Help! Having problems compositing graphics over video at DVinfo.net

Rob Moreno · November 9th, 2003, 07:18 PM

I'm trying to superimpose a graph over some video footage. I made the graph with a pure black background and exported it as a quicktime movie (millions of colors + alpha channel) using animation compression. The problem is when I set the tranfer mode in either FCP or After Effects to Screen mode, the background video bleeds slightly through the bars of the graph, which are colors like solid red, yellow and blue. I've tried using other transfer modes like add, overlay, etc. but nothing works. I'm I doing something wrong? Any suggestions?

Ted Springer · November 9th, 2003, 07:25 PM

Try making the graph in Photoshop if you have it. Make sure it has at least one layer in addition to the background. Layer 1 will be your graph, but make sure that it is transparent to the background layer below it (instead of black where you want it to be transparent). Then make the background layer transparent. Save as a PSD file and import into FCP. FCP will layer the graph over the video perfectly when you drag it to the timeline above the video layer.

I hope that makes sense.

Rob Moreno · November 9th, 2003, 07:58 PM

Thanks for the advice, Ted.

Unfortunately creating the graph in Photoshop is not an option, as it uses motion (the chart flies in and the bars of the graph grow over time). I made the graph using Apple's Keynote software to save time animating the graph. Animating it as Photoshop layers in Final Cut Pro would take too long.

Jeff Donald · November 10th, 2003, 06:11 AM

Do the bars grow in a linear fashion, ie upward?

Rob Moreno · November 10th, 2003, 07:51 AM

The bars do grow upward in some cases, but they are in front of a grid, so I am not able to simply animate them with a mask.

John Britt · November 11th, 2003, 11:48 AM

Can you not simply key it using black as they key color, instead of using transfer modes?

For example, I've imported Poser avi movies into Premiere and set the Transparency to key out the background color and that seems to work well.

Rob Moreno · November 12th, 2003, 08:32 AM

I've tried exporting the graphs with a solid black background and then using a chromakey filter to key it out, but it was a lot of work to get it to look decent around the edges. Plus it won't work on graphs that use dark shadows underneath the graphics. There is no Key Transfer (composite) mode in Final Cut Pro that I'm aware of.

Jeff Donald · November 12th, 2003, 08:42 AM

You should be able to do a vertical wipe between the two frames to get your vertical animation.

Rob Moreno · November 13th, 2003, 06:36 PM

My graphs usually have grids and other images in the background, so I can't do a simple wipe to animate the bars.

November 9th, 2003, 07:18 PM	#1
Rob Moreno Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tokyo Posts: 102	Help! Having problems compositing graphics over video I'm trying to superimpose a graph over some video footage. I made the graph with a pure black background and exported it as a quicktime movie (millions of colors + alpha channel) using animation compression. The problem is when I set the tranfer mode in either FCP or After Effects to Screen mode, the background video bleeds slightly through the bars of the graph, which are colors like solid red, yellow and blue. I've tried using other transfer modes like add, overlay, etc. but nothing works. I'm I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? __________________ Media Kobo Japan

November 9th, 2003, 07:58 PM	#3
Rob Moreno Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tokyo Posts: 102	Thanks for the advice, Ted. Unfortunately creating the graph in Photoshop is not an option, as it uses motion (the chart flies in and the bars of the graph grow over time). I made the graph using Apple's Keynote software to save time animating the graph. Animating it as Photoshop layers in Final Cut Pro would take too long. __________________ Media Kobo Japan

November 10th, 2003, 06:11 AM	#4
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Do the bars grow in a linear fashion, ie upward? __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 10th, 2003, 07:51 AM	#5
Rob Moreno Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tokyo Posts: 102	The bars do grow upward in some cases, but they are in front of a grid, so I am not able to simply animate them with a mask. __________________ Media Kobo Japan

November 12th, 2003, 08:32 AM	#7
Rob Moreno Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tokyo Posts: 102	I've tried exporting the graphs with a solid black background and then using a chromakey filter to key it out, but it was a lot of work to get it to look decent around the edges. Plus it won't work on graphs that use dark shadows underneath the graphics. There is no Key Transfer (composite) mode in Final Cut Pro that I'm aware of. __________________ Media Kobo Japan

November 9th, 2003, 07:25 PM	#2
Ted Springer Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Glendale CA Posts: 328	Try making the graph in Photoshop if you have it. Make sure it has at least one layer in addition to the background. Layer 1 will be your graph, but make sure that it is transparent to the background layer below it (instead of black where you want it to be transparent). Then make the background layer transparent. Save as a PSD file and import into FCP. FCP will layer the graph over the video perfectly when you drag it to the timeline above the video layer. I hope that makes sense.

November 11th, 2003, 11:48 AM	#6
John Britt Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 621	Can you not simply key it using black as they key color, instead of using transfer modes? For example, I've imported Poser avi movies into Premiere and set the Transparency to key out the background color and that seems to work well.

November 12th, 2003, 08:42 AM	#8
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	You should be able to do a vertical wipe between the two frames to get your vertical animation. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 13th, 2003, 06:36 PM	#9
Rob Moreno Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tokyo Posts: 102	My graphs usually have grids and other images in the background, so I can't do a simple wipe to animate the bars. __________________ Media Kobo Japan