Download - Art124 Track
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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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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.