Posts Tagged "alpha channel"
How to Use Alpha Channel Special Effect Footage in Sony Vegas
You don’t have to have a Hollywood budget to create stellar special effects in your projects. Alpha channel footage is a really simple way to add some wow-factor to your video. Alpha channels allow you to maintain a layer of transparency in your videos so your effect can float seamlessly over your project. As a result, you can make things explode, you can light things on fire, or even make it rain. Here is how you can use an alpha channel video using Sony Vegas:
Tags: alpha channel, sony vegas, special effects
Posted in Sony Vegas, Video Editing Tutorials | 2 Comments »
Using Alpha Channel Footage in Adobe Premiere
Are you looking to add some flashy special effects to your project, but don’t exactly have the Hollywood budget? Alpha channel footage may be your answer! By using video footage with a translucent layer, you can add explosions, underwater effects and more just by laying an alpha channel on top of your footage. Here’s how you can use an alpha channel clip in Adobe Premiere:
(Want to try this out for yourself? Here is a free alpha channel clip for you to download!)
1. Import your footage and the lower third template into Adobe Premiere (File>Import)
2. Place your footage on Video Track 1.
3. Place the video clip with an alpha channel on Video Track 2 directly above your footage. When you scrub over the footage, you should see the alpha channel footage on top of your footage.
4. Now you can play around with the alpha channel clip to get the effect you want. You can make sure it times up with your project correctly, make it bigger or smaller, faster or slower. Get creative!
5. Depending on the effect you’re using, you may want to add a cross dissolve at the beginning and end of your alpha channel so it transitions in and out of your video more smoothly. (Effects>Video Transitions>Dissolve>Cross Dissolve)
6. Save your project.
7. Render your project.
8. Save your project.
That’s all you have to do! Simply layering an alpha channel clip on top of your project will add some stunning special effects to your work.
Want to keep practicing? Download this free alpha channel footage!
Tags: Adobe Premiere, alpha channel, premiere pro, special effect
Posted in Adobe, Premiere Pro, Video Editing Tutorials | 1 Comment »
Video Editing: A Beginner’s Glossary
Are you new to the video editing scene? Reading a bunch of manuals and still not exactly sure what goes where? Well, for the most part, video editing is extremely intuitive and is an easy skill to develop. There are some key words and terms, however, that people throw around without explaining sometimes. Here’s a simple glossary that should clear some of those up for you!
Tags: alpha channel, chroma key, cross dissolve, preview window, rendering, timecode, timeline, video editing
Posted in Video Basics | 5 Comments »
