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Transparent Video ​

A transparent video has a see-through background, so a character, logo, or effect stands in the real world without a rectangular frame around it. Combined with the Billboard alignment constraint, a filmed or animated character can face the viewer from every angle and read as if it were 3D.

The one format that carries transparency all the way to playback is HEVC with an alpha channel in a QuickTime (.mov) container.

The format that works ​

  • HEVC (H.265) with an alpha channel, in a .mov. Upload it like any other video – no extra setting in the editor.
  • H.264 cannot store transparency at all. An ordinary MP4 export will always arrive with a solid background.
  • WebM / VP9, the transparent format used on the web, is not supported.

Once uploaded, a transparent video behaves like any other video object: it autoplays, loops, and can be triggered by events and actions.

Making one ​

Most animation and editing tools cannot export this format directly, so it usually takes two steps.

1. Export a master that keeps transparency. Apple ProRes 4444 in a .mov, with the channel setting on RGB + Alpha. Make sure the background is genuinely empty – no black or white solid, no leftover background layer, and any keying applied before the export.

2. Convert that master to HEVC with alpha. The encoder for this format ships with macOS, so this step needs a Mac.

  • Apple Compressor – create a new setting, choose QuickTime Movie as the container, pick HEVC 8-bit, and tick Preserve alpha. It is off by default, and it is only offered for the QuickTime container.
  • Command line – ffmpeg -i master.mov -c:v hevc_videotoolbox -alpha_quality 0.9 -tag:v hvc1 transparent.mov

After Effects and Media Encoder

Adobe's exporters can write ProRes 4444 with alpha, but not HEVC with alpha. Use one for the master and convert with one of the tools above. Dedicated converters such as Rotato can also do the second step.

When the background isn't transparent ​

Work down this list – the cause is almost always in the export, and the file is opaque before it ever reaches Scenery:

  • exported as H.264, or as MP4 rather than QuickTime
  • Preserve alpha left unticked in Apple Compressor
  • channels set to RGB instead of RGB + Alpha
  • the composition rendered over a solid colour, or a background layer still visible
  • the key or matte not applied to the exported comp

A quick check before uploading: open the file in QuickTime Player on a Mac. If the background shows as white or black there, the transparency is not in the file.

When the edges look dark or haloed ​

That is a mismatch between premultiplied and straight alpha. Apple's format expects premultiplied, which is what most tools produce by default. If your export offers the choice, pick premultiplied.

Keeping the file small ​

Transparent video is uploaded as you supply it, without further compression, so the size you export is the size your viewers download.

  • Alpha quality is controlled separately from the picture bitrate, so you can lower the picture bitrate noticeably and still keep clean cut-out edges. Both live in the conversion step – the bitrate and Preserve alpha fields in Apple Compressor, or -alpha_quality alongside the quality setting on the command line.
  • 720p is often enough for a billboarded character standing a few metres away.
  • Trim tightly and loop a short clip rather than shipping a long one.
  • For long or high-resolution clips, consider HLS streaming ProPart of the Pro plan and up instead of an upload.