Just wondering if anyone has had any luck getting a video clip with a transparent background into Storyline 360 and if so, what format did you use so that 360 maintains the transparency.
FLV videos with alpha channel transparency are supported in Storyline 360's Flash and Articulate Mobile Player (AMP) output. This article showcases how the videos may be re-encoded based on the output you're using.
Hi Alyssa,
I want to record a person in front of a green screen and then put this video into my Storyline course. I expected, that I can make the green transparent in SL...
In the Content Library are many videos with a green background - can I make those videos transparent in SL?
You'll want to use a third party tool to make the background of your video transparent before inserting it in Storyline.
And as it stands now, Storyline supports transparent videos in Flash only. In that case, you would want to publish with Flash first and be sure the learners view the course in a Flash-enabled browser.
Thanks for letting us know what improvements you'd like to see in future versions of Storyline!
Where I work we are no longer going to be publishing using any Flash output. My question is then would it be possible for SL to recognize published video with an alpha Chanel from Adobe Premier or Aftereffects for a better compatibility and satisfaction standpoint.
Thanks for chiming in! While that's not an option in Storyline at this point, I appreciate you letting us know you have a need for transparent videos in HTML5. If we add that feature in a future Storyline 360 update, we'll let you know!
What is the file type you see from Adobe Premier or Aftereffects? As Alyssa mentioned we support the FLV videos, but not in the HTML5 output, as it'll re-encode as MP4s.
MP4/H.264 file types don't support transparency in the same way that an FLV video does with alpha channel. Another video format that does support transparency is the .webm video format, but since IE, Safari and Mobile Safari don't support that, we haven't included it in Storyline or Studio.
If there is another file type or feature we're missing, I'd love to know more about it. Feel free to share here or send along details to our Product team as a feature request!
It's a clunky workaround, but you can drop the flash video with the transparency on your slide with whatever elements onscreen that you need showing through while it's playing and then do a screen recording to get an mp4. Then go back in and hide/replace all of the elements with the mp4.
For example, let's say you have a flash file of a flame animation that you want to have play on top of a building to make it look like the building is on fire. You can view the flash output of that slide and do a screen recording of it. Then go back in and hide/replace the flash animation and building and use the mp4 of the screen recording instead. This doesn't really apply to green screen though.
I have already produced a video with no background but when I import it on Storyline 360 the background is black. Either mp4 or quicktime file, both fail to produce the desired result. Any help please?
A workaround is to make the background of the video the same as the Storyline slide. Then, import the video as normal and place it behind other objects occurring on the screen simultaneously.
I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the awesome program Storyline is, but I've found threads from 8 years ago asking for this feature. Loss of Flash support has been knowledge for a long time now.
This seems like such a basic feature, even POWERPOINT supports movies with alpha, so sad after all this time this hasn't been added. I use alpha with Powerpoint all the time, just seems inexcusable there isn't Storyline support after all this time and all these requests. See my attached file showing alpha movie support in Powerpoint.
I see a ton of requests for an alpha video feature that I could very much benefit from as well. Video content creators can really bring their storyline lessons to the next level with alpha video and the lack of support really handcuffs us as content creates to just have such basic animation when we know we can do so much more. PLEASE add support for: Quicktime MOV - ProRes 4444 codec with alpha Quicktime MOV - Animation codec with alpha AVI - with alpha
I appreciate you adding these details and sharing the need for this feature! I understand how supporting alpha video would be impactful for video content creators to elevate their Storyline courses. That's helpful to know! I've added your comments to our feature report to share with our team. I'll update you in this discussion when we have more information about supporting alpha video in Storyline.
Given the thread history - it doesn't necessarily look like another voice saying "My company needs this," will have a lot of impact. However, let me throw my vote in here. Given the types of eLearning we are doing, my company really needs to have alpha channel / Transparency supported by Storyline. :)
Honestly I'm pretty new to Storyline, and after working with it for a few weeks, I suspect the reason they haven't added this feature after so long is because video elements to not play well at all with Storyline's interactive elements. I tried to get creative and create all my animation prior and then just use Storyline to overlay any interactive elements I needed and it was a disaster. Really buggy and slow. The second I changed out all the backgrounds for JPGs instead of movies it worked fine.
I'm evaluating Articulate 360 and was extremely disappointed to find this feature isn't supported. Quicktime MOV alpha channel support would be extremely helpful for some of projects I have in mind.
92 Replies
Hi Dave,
FLV videos with alpha channel transparency are supported in Storyline 360's Flash and Articulate Mobile Player (AMP) output. This article showcases how the videos may be re-encoded based on the output you're using.
Now it's 2018, is it still only possible to use FLV Video to have a transparent background?
Is there maybe a change in near future possible?
Hi Oliver!
Can you tell us a little more about what you're looking to do? Do you want to adjust the background of an existing video to be transparent?
While this currently isn't a feature, it's helpful to know what folks are looking for as we consider new features for the future.
And to share your thoughts directly with our product team, you can submit a feature request here!
Hi Alyssa,
I want to record a person in front of a green screen and then put this video into my Storyline course. I expected, that I can make the green transparent in SL...
In the Content Library are many videos with a green background - can I make those videos transparent in SL?
