Creating a transparent flame

Question

Hello, I would like to take a video of a flame, close up, and be able to show it on any background (where the background is seen through the flame). Ideally the flame animation (say 60 frames at 15 frames a second) would be alpha transparent png that I could lay over another image.

My question is how would I make those images? I could film the flame on a green background and be able to cut away all parts of the image that are green, but what about the transparency through the flame?

Edit:

As it stand now, I was thinking of turning the video into still images for each of the frames and using photoshop for any editing.

Answer 1

I would look into stock photos and videos first to see if they have free "flame" footage.

As far as adding transparency to your video, that entirely depends on how you are creating it. Is it a flash video? Are you using Adobe After Effects and Final Cut to edit your video, or are you using Vegas, or are you using X or Y video editing software. Each one has their own ways of adding / reducing opacity of frames.

Answer 2

Go here and find some software that could work for you.

Alternatively, create flame with software (links pending).