Alpha channel no longer present in graphic when imported into Final Cut Pro 6

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Alpha channel no longer present in graphic when imported into Final Cut Pro 6

To anyone who can help:

I created a logo in Adobe Illustrator CS5 (with a transparent background) that I am trying to place into a sequence in Final Cut Pro 6. When I export the graphic from Illustrator as a TIFF and import it into FCP6, the alpha channel info is no longer present and a white background appears (even when I click the dropdown menu in the viewer of FCP6 that allows you to switch to 'View Alpha Channel').

I need the background of this logo to be transparent. Am I not exporting my logo properly? Is there another format I should be exported as?

Any help is appreciated!

S MacLellan

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Two 2.8 GHz Quad-core Intel Xeon processors

Posted on Sep 13, 2013 3:27 AM

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Answer 1

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,561 points

Sep 13, 2013 8:51 AM in response to S MacLellan

Try saving the file with transparency as a .png - which will preserve the transparency without the need of an alpha channel.

MtD

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Answer 2

S MacLellan Author

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Sep 13, 2013 4:32 PM in response to Meg The Dog

Thanks for responding, Meg. I tried this but FCP6 isn't able to import .png files. - Shaun

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Answer 3

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,561 points

Sep 13, 2013 4:49 PM in response to S MacLellan

Are your graphics Image Mode RGB color, 8bits/channel? That is what FCP works with.

If they are, have you tried trashing your preferences? That is usually the first action to take when Final Cut Pro begins to act unexpectedly:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1846

You can download Preference Manager (free) from Digital Rebellion and it will do all the work for you:

http://www.digitalrebellion.com/prefman/

Are your graphics Image Mode RGB color, 8bits/channel? That is what FCP works with.

MtD

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Answer 4

S MacLellan Author

Level 1

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Sep 14, 2013 7:50 AM in response to Meg The Dog

MtD,

Thanks. Okay, I trashed my preferences and tried to import my logo as a TIFF. I still could not see the alpha channel/transparent background. My logo is in RGB mode, but I'm not sure whether or not it is 8 bits per channel. I searched the Illustrator manual, Lynda.com and the Adobe Community to try and figure out how I can view the bits per channel, but no luck. Would an .ai file or a .tif export default to 8 bits/channel? Do you know how I can view this, or if necessary, change this??

Shaun

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Answer 5

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,561 points

Sep 14, 2013 9:01 AM in response to S MacLellan

Can you post the file with the matte somewhere so it can be downloaded?

MtD

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Answer 6

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,561 points

Sep 14, 2013 9:12 AM in response to S MacLellan

Also, if you open the image with Preview.app, go to the menu Tools > Show Inspector. Click on the More Info Tab and you should see the bit depth:

MtD

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Answer 7

S MacLellan Author

Level 1

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Sep 14, 2013 5:19 PM in response to Meg The Dog

Great - I opened the TIFF version with Preview and it says the bit depth is '8.' When you say 'Post it somewhere,' do you mean, like, on Dropbox or something? I have Dropbox and could 'share' the logo with you there...unless there's an easier way you can suggest (I suppose e-mailing it might be just as quick).

Shaun

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Answer 8

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,561 points

Sep 14, 2013 5:40 PM in response to S MacLellan

Yes, posting a link to the file from dropbox will work.

MtD

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Answer 9

S MacLellan Author

Level 1

0 points

Sep 17, 2013 5:42 PM in response to Meg The Dog

I'm new to this Dropbox thing. I uploaded my TIFF logo to my account and clicked 'Share Link,' but it looks like I need your e-mail address to actually share it...Does that sound right or is there a way I can post the link right here in my reply?

Shaun

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