Import Video with Alpha Transparency??? ex http://www.graphinence.com/

[jermerqua]

I am wondering how some sites seem to embedd video over art/elements in flash. Examples...

http://www.graphinence.com/

http://www.adidas.com/y-3/index_high.html

As far as I know there is no way to directly import video with compression capabilities that will preserve an alpha channel. Am I wrong? Only way I can think to do it is with a PNG sequence, however PNG sequences offer no great method for compression and these sites load pretty quickly.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

- Jeremy

[pellepiano]

Yes its probably a sequence of bitmaps. Even if the images are png you can use jpg as compression in Flash with the alpha channel intact.

[wouter999]

Only way I can think of is something along the lines of green-screen transparancy, check out http://www.ultimatte.com/.

[PROXUS]

All those sites are made with chromakey. Basically you shoot your video on green / blue background and remove it in video editing software.

[jermerqua]

Right. However the background is knocked out in flash. There is no video other then th actual figures themselves. The background is an image and the video of the people moving are place over top. The only way I can think that this is acheived is with sequencial PNG's. PNG files preserve the transparent background. I have been unable to bring in video into flash and preserve the transparent alpha channel.

[PROXUS]

In video editing software you clear the chromakey color and you set piece of background image on leyer below video layer. Then you export it to flash format and place along with therest of background. That way your videopieces are minimal and everything looks like one big video.

[jermerqua]

Yeah that works, but I am almost 100% sure in the case of
http://www.adidas.com/y-3/index_high.html
The moving image of the people walking is seperated from it's background in flash itself. I say that because on each fade to black the figure itself is isolated, the background radial blur is not dithered and the line art animation of the arrow has a seamless integration.

I am taking it from what you are saying that to your knoweldge there is no way (within flash) to seperated the background if if previously keyed out?

[PROXUS]

There is new info/guide how to prepare video like that:

http://www.flvplayer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50