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AE not rendering Alpha Channel Anymore

New Here ,
Jan 15, 2020 Jan 15, 2020

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I need some serious help and fast...

I've been doing media overlays for OBS for some time now....no issue...everything renders perfectly...click the alpha channel, add to render queue and click on rgb+alpha...

 

Now, out of the blue it continues to render the "composition" background...even though I click on the transparency grid...

 

what is happening???  I have rendered like 20 of these and now have to go back and figure out what to do??  Did I miss something? 

 

Please help....and thank you.

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Error or problem , How to , Performance , User interface or workspaces

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2020 Jan 15, 2020

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Have you double-checked that the Channels pop-up menu under Video Output in the Output Module Settings is set to RGB+Alpha?

AE2019 Output Module Settings Video Output Channels Pop-up Menu set to RGB+AlphaAE2019 Output Module Settings Video Output Channels Pop-up Menu set to RGB+Alpha

 

 

If you're not already using it, the "Lossless with Alpha" template is a good Output Module template to use as a test.

 

Also, double-check that your current Format and CODEC choices support an alpha.

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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My AE will not even render an alpha channel using "Lossless with Alpha." I have confirmed through toggle that an alpha channel is present but I keep getting a black background, even in Premiere or ME

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Community Expert ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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Are you able to share a screenshot of your Composition window with the Transparency Grid showing?

AE Comp Window with the Transparency Grid enabledAE Comp Window with the Transparency Grid enabled

Whatever you see here should carry forward to your rendered file provided that you picked a format that supports RGB+Alpha.

 

 

What do you see if the Show Channel pop-up menu is set to "Alpha"?

AE Comp Window with Show Channel pop-up menu set to AlphaAE Comp Window with Show Channel pop-up menu set to Alpha

This is a good way to double-check the Alpha that you should expect in your rendered file.  You're probably already aware that white reveals and black conceals.

 

*****Be sure to set the Show Channel pop-up back to "RGB".*****  Accidentally leaving it set to Alpha may cause some frustration later.

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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From what I can tell, it *should* be good.

I have tried using the Lossless with Alpha preset. I have tried various recommended custom sets. Nothing puts the alpha channel on there. Tested in PP, ME, VLC, even the thumbnails show a background.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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As far as checking the rendered file for an Alpha goes, what does it look like if you import it into an After Effects project and view it in the Footage tab?

 

Can you share a screenshot of your Render Queue with the Render Settings and the Output Module expanded?

 

Here's an exmaple:

AE Render Queue item with Render Settings and Output Module Settings expandedAE Render Queue item with Render Settings and Output Module Settings expanded

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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Screenshot of Render and Output settings, as requested.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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Which CODEC is selected in the Format Options?

 

The CODEC choice determines if an Alpha can be included in the movie render (RGB+Alpha) or if it has to be rendered separately (Alpha only).  Keep in mind that if the Composition does not have transparency that there's no advantage to adding an Alpha channel to the render.

 

RGB+Alpha not available because Apple ProRes422 HQ is selected as the Video Codec under the Format Options.RGB+Alpha not available because Apple ProRes422 HQ is selected as the Video Codec under the Format Options.

Video Codecs that support RGB+Alpha are shown with a green checkmark.Video Codecs that support RGB+Alpha are shown with a green checkmark.

 

If for some reason you have to use a Video Codec that does not support RGB+Alpha, then you'll have to render an RGB pass and an Alpha pass.  The Alpha movie is commonly called a "hold-out matte".  An easy way to name the files is to append "_fill.mov" to the RGB render and "_matte.mov" to the Alpha render.

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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That's fine and all but does not explain why the preset "Lossless with Alpha" fails to render a result with alpha channel. That's what I began with.

 

The composition has transparency, as you can see from the screenshots above.

Other codecs used were ProRes 4444 and DNxHR / DNxHD. Same result.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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So you have access to another computer that you can run AE on?  Even if it's a slower, older machine?

 

Do you know someone you could share the project with?

 

This is probably something happening locally on your machine.

 

Which version of AE are you running?  And, just to make sure... this a version you installed via Creative Cloud Desktop?

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 03, 2021 Mar 03, 2021

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I do not have a second PC to run the software on. The current machine I am using has an i7 8700k with an RTX 3070.


I may be able to share the project with someone.

 

Latest version of AE. Just installed today through Creative Cloud.

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Valorous Hero ,
Mar 04, 2021 Mar 04, 2021

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What happens when you import the rendered movie into AE and drop it into the Timeline? Does the Alpha Channel kick in?

Motion Graphics Brand Guidelines & Motion Graphics Responsive Design Toolkits

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Community Beginner ,
Mar 04, 2021 Mar 04, 2021

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I was finally able to get it to work. I had to reinstall both AE and Creative Cloud in order for it to work properly.


Once that was done, Lossless with Alpha worked and the transparency showed in PP and OBS. I was able to get the file converted to WebM via ME and imported into StreamElements.

Thanks all for trying to help!

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Valorous Hero ,
Mar 04, 2021 Mar 04, 2021

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Thanks for reporting back. I'm curious to know if you tried trashing AE's Preferences before you went with the uninstall-install routine.

Motion Graphics Brand Guidelines & Motion Graphics Responsive Design Toolkits

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Explorer ,
Mar 21, 2022 Mar 21, 2022

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After clicking transparency grid. Select Animation codec and then render RGB + Alpha. works for me. 

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