After Effects White Background

 



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Keying out black backgrounds in After Effects is no problem with this quick technique!

While it’s always best to get pre-keyed footage, it isn’t necessarily difficult to key out elements on a black background yourself using After Effects. So if you have elements to key out, or you’re simply interested in keying out black backgrounds, follow these quick steps for great results.

I have Adobe After Effects installed and I am not able to import PNGs with transparency. Each time I import a PNG with built-in transparency, the PNG gets a black background. I have tried importing the same PNGs into Photoshop and it imports them correctly. Duplicate the logo layer and use the channel combiner effect on the duplicate to make that color channel luminance only. Add a levels adjustment to make dark areas black and the light areas white (white will be opaque, black transparent in the next step). Set the original logo layer to use the duplicate as a track matte. If you get a white fringe, precomp those two layers and then add remove color mattting, with the color set to white.

Step 1: Prep Your Footage

Before you key your footage, you need to make sure that your clip is a good candidate to have the black pixels removed. Keep in mind that this effect will remove all of the dark pixels in your scene in order of luminance. So, you may need to mask certain areas if your footage needs to have dark elements in it and still be keyed. I recommend adding a levels and curves effect without adjusting anything just yet. These will simply help us tweak the final key once we’re done.

Step 2: Add the Shift Channels Effect

Simply drag and drop the shift channels effect Music remix for mac. onto the layer which you want to be keyed. It should also be noted that this effect works with adjustment layers as well.

Step 3: Take Alpha From Luminance

Remove White Background In After Effects

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In the shift channels effect, simply change the “Take Alpha From” checkbox to “Luminance”. You should instantly see your footage keyed out now. If not, make sure you toggle the transparency grid button at the bottom of your composition panel.

Step 4: Tweak Color Values as Needed

Using the levels and curves effects that we mentioned in step one, continue to adjust as needed until you get your key just right. Try different variations of curves and levels before and after the shift channels effect until you get it just right.

This effect can also work for removing a white background if you apply the “Invert” effect before and after the shift channels effect. However, keying out white is much more difficult, as subjects tend to have more white value than dark.

Want to learn more about working in After Effects? Check out the blog here at RocketStock. It’s dedicated to helping you become a better motion designer.

Have any tips for keying out black backgrounds in After Effects? Share in the comments below.

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