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PV Feather Documentation

PV Feather (Per-Vertex Feather) is a plugin for After Effects 6.5 or later that allows you create masks with

a variable amount of feather by using one AE mask to control the filled region and another AE mask to

control the feather amount. Using two masks in this way gives you per-vertex feather control.

Please note we often update our products, please consult our website for the latest. You will also find a

small set of Tutorials on our website to complement the documentation.

PV Feather is compatible with After Effects 6.5 or later.

How to use PV FeatherHere are the settings for PV Feather:

Each of these settings will now be described in the following pages.

http://www.revisionfx.com/http://www.revisionfx.com/

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The basic working of the plugin is very simple.

Simply create two masks on your layer. Lets call them Inner Mask and Outer Mask.

The Inside Mask setting is set to Inner Mask, and the Outside Mask setting is set to Outer Mask. Note that

the distance between the two masks determines the amount of feathering. Because we are using the plugin

to provide the masking that the AEs mask mode for each mask in the timeline is set to None. This is

replaced by setting the Mode in the plugin to Add (or whatever mask mode is desired).

Thats the basic working of the plugin. Hopefully the idea is fairly simple and obvious. Of course we have

many bells and whistles that will need explaining, so keep reading!

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Some restrictions

Please note that the plugin does have some restrictions on use.

1) In order to work properly the PV Feather must not have another type of plugin before it in the list of

effects applied to a layer. Think of this plugin as an extension of AEs masks which are, by design, applied

before effects. In a similar vein, if you have 3 or 4 instances of PV Feather on a layer, then they must be

the 3 first effects applied to the layer. In AE 7, if there is another non-PV Feather effect applied previously,

then you will only be able to use the Intersect mask mode within the plugin. In AE 6.5 the plugin will

produce a semi-transparent red frame to show that there is a problem.

2) This plugin will not work appropriately on Adjustment Layers. If you wish to use the plugin on set of

layers, you will need to pre-compose those layers and apply PV Feather to that pre-composition from

within another composition.

3) PV Feather is designed to work with AEs masks, and with other PV Feather instances before the current

instance of PV Feather. Note that AEs masks are applied FIRST. Then each instance of PV Feather. As

such, using a regular AE mask to subtract with mask made by PV Feather is impossible.

To get a mask to subtract from a PV Feather mask, you must use PV Feather again, set it to the mask you

want to subtract with, set PV Feathers mode to Subtract. And, of course, set the masks mode in the AE

timeline to None (which PV Feather will do for you).

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CorrespondencesThe plugin makes a correspondence for each point along the two masks. In order to show the

correspondences that the plugin is making between the two masks, click on the PV Feather label in either

the Effects Controls window, or the within the timeline window. Clicking on the label in either place willessentially select the effect, which then tells the effect to display the correspondences.

.

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Figure. Feathering not as expected. Viewing the correspondences reveal the cause.

Seeing the correspondences is particularly useful when the inside mask and outside mask are not created in

the same vertex order. Such a case is shown in the image on the right (notice the feathering isnt as

expected). A quick look at the correspondences shows the problem. Selecting a corresponding vertex on

each of the two masks and resetting the First Vertex for each mask using AEs Layer->Mask->Set First

Vertex command on both masks can help resolve the problem and restore the correspondences as theyshould be.

Non-closed masksThis plugin creates a feathering between the inside mask and the outside mask. If the Inside Mask is not

closed, then the plugin cannot fill the interior, but can still create a feathering between the two masks. In

this way you can add a feathering to an existing mask within AE.

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ControlsIn this section we will describe the controls for the plugin.

Mode

None

Add

Subtract

Intersect

Darken

Difference

These modes work exactly as they do for AEs mask settings.

InvertedThis setting works exactly like the Inverted setting for masks in AE, and inverts the area to be

used for masking.

Before and after checking Invert.

Inside Mask

Outside Mask

These settings allow you to set the inside and outside mask used within the plugin. Once you set

the masks using these settings, the plugin automatically sets AEs setting for the mask to None, so

you dont end up using the mask twice. The plugin assumes that if you are set a mask for eitherthe Inside Mask or Outside mask settings, that you probably are using the plugin for masking and

not AE itself so it sets AEs masking mode for the mask to None.

If the Outside Mask is set to None, then you can still fill the Inside Mask. And when there is no

outside mask, PV Feather will feather the mask using AEs settings for feathering (using the

Feather setting found in the timeline for the mask) if the Fill If Closed checkbox of PV Feather is

ON. Note: PV Feather does not use the Expansion setting in the timeline.

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Match Vertices

Lets suppose we have two masks, as shown below.

If Match Vertices is not checked, then PV Feather will match the WHOLE length of the Inside

Mask to the whole length of the outside mask, not any particular attention to vertices that make

up the masks.

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Figure. Correspondences if Match Vertices is OFF.

