Video Filters/Key/Color Key, and in the settings for that make the color be white.

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Answer 3

May 15, 2006 5:37 AM in response to Colin Holgate

Pretty sure that GIFs are just using color
transparency, not alpha transparency.

Correct. GIF only supports binary transparency, not alpha transparency. My guess is the GIF was saved with a white matte, which is where the white background's coming from.

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Answer 4

Zapcrafter

Level 4

2,115 points

May 15, 2006 6:02 AM in response to marpar

I don't know the nature of your project–you may have a good reason to be working with .gif's in FCP. If, however, this is a straight-forward modification of an existing .gif, usually Photoshop and Imageready (comes with it) would be the tools of choice.

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Answer 5

marpar Author

Level 1

85 points

May 15, 2006 11:57 PM in response to Zapcrafter

Thanks to everyone for your help.
I will try image ready.

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Answer 6

May 16, 2006 7:08 AM in response to marpar

You might also try my suggestion, of setting white to be transparent. If you have the animated gif in the project already you would only be about five mouse clicks away from solving the whole problem.

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Answer 7

marpar Author

Level 1

85 points

May 16, 2006 9:13 AM in response to Colin Holgate

You might also try my suggestion, of setting white to
be transparent. If you have the animated gif in the
project already you would only be about five mouse
clicks away from solving the whole problem.

I already do that. But the problem is that some of the animations have white on them and they would become transparent also. Thanks anyway.

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