Thx for help!
Regards
Oliver
Thanks for that context, Oliver!
You'll want to use a third party tool to make the background of your video transparent before inserting it in Storyline.
And as it stands now, Storyline supports transparent videos in Flash only. In that case, you would want to publish with Flash first and be sure the learners view the course in a Flash-enabled browser.
Thanks for letting us know what improvements you'd like to see in future versions of Storyline!
Hi Alyssa,
Where I work we are no longer going to be publishing using any Flash output. My question is then would it be possible for SL to recognize published video with an alpha Chanel from Adobe Premier or Aftereffects for a better compatibility and satisfaction standpoint.
Hi Tyler,
Thanks for chiming in! While that's not an option in Storyline at this point, I appreciate you letting us know you have a need for transparent videos in HTML5. If we add that feature in a future Storyline 360 update, we'll let you know!
Hi Tyler,
What is the file type you see from Adobe Premier or Aftereffects? As Alyssa mentioned we support the FLV videos, but not in the HTML5 output, as it'll re-encode as MP4s.
MP4/H.264 file types don't support transparency in the same way that an FLV video does with alpha channel. Another video format that does support transparency is the .webm video format, but since IE, Safari and Mobile Safari don't support that, we haven't included it in Storyline or Studio.
If there is another file type or feature we're missing, I'd love to know more about it. Feel free to share here or send along details to our Product team as a feature request!
It's a clunky workaround, but you can drop the flash video with the transparency on your slide with whatever elements onscreen that you need showing through while it's playing and then do a screen recording to get an mp4. Then go back in and hide/replace all of the elements with the mp4.
For example, let's say you have a flash file of a flame animation that you want to have play on top of a building to make it look like the building is on fire. You can view the flash output of that slide and do a screen recording of it. Then go back in and hide/replace the flash animation and building and use the mp4 of the screen recording instead. This doesn't really apply to green screen though.
Hello,
I have already produced a video with no background but when I import it on Storyline 360 the background is black. Either mp4 or quicktime file, both fail to produce the desired result. Any help please?
Hello, Teo!
FLV videos with alpha channel transparency are supported in Storyline 360's Flash output. Are you using FLV video files?
It almost 2020, when will Storyline 360 support alpha channel transparency other then Flash such as H.264, WMV,or QuickTime?
I want to use Adobe Character Animate to create transparent animated video and import them into a Storyline project. Will this ever be possible?
A workaround is to make the background of the video the same as the Storyline slide. Then, import the video as normal and place it behind other objects occurring on the screen simultaneously.
It's not a perfect fix, but it's working for now.
I was hoping for the same thing, using Character Animate and bringing a transparent video into Storyline. Just adding my vote to enabling this in SL.
Now that flash is no longer supported, does anyone know if there are any plans to support other formats (AVI, MOV) of videos with transparency?
Hi Andrew,
I appreciate you checking in! No news yet, but we are closely monitoring requests for transparent video support in a Flash-free world.
I'll absolutely notify you of any changes. Let me know if there's anything else I can do!
I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the awesome program Storyline is, but I've found threads from 8 years ago asking for this feature. Loss of Flash support has been knowledge for a long time now.
This seems like such a basic feature, even POWERPOINT supports movies with alpha, so sad after all this time this hasn't been added. I use alpha with Powerpoint all the time, just seems inexcusable there isn't Storyline support after all this time and all these requests. See my attached file showing alpha movie support in Powerpoint.
I see a ton of requests for an alpha video feature that I could very much benefit from as well. Video content creators can really bring their storyline lessons to the next level with alpha video and the lack of support really handcuffs us as content creates to just have such basic animation when we know we can do so much more. PLEASE add support for:
Quicktime MOV - ProRes 4444 codec with alpha
Quicktime MOV - Animation codec with alpha
AVI - with alpha
Hi Justin!
I appreciate you adding these details and sharing the need for this feature! I understand how supporting alpha video would be impactful for video content creators to elevate their Storyline courses. That's helpful to know! I've added your comments to our feature report to share with our team. I'll update you in this discussion when we have more information about supporting alpha video in Storyline.
Thank you Lauren, I appreciate the reply :)
Given the thread history - it doesn't necessarily look like another voice saying "My company needs this," will have a lot of impact. However, let me throw my vote in here. Given the types of eLearning we are doing, my company really needs to have alpha channel / Transparency supported by Storyline. :)
Honestly I'm pretty new to Storyline, and after working with it for a few weeks, I suspect the reason they haven't added this feature after so long is because video elements to not play well at all with Storyline's interactive elements. I tried to get creative and create all my animation prior and then just use Storyline to overlay any interactive elements I needed and it was a disaster. Really buggy and slow. The second I changed out all the backgrounds for JPGs instead of movies it worked fine.
Hi Lauren,
I would also like to know if this feature is ever implemented...
Thanks and good luck to the team :)
I'm evaluating Articulate 360 and was extremely disappointed to find this feature isn't supported. Quicktime MOV alpha channel support would be extremely helpful for some of projects I have in mind.
Adding in my vote - this feature needs to be in since Flash is no longer supported
I'd also like this feature to be implemented as soon as possible please :)