Making a black background transparent on a video clip

[adobenewbie123]

I have a spcial efffects clip that I would like to place over an existing video track but just show the fireball effect without the black background blocking the track underneath.  Is there a way I can make the black background transparent so I can overlay only the fire effect.  I am currently using Adobe premiere Elements 10.

Thanks for  your time and input!

[Peru Bob]

What kind of clip is it and where did you get it from?

[adobenewbie123]

The effect is a fireball and it is already imported into premiere.  My goal is to figure out a way to make the background transparent on the clip so you only see the fireball on the clip where the overlay occurs and not the  background covering everything else. The color of the background is black.

[Peru Bob]

Yes, but if you could tell us what type of clip and where it is from, we may be able to offer a way to do it.

Without knowing that, I can only suggest rotoscoping in After Effects, which will take near forever for a clip like that.

[Ann Bens · Accepted solution]

Drop the Luma Key onto the clip. It will key out the black.

Tweak the Threshhold and Cutoff.

[adobenewbie123]

Thanks Ann. I'll give it a shot!

[Steve Grisetti]

Videomerge or Chroma Key would be a better suggestion.

Though I agree with Bob: without some specifics about the media you're working with, any suggestions would be general and possibly wrong.

[MichaelBuieFilms]

Ann Bens answer is correct:

"Drop the Luma Key onto the clip. It will key out the black.

Tweak the Threshold and Cutoff."

[Steve Grisetti]

Please mark her answer as correct, Michael.

[Bill Sprague]

Michael,

You waited two and a half years to discover Ann's method worked!

[MichaelBuieFilms]

Steve, Whsprague, hy do you say that?

Doesn't the original poster need to mark correct? I don't see an option for me to  do that; just to "Like it" or mark it as helpful, which I already did

.

I'm suggesting it needs to be marked correct, too.

[Steve Grisetti]

If you're on the forum -- as opposed to answering via e-mail -- the Correct Answer button will show on all posts.

If someone here gave you a correct answer, you can indicate it even if you weren't the original poster.

[MichaelBuieFilms]

The correct answer button DOES NOT appear to me on this post or thread anywhere on the web page, or I would have marked it in the beginning. Perhaps the "Assumed Answered" status has something to do with that? Correct Answer button appears for you for her post?

And I don't get what's with the remark about me finding a post in a search 2 years ... or 5 years, orw whatever after it was posted? That's just so random a comment.

[Peru Bob]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Steve+Grisetti  wrote

If someone here gave you a correct answer, you can indicate it even if you weren't the original poster.

I thought only the OP or Mods could mark answers correct.

[Bill Sprague]

You may be right that it needs a mark.  But, since the original post is old, the OP is long gone. 

The point remains that two experts found different ways to get the job done. 

[josiah2020c]

whsprague,

You waited 2 and a half years to comment something absolutely unnecessary!