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Simple keying/masking/I’m not sure process proving incredibly frustrating!
Hello
I am trying to achieve what I’m sure is a simple effect. I have a TV screen in a shot that unfortunately has a DVD Player menu/screensaver playing on it. I have some footage that I need to show as playing on this TV screen. I can get it to fit the screen easily enough, but an actress in shot changes the channel partway through. As she does this, part of her hand and the remote control overlap the screen and the new footage, and so disappear behind the second video channel, albeit very briefly.
I want to ensure that her hand and the remote stay visible over the new footage, but the dvd menu under the new footage stays invisible behind it, if this makes sense. Would this be a masking or keying issue, or is there another way to achieve this? I am being driven round the bend by this, so any help would be appreciated!
J…
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8 Replies
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It could be achieved with keying if the screen is all one solid color, but more than likely you will need to duplicate your footage layer and rotoscope her hand in it so that it overlaps your screen content.
The link I provided gives tons of great resources on rotoscoping.– The Great Szalam
(The ‘Great’ stands for ‘Not So Great, in fact, Extremely Humble’)No trees were harmed in the creation of this message, but several thousand electrons were mildly inconvenienced.
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Hi Jamie
From what you have described, this is a masking issue. I would duplicate your main clip and put that on top of everything, then mask just the hand and the remote as they interfere with the screen. Of course, you will need to keyframe the mask to match the movement. I am also assuming that your shot is locked off.
Declan Smith
https://www.madpanic.tv
FCS3 / After Effects CS5 / Combustion / Canon 7D / Canon XL2 -
Hi Michael, Declan
Thanks to you both. The masking option seems the easier one as I’m up against it timewise.
My shot is locked off, yeah. Her hand only catches the corner of the smaller footage, but it is still noticeable.
Declan, what mask would you suggest to use? Would I then use the track matte effect? Sorry, but I’m pretty new to AE and so am still learning some of the basics, hence this issue causing me so much grief!
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Michael and Declan are both suggesting rotoscoping — animating a mask over an element. Michael’s link is an excellent resource.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events -
There’s only one kind of mask: a mask.
There’s no need to use track mattes. Just duplicate your footage with the hand. And mask out the hand and remote. Then set a keyframe for mask shape and make the mask stay with her hand as it moves.There are many things you can do to make such a process go quickly and they are detailed in the link I gave you.
I know you’re pressed for time at the moment and may not be able to check this out now, but as soon as you can, go through the resources in this link. They are especially intended for people new to AE to get you up to speed relativly quickly.
– The Great Szalam
(The ‘Great’ stands for ‘Not So Great, in fact, Extremely Humble’)No trees were harmed in the creation of this message, but several thousand electrons were mildly inconvenienced.
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Brilliant. Thanks, Michael. I’ll check them out first thing in the morning. I’m done for today!
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Mike, that is a great link. Thanks for posting it. I should spend more time plowing through the Adobe site; I always seem to look elsewhere for answers first. LOL
Cheers,
Charlie -
> I always seem to look elsewhere for answers first.
…and that makes me sad.
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Technical Support for professional video software
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