How do you feather the edges of a mask for a video thumbnail?

[Jen Musselman]

David, what version of Photoshop are you using? Are you on a PC? I have a PC in the studio here with Photoshop 7 and I’ll see if the same process works or not on that.

[David Garrett]

using CS2 on a Windows XP system.. I bet there is a simple solution to this (if it can be done that is)… but am ****** if i can find it…i will keep working on it and get back to you

[Joe Bowden]

moxiecat,

To achieve the look you want, first, import the PSD into Encore as a menu.

Then do an Edit in Photoshop, and delete the mask that you have.

Then select the Marquee tool, set the feather to how much opacity falloff you want, and then drag the marquee over the thumbnail to draw out a selection rectangle or oval, whichever you prefer. Make it a bit smaller than you think you’ll need.

Finally, go to the Layer menu and choose Layer Mask > Reveal Selection.

Does that help?

-Joe

[Jeff Bellune]

Using Photoshop CS2.

Try this:
1. New NTSC DV Document. White background.
2. New Group. Name it with the proper button prefix.
3. New Layer in Group. Name it with the proper video placeholder prefix.
4. Use shape tool set to

[Jen Musselman]

David, I just tried it using Photoshop 7 on a Windows XP machine, and it works the same as with CS2 on my Mac.

After you’ve made the Layer-Add Layer Mask-Reveal Selection, hold down Control and click on the mask thumbnail on the layer. I am using the black arrow “move” tool for this. “Marching ants” will appear around the box on the menu screen and there should be a double line around the mask thumbnail indicated that’s what’s selected (and not the regular graphic thumbnail in the layer).

Then click on to the Gradient tool in the tools palette. Make sure that the “black-white” gradient is the gradient showing in the toolbar at the top. Click and drag the gradient tool across the selected shape and let go. A gradient will appear on the shape, and the mask thumbnail will show the gradient. The graphic thumbnail on the left in the layer should still show a solid black box.

Sorry if my terminology for any of this is incorrect.

Joe–haven’t tried what you suggested yet, but I will and will let you know how it works. Seems like there should be a way to soften/shade the mask’s edges right from the beginning though. Thanks.

[Joe Bowden]

moxiecat…there is. Just omit the Import into Encore part, and there you have it. I added that only to illustrate.

[Jen Musselman]

Woo-hoo! Yes, Jeff, this works absolutely perfectly. I have to play around with the feather (got WAY too much of a feather the first time) but this process DOES work.

Thank you to everybody for your help. I can stop pulling my hair out about this now! Sooo relieved 🙂 And hopefully the directions will help someone else in the future too. Thanks again!

[David Garrett]

thanks Jeff.. that will save my old grey matter…..LOL