Adding several projects as keyable clips into another project

[Button_Pusher]

I'm working with a team of volunteers to create a project.  I've used Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 12 to create an animated lower third banner template.  The template uses background video, a mask, and the text as three separate video tracks.

I want to farm out all the banner making to another volunteer (using the same Windows 10 PC).  I want to add these clips on one video track and manipulate them independently.  I've seen threads about using 3rd party programs to copy and paste one project into another.  But, as I understand it, these copy the full project (in my case 3 video tracks) into the new one.  I'd rather have each banner be an individual clip.

My question:  Is there a way for my volunteer to do all the grunt work creating multiple clips so I can import them into my project and key them over my video?  Of course I'd like to maintain quality as much as possible.

Thanks in advance,

Button_Pusher

[Steve Grisetti]

If you're having the others create the actual animation and then give you the finished video so that you can overlay it on other video, they'll need to output their lower-third as transparent, uncompressed video. Though it's possible they could also give it to you as an MP4 with a plain colored background and you could key it out. Which sounds kind of like what you're trying to do.

If so, what are the project settings of your main video? You can find this under the Edit menu, on the General page of Project Settings.

[Button_Pusher]

Thanks for the response.

Here's my settings:

My template has variable transparency so keying out a plain colored background probably wouldn't be the way to go.

Where do I tell them to go to output transparent, uncompressed video?  Is that in Publish & Share -> AVI -> DV NTSC Widescreen?

[Steve Grisetti]

Which version of the program are you using?

In version 2018, you'll find the option under Custom export settings. Yes, use AVI, Uncompressed, Basic Video setting 1920x1080, Aspect: Square Pixels.

If your video has no background, it should export with transparency. Although be aware that these files will be more than 10 times the size of regular AVC video since they are not compressed. I believe you also need to have Render at Maximum Depth checked.

In all honesty, I haven't tried to render transparent video from Premiere Elements ins several generations, so we may need to find someone who knows for sure -- either on this forum or, better, among the panel of experienced folks at the free Community Forum at Muvipix.com.

[Ann Bens]

If you want a clip with transparency you export to Computer > Custom > Quicktime > Animation > 8 bpc+alpha.

For avi: avi, videocodec None, and 32 bits.

Or for smaller files install Lagarith codec (lossless codec).

[Button_Pusher]

Ann,

Thanks for the reply.  I'm using Premiere Elements 12.  I don't have an option for 8bpc+alpha.  Here's what I have.  I tried this and it didn't work (no alpha!).  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Ann Bens]

Twirl down Depth.

Set it to 32.