to do animations you need to use a software that will animate the image you are trying to portray. there are many out there and most are free. just google "free animation" and you will be brought to another world. As for taking an image and eliminating the background, you will need software to do this. A free one is www.getpaint.net. they also have a great forum where you can learn how to use it. Another program that works well is Picture it Pro - costs about $100 and the last I can suggest is Photoshop - more expensive and you need to work on mastering this program. I'm not sure what you mean my photoshop transparencies. BV recognizes most extensions for images.
hope this helps,
mrmagoo144
www.videopostcards.info