Presented: Feb. 23, 2011

Step-by-step techniques to make the most of masks.

Each week, Larry Jordan presents a live, online, training webinar discussing issues related to video post-production; often focused on Apple Final Cut applications. For a list of upcoming webinars, click here.

Duration: 57:13
File size: 191 MB (ZIP file)
Format: Quicktime movie (1280 x 720)

Important note: After you complete the store checkout process, you will see a Download Link on the Order Confirmation page. This link will allow you to download the product to your computer. You are given two attempts and 10 days to download the file. Since this is a downloadable product, there will not be a CD/DVD mailed to you.

Tutorial Overview

The purpose of a matte, or a mask, is to hide something in one clip so you can see something else in another clip.

From chroma-keys, to garbage mattes, to traveling mattes, to a variety of different masks, this session gives you a lot of different ways to hide the ugly to let the beautiful shine through!

In this tutorial, we demo eleven different ways to use masks, with a lot of other effects goodies thrown in. Each of these is presented in step-by-step order, so you can use your media to create these effects on your own system. Best of all, every one of these, except one, work on Final Cut Pro 5, 6, or 7. (The exception is the chroma-key example, which is FCP 7 only.)

Audience Level

This session assumes you have a basic familiarity with the Final Cut Pro interface, and know how to apply an effect. Everything else you need to know, you’ll learn in this tutorial.

BONUS FEATURE

To simplify finding the information you need quickly, we have added eighteen chapter markers to help you easily navigate this tutorial. Click here to learn how to display them in your download.

Content Outline

• • Define Mask and Matte
  • Define the three different types of keys in Final Cut Pro
  • Illustrate basic filter effect techniques
  • Explain when NOT to use some of these filters
  • Explain the difference between a bold and non-bold filter name
  • Provide step-by-step instructions on how to create a wide variety of masks and filter effects

• DEMO: Create a Luma key
• DEMO: Create an Alpha key
• DEMO: Create a Chroma key
• DEMO: Illustrate how to display the alpha channel in a clip
• DEMO: Show a better way to size and position text
• DEMO: Show how to use Matte Choker and Matte Magic
• DEMO: Create a Traveling Matte
• DEMO: Show how, and why, to create a nest
• DEMO: Show how to extract an alpha channel from a clip
• DEMO: Show how to create a garbage matte
• DEMO: Show how and when to use Image Mask
• DEMO: Show how to combine Mask Shape with Matte Feather to hide logos or faces
• DEMO: Show how to create a vignette quickly using Soft Edges
• DEMO: Show how to convert 4:3 footage into Widescreen, while still able to reposition the image in the frame