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Create Mask based on color (much like Photoshop Magic Wand)
Hi,
Is there a way to create a mask based on a particular color. It would be something like the Magic Wand tool in Photoshop or the color key plugin except that it would not key that color out but mask it, so that I could eliminate everything but that color. Any ideas?
What I want to do with it:
I pulled frames of NASA World Wind, then creating a movie from the stills, giving me a dynamic satellite flyover starting with a closer view of the middle east which is then enlarging to a view of the whole Mediterranean. Now I want to animate the spread of an idea from the middle east to Europe by a color layer expanding.
My problem: The ocean should not be affected by the color layer, but since the sequence is a dynamic zoom (and turn) of the map, the outlines of the ocean change in every frame. Changing the mask shape every frame would be an incredible pain. If on the other hand I could single out an “ocean layer” with just blue ocean, then I could stack it on to of the “expanding color layer” keeping the coastlines clean.Thanks for any tips
Johannes -
2 Replies
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i think keying may work for you… but the closest effect to the magic wand that i can think of is the change color effect. it will allow you to select a color and set matching tolerances and softness.
it’s actually designed to be a color correction effect… to get it to work for how you want to use it, set the color using the ‘color to change’ picker. then set the ‘view’ to correction mask, this will show you a black and white matte for your ‘selection’. adjust the tolerance and softness as needed.
now you’ll have a matte layer that can be used in a variety of ways…
you could use it as a track matte (inverted luma matte) for the color layer to mask out the water….
if you wanted the water to overlay the color layer you could use it as a track matte (luma matte) for the water layer.
or you could get similar results by adding a few more effects to the water matte layer… after the select color effect, add unmult (free from red giant), then add cc composite. this will basically fill your masked area with original water image…
this is essentially keying, but the select color effect is the closest effect that i could think of to the magic wand…
Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
Thanks for the answers!
Meanwhile I played around some more and realized that I would get my separate “ocean layer” if I key out the land by using multiple instances of the color key plugin. Since the the ocean was in one shade ( blue marble output from World Wind) that worked pretty well. So I did get it working eventually, but thanks for the answers. I’ll look into them.
Johannes
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