Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 1164)

Chapter 18 Compositing and Layering 377
II
Options for Displaying Alpha Channel Information
Several options in the View pop-up menus of the Viewer and Canvas allow you to
display the alpha channel and the background that’s displayed beneath a clip with an
alpha channel in different ways. These options can make it easier to see how the alpha
channels of various clips affect your sequence.
Displaying alpha channels
When compositing, it’s sometimes helpful to have a quick look at the alpha channel of
your clip. The alpha channel defines areas of transparency and can change if various
filters are applied. There are three different ways to view alpha channels:
 RGB
 Alpha
 Alpha+RGB
Looking at the clip in the Canvas with Alpha or Alpha+RGB enabled shows you exactly
which areas of your frame have transparency.
Alpha channel display
options
Background display
options
RGB view Alpha view Alpha+RGB view