Make Transparent

PieroF_Make_Transparent_v1.4.fxscript.zip: (click the link to Download)

What does it do ?

Make Transparent is a freeware filter for Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro that adds transparency to the white areas of the clip. This is particularly useful when applied to the standard Render or the Shapes generators, because it may make their usage much easier and more flexible than when used with the standard FCE or FCP techniques.

As an example suppose you want to apply the Render/Highlight generator to get this effect:


You can simply apply Make Transparent to the Highlight clip (created with Video Generators/Render/Highlight), after this has been inserted into the timeline on top of the main clip, and fix the opacity of its shaded areas by tuning the Opacity control of FCE or FCP, as in the next figure.

In this example Make Transparent with its default controls values has been applied to the Highlight clip (with HighLight Angle = 45); in this same clip the standard control Motion/Opacity is set to 50.

Why this is better than the standard solutions?

Obviously there are other ways to get the same results without using Make Transparent; for example:

  1. a.adding the Highlight clip as a Mask in the Image Mask filter applied to the main clip.

  2. b.using the “sandwitch” technique (not sure this is pro terminology...): in the timeline, fit the Highlight clip between two identical copies of the main clip, apply Modify/Composite Mode/Travel Matte - Luma to the top copy of main clip and lower the Opacity of the bottom copy of the main clip.

However, both the above solutions are more complex to use and less flexible, compared with the use of Make Transparent: with solution a. preparing and fixing settings of the Highlight mask requires modifying its settings in a temporary copy in the timeline, dragging it into the Mask image well of the Image Mask filter, checking the result, and, if not OK, repeating this process till the result is satisfactory. In other words: there is no real time feedback of the new settings.

Solution b. does provide real time feedback (as Make Transparent) but requires 3 superimposed clips in the timeline, changing the composite mode, and fixing the opacity in a non intuitive way (why in the bottom clip ? somebody may ask...). By the way, both copies of the clip must be kept identical: if any modification is applied to one of the two main clips (new filter, new control values, etc.), it has to be applied also to the other copy of the same main clip.

As a result changing the mask settings is cumbersome in solution a., and changing the clip settings is tricky in solution b.

The real solution is Make Transparent. In fact, with this approach:

  1. i.the main clip is not modified by the mask as in solution a.: all settings of the main clip are completely independent and the mask with its Make Transparent filter is simply superimposed to the clip,

  2. ii.all settings to adapt the mask are in the mask clip: both its own controls and the newly applied transparency can be tuned within the mask clip itself,

  3. iii.since the mask is not bound to the clip it is masking:

  4. •the mask may be set on any track above the main clip, possibly far away from it (e.g. the mask in V3 and the main clip in V1);

  5. •the mask may be superimposed to many clips in the timeline, even all the clips in the sequence (see the figures).

  6. •many masks may be applied to the same clip or clips by just stacking them over the main clip in the timeline (see the figures).

  7. Note that this flexibility is only available with Make Transparent: it is not available with either solution a. nor b., unless you use a nested sequence...

Compatibility, Disclaimer

This Make Transparent filter has been tested in Final Cut Express HD v3.5 and Final Cut Pro v5.1, but it will likely work also in other versions of FCE and FCP as long as they provide support for the fxscript language (see also the Disclaimer).

Version History

v1.4 - minor fix: same function, but inverted meaning and default for Invert Alpha (now consistent with Alpha channel meaning)

v1.3 - first release.

Filter Usage

After its Installation drag the filter Make Transparent v1.4 from the Video Filter > pf folder of Effects into the Viewer on the clip you want to apply it to.


There are only two controls:

  1. •Invert Alpha (default: ON): defines whether the black areas of the clip should be made transparent (Invert Alpha  = OFF) or its white areas should be made transparent (Invert Alpha = ON).

  2. •Color (default: black): applies a color of the opaque areas. The original color (if any) is removed.

In fact the purpose of this filter is to change the white (or black, if Invert Alpha = OFF) areas into transparent areas. To achieve this, it sets the alpha channel of the clip using its luma channel, and fills the clip with the selected Color: the result is a clip that can be superimposed to any clip or set of clips in the timeline showing the underlying clips across the transparent mask.

Example n.1: Highlight a clip area

To highlight an area of a clip:

  1. 1.select a mask among the FCE or FCP standard generators (e.g. Shapes/Circle as in the figure), or make a new one

  2. 2.drag the Circle mask into some video track in the timeline, above the clip you want to highlight


  1. 3.apply the Make Transparent filter to the Circle mask

  2. 4.tune the Motion/Opacity control of the mask (if you don’t, the black areas of the mask will completely hide the clip areas below - this might be the right choice or not depending on your goal).

In the example all default values are used, both in the Circle generator and in the Make Transparent filter; only Opacity of Circle is set to 50.

(Note: given the simple controls that the standard FCE Circle generator provides, its use is OK if you don’t need to move the circle; if instead you do need to follow a moving object or a person you’d better use my Frames generator applying the “Center&Aspect” method. In fact applying the Motion controls to the Circle mask, in order to follow a moving object or person, moves the full mask clip, with unwanted results, while the Frames generator allows to move just the highlight...).

Example n.2: Frame one or more clips

To frame a clip within a sequence :

  1. 1.select Shapes/Rectangle from the standard FCE generators

  2. 2.drag the Rectangle into some video track in the timeline, above all the clip you want to frame


  1. 3.apply the Make Transparent filter to the Rectangle.

In this example Make Transparent has Color set to dark blue (0, 0, 87), and Rectangle is set as follows:



Note that the Rectangle clip with Make Transparent may cover many clips in the timeline, possibly all, and applies the same mask to all of them, independent of their other settings.

Example n.3: Frame a clip and highlight an area

This is just as simple as to stacking the 2 masks created in Example 1 and Example 2 over the same clip:





Example n.4: Darken or hide a clip area

Use the same Example 1 approach with an exception: uncheck Invert Alpha in the Make Transparent filter.

Then use the Opacity of the Circle mask clip to darken (high values of Opacity) or lighten (low values) the inner circle. In the example Opacity is set to 50.

Use Opacity = 100 to fully hide the covered area, and Color in Make Transparent to select colors different from black.