Removing white background from a logo to superimpose

[KimSWilliamson]

Thank you everyone. I have been using boxes in Titling to create a background box, then putting the stupid logo with the white background on top and bottom (very irritating) on top of the first white box, and shape the background box to match the same width at the white on the top and bottom of the logo. I am not explaining this well, but the end result was, that I still had a white backround to the logo, but it now was even all the way around, with sides and top and bottom.

I also manageed to make a trasparent bckgrd. in BBWorld with a logo, and it did work, but took some steps. Thanks for whoever sent that process to me. Lou? Tim? Chet? One of you Masters of the MSUS universe. So, thanks again guys!

Kim in Comfort

[KimSWilliamson]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I did finally get the white out of the background of one logo thru BBW.

By the way, what is an alpha channel and what does it have to do with this tranparency logo issue?

I have Renommee.

I am STILL trying to decide on what camera to upgrade to. I have had no requests for HD. A lot of my production work is for low power TV station and we don't do HD.

I was thinking of a used Sony PD170, or even a hybrid like the Z1U. Since I am still using a Renommee, I guess I can't go tapeless, right?

Glad to back on the forum... had a hard winter, very busy at TV station and pumping out commericals....

Tomorrow I am videotaping an Animal Communicator, producing some UTube videos for her, so I am sure I will be back with questions about uploading to UTube! Tonight just finished videotaping a polictial forum, those politicians are scary!

BTW our TV staion is now doing live remotes! Pretty cool for a LPTV station, Tomorrow we tape Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, she is actually coming to Kerrville TX to try to convince us to make her the next governor of Texas....
Kim in Comfort

[IanPearson]

Kim
In answer to your question “What is an alpha channel”, not an easy question to answer. It is basically a channel (data code) that tells overlapping objects (pixel by pixel) how they should be seen.

All video graphics (pictures) are made by combining the three basic colours of Red, Green and Blue. The alpha data is like a mask that defines what in each overlapping layer should be seen.

In your case the availability of an alpha channel would allow you to make the white areas transparent.

The following is the simplest description I have come across.

In graphics, a portion of each pixel's data that is reserved for transparency information. 32-bit graphics systems contain four channels -- three 8-bit channels for red, green, and blue (RGB) and one 8-bit alpha channel. The alpha channel is really a mask -- it specifies how the pixel's colours should be merged with another pixel when the two are overlaid, one on top of the other.

Typically, you wouldn't define the alpha channel on a pixel-by-pixel basis, but rather per object. Different parts of the object would have different levels of transparency depending on how much you wanted the background to show through. This allows you to create rectangular objects that appear as if they are irregular in shape -- you define the rectangular edges as transparent so that the background shows through. This is especially important for animation, where the background changes from one frame to the next.

Rendering overlapping objects that include an alpha value is called alpha blending.

Hope this helps.
Ian

[CKNewman]

Well done, Ian!

[IanPearson]

Thank you Craig

On reading my explanation again, someone might ask, but BB Blue Box World can make the white area transparent, which of course it can.

However, chromakeying with BB Bluebox will only allow all white areas (or any other defined colour) to take on the same transparency value. With alpha channel facilities, defined areas of any colours can be made to merge as required. It is a very powerful tool.

Ian