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Masks, track mattes and headaches.
Hello –
I’m appealing to the premiere pro experts here: I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time building this:
https://vimeo.com/129211625 (password: windows)
My problem has been that I didn’t want to use video clips in the windows – but stills – that I can continue to manipulate behind the window mask (making it easier to cut to the music etc). The main problem has been that if I place a still on the timeline – then the mask above it – and then add a track matte to the still (naming the mask as a source) the mask and the still effectively become one; any manipulation of the still also affects the track. Cropping the images creates a similar problem.
What I thought would be a perfect solution didn’t work at all and I don’t know why:
Mask
Transparant video
ImagePut the track matte on the transparent video – with the mask as the source, ‘should’ allow whatever is below it to be seen through the windows – shouldn’t it?
In the end I exported/reimported the images as video – but this isn’t ideally what I wanted to do.
I understand that AE is probably the quickest way to do this – but I’m not at all au fait with After Effects.
Any elegant solutions? I have more to make…
Many thanks. J
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3 Replies
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doing what you want to do is not easy in Premiere….this is how i do it. put your background on track 1. put your “fill” clip on track 2. put your matte “hole cutter” on track 3. nest track 2..your fill clip. make a copy of your “hole cutter”. open the nest and place the hole cutter on the layer above your clip. make the hole cutter 50% transparent. move your clip around using the 50% matte as your framing guide. when done with your clip movement make the 50% matte invisible. close your nest. on your main timeline touch on the nest but don’t open it. place “track matte Key” on the nest. click on Matte in track matte key and choose “video 3”. you’re done.
now repeat the same process for any other boxes you want on the screen. -
You might not be familiar with AE but it’s a very easy job in AE and it would be more elegant/smooth looking. A couple free online AE basic tutorials would teach you all you need to know how to do this… would be less headache in the end, IMHO.
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Great Jerry – many thanks.
You’re right – super convoluted – but it’s a better solution than anything I’d come up with!
I should indeed spend a little time learning the basics of AE.
Still confused as to why my ‘transparent video layer’ solution doesn’t work – but I guess I’ll have to let it go!
All the best, thanks again.
James.
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