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First, import one of the three video clips

provided on the CD powdersugar.mov,smoke.mov or splatter.mov. The raw footagehas been shot using either a natural blackor white element on the opposite colouredbackground. This will enable you to use theLuma controls for your track matte.

Track mattes work like masks inPhotoshopand can take mostmotion projects to new heights. They can

create transitions for your type, between

scenes, or with almost any object.

This tutorial will show you how to

create a clean, smooth-running track

matte master the techniques outlined

here and you can apply them to almost

anything. This will open up new ways to

create motion graphics and add the wowfactor to projects that are otherwise dull.

A track matte is a simple element to

add to your work, but can develop into a

really complex and effective motion tool.

After Effectscan be very powerful if you

take advantage of its impressive pre-comping and blending mode capabilities.

When importing PhotoshoporIllustrator

files, for example, you can use these

options to create even more vivid results.

In this short tutorial you will work

through one specific example for a track

matte, but the project shown here uses

three track mattes in total. Look on this

issues disc and use any of the three video

clips provided. Alternatively, you coulduse your own footage to create a unique

track matte of your own.

Illustration and tutorial by JJ and Robbie

Johnstone www.rockadee.com

Track mattes are a very effective and creative way to generate an endless array of transitions for your motionprojects.JJ and Robbie Johnstone reveal how to create track mattes in After Effectsusing simple DV footage

GET TRACK MATTES RIGHTAFTER EFFECTS

DOWNLOAD

TIME NEEDED

30 minutes

INFO

54| July 2006

JJ andRobbieJohnstoneare brothers,motion

designers and foundersof the Portland-basedRockadee Collective. Visittheir site (www.rockadee.com) to see the award-winning music videosthey create together.

ftp://ftp.futurenet.com/pub/arts/zinio/art124_track.zip

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July 2006 |55

TUTORIAL|

2Using the Hue/Saturation controlsshown in the screengrab above, start tode-saturate the colour from your video file.This will ensure a clean matte.

6Now scale up your image and repositionit to remove any visible edges and take

full advantage of the entire comp size. Yourmatte will need to cover the element youwish to transition to and from, so rememberthis when scaling.

3You can now apply the Levels effectto your clip. You will need to make the

graph as small as possible. Drag yourwhite and black settings towards the centreof the graph. The more pure the white andblack the better the resulting matte will be.

7Import theIllustrator

file namedgradient.ai from this issues disc or bringin a colour, texture or type element of yourown. Now create a new composition using theelement you just imported and the trackmatte comp you have been working on.

4Next, create a mask around the elementyou selected from the disc to get rid ofany background that will take away fromyour matte. Scrub through your clip andmake sure your mask doesnt block thematte. You may have to keyframe your maskto move with your element.

5Feather your mask to ensurea smooth transition betweenthe clip and the background. Nowadd a solid, in the same colour asyour clips background, to get ridof the transparencies. This is animportant step to remember youwill deal with this whenever youpre-comp in After Effects.

9Now click on the dialog box under theTrkMat column. Select the Luma or

Inverted Luma setting, depending on theeffect you are going for and the colour of yourelements. Back in the timeline, make sureyour pre-comp sits above the image you aretransitioning to and/or from.

PRE-COMPING

Whenever you use

blending modes, track

mattes or adjustment

layers, simple layer

order problems will

arise. Use the Pre-

comp function to solve

these problems. Pre-

comping takes specific

layers of a composition

and places them into

their own composition

in the same time and

position, then places

that composition into

your timeline in its

place. Try using

Command+Shift+C to

Pre-comp selected

layers in your timeline.

WHICH TRACK MATTE

SHOULD YOU USE?

A Luma matte will use

the lighter shades of a

clip or image to create

a mask of the object its

applied to. An inverted

Luma matte will use

the darker tones to

mask the specificobject. If you have the

ability to use green or

bluescreen footage,

Alpha mattes will also

work really well. Alpha

mattes draw from the

alpha channel instead

of the luminance.

10If you are using text, a photo or anillustration, reposition and scale the pre-

comp to fit directly over the specific element.Experiment with different styles of mattes. Theonly rule to remember is to stick to black andwhite. Besides that, get creative!

8Click on thebottom of theSwitches column inyour timeline. Thecolumn will saySwitches/Modes if youare using After Effects6.5or earlier. If you areusing version 7, it willbe blank.