Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 7.0 - To Import Footage by Dragging; To Import Footage with an Alpha Channel; To Set the Alpha Channel Interpretation Method

ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
User Guide
72
Note: If the Interpret Footage dialog box appears instead, the imported footage item contains an unlabeled alpha
channel.YouneedtoselectatypeorclickGuesstoletAfterEffectsdeterminethetype.See“Interpretationmethods”on
page 73.
For more information about importing folder contents, see “About still-image sequences” on page 75.
Note: To search for a file from the Import File dialog box in Mac OS, click Find, type the name of a file or folder, and
click OK. After Effects finds the first file or folder that matches the text.
To import footage by dragging
❖ Fromthedesktoporafolder,selectoneormoreitemsyouwanttoimportanddragthemtotheAfterEffectsappli-
cation icon (in Windows Explorer or Mac OS Finder) or to the Project panel (in After Effects).
If you import a folder by dragging it from the desktop, the contents of that folder are imported as a sequence. To
import the contents as individual footage files, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag. (This is the
equivalentofclickingtheImportFolderbuttonwhenimportingfootageintoaProjectpanel.)Ifyoualwayswantthe
layered footage that you drag into After Effects to be imported as a composition, you can specify this in your Import
Preferences: Choose Comp from the Default Drag Import As menu.
See also
“About still-image sequences” on page 75
To import footage with an alpha channel
The alpha channel contains transparency information for a footage item. Many file formats can include an alpha
channel, including Adobe Photoshop, ElectricImage, TGA, TIFF, EPS, PDF, QuickTime (saved at a bit depth of
Millions of Colors+), and Adobe Illustrator.
1 Choose File > Import > File.
2 Selectthenameofthefileyouwanttoopen.Ifthefiledoesnotappear,selecttheoptionforshowingallfilesfrom
the Files Of Type (Windows) or Enable (Mac OS) menu.
3 Click Open.
4 If the Interpret Footage dialog box appears, select an option for the alpha channel. If you select Guess, After Effects
determines the interpretation method.
Correctly identifying the type of alpha channel when you import a file can prevent problems, such as undesirable
colors at the edge of an image or a loss of image quality at the edges of the alpha channel. If a color inaccuracy, such
as a halo, appears along the edges of an alpha channel in a composition, try changing the interpretation method. See
“Interpretation methods” on page 73.
See also
“To view masks” on page 250
“About alpha channels and mattes” on page 242
To set the alpha channel interpretation method
You can change the interpretation method for a file after you import the file.
1 In the Project panel, select a footage item that includes an alpha channel.