If Match Vertices is "on" each corresponding vertex is matched up, as shown:

Figure. Correspondences shown (Match Vertices on)

What happens if the two shapes do not have the same number of vertices, and Match Vertices is

checked?? PV Feather will match segments until only 1 is left on the one with the smaller number

of vertices. Then the remaining number of segments on the shape with the larger number of

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vertices gets matched to the remaining segment on the shape with the smaller number of segments,

as shown:

Figures. Example with Match Vertices On, and Off (with and without correspondences shown).

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Move Together

It is often useful to be able to move the corresponding inside mask point and outside mask point at

the same time. This setting allows you to move both points when you select and move either one

of the two corresponding points on the inside or outside mask. This allows you to move both

points without having to select both before moving.

This option is only available when Match Vertices is On.

Fill if Closed

By unchecking this setting you can just apply the feather, without filling in the Inside Mask if it is

closed.

Figures. With and without Fill If Closed checked.

Apply Feather

By unchecking this setting you can turn off the feather.

Figure. With and without Apply Feather

ReelSmart Motion Blur

This setting allows you to use ReelSmart Motion Blur to blur the mask instead of After Effects

built-in multisampling method. Please note that PV Feather pays attention to all the motion blur

settings (including the compositions shutter and angle) set for the mask that is used as PV

Feathers Innter Mask and the Comp that the mask is contained within.

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This setting does not turn on and off motion blur, rather it switches between AEs motion blur

(multiple times sampling) and ReelSmart Motion Blurring. To control turning off and on motion

blur, use AEs motion blur settings for the comp and the mask used for the Inner Mask (and PV

Feather also pays attention to the Render settings for motion blur).

Action

In order to make the plugin a little more helpful, weve supplied a number of actions that automate

some typical mask operations.

Duplicate and Offset Inner Mask

This action takes the selected mask and offsets each selected vertex of the inner mask by the

Offset Amount. If no vertices are selected, then ALL vertices will be offset. The vertices will be

offset from their original positions on the inner mask by the amount specified in the Offset

Amount setting.

Figure. Inner mask set to Mask 1. Before Duplicate and Offset Inner Mask performed.

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Figure. After Duplicate and Offset Inner Mask performed.

Note that after duplication, that the newly duplicated mask is named Mask 1 Outer and that the

Outside Mask menu setting is set to this newly created mask.

You might ask yourself, how do I determine which vertices are selected, because when I choose

the PV Feather plugin, the mask and its vertices are de-selected.

First: select the desired vertices (or no vertices if you want all vertices to be offset).:

Second: Select the plugin itself by clicking on the PV Feather label in the Effects Controls

Window or within the timeline, as described earlier when discussing correspondences.

Each selected vertex will be displayed with a +.

Note 1: Please note that the inside masks selected vertices will be shown only when the OutsideMask is set to None.It is presumed that you do not need to see the Inside Masks selected verticesonce you have duplicated and set the outside mask, because you will most probably use one of the

other two actions to further offset and manipulate the Outside Mask.

Note 2: it is very easy to deselect mask vertices by clicking elsewhere in After Effectswindows. As such, t is suggested that you keep the Effects Control Window open, select the

vertices you want to offset, then select the PV Feather plugin in the Effects Control Window

immediately so that the mask vertices selected dont get deselected accidentally.

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Offset Outer Mask at current time

This action will take the selected Outside Masks vertices and offset them by the Offset Amount,

but only at the current time (creating a keyframe if the masks shape is animated and there is not a

keyframe at the current time). The selected vertices of the Outside Mask will be displayed with a

+ sign when the PV Feather is selected in the Effects Controls Window (or the timeline). All

vertices will be shown as selected if none of the vertices are selected.

Offset Outer Mask at all keyframes

This action will take the selected Outside Masks vertices and offset them by the Offset Amount,

and will do this at all keyframes if the masks shape is animated. The selected vertices of the

Outside Mask will be displayed with a + sign when the PV Feather is selected in the Effects

Controls Window (or the timeline). All vertices will be shown as selected if none of the vertices

are selected.

In order to see the Offset Mask that will be created for any of the 3 actions, see the Show Offset

Mask setting description below.

Show Connections

It is sometimes visually confusing to display the connections between the two masks when the PV

Feather plugin is selected. This checkbox allows you to turn off the connection correspondence

display.

Show Offset Mask

It is often useful to see where the offset mask will be created for the duplicate and offset actions

available in the Action menu. By turning Show Offset mask on it is possible to see where the

offset mask will be created. This option allows you to scrub the Offset Amount setting and

interactively see where the offset mask will be created, reducing the need for the following

workflow: set an Offset Amount; select an action and see where the offset mask is created (ormoved); undoing the Action if the resulting offset mask is not placed where needed; then resetting

the Offset Amount and trying again.

By checking this option, the offset mask will be displayed before it is created and can be

interactively moved by scrubbing the Offset Amount. However, you will need to select one of the

Action menu items in order to see the resulting mask feather created with this offset mask.

Note 1: After executing one of the Action commands, Show Offset Mask is unchecked for you.This eliminates the visually confusing result of having the newly offset mask shown as offset yet

again after the Action is executed.

Note 2: Please note that the offset of the inside mask for Duplicate and Offset Action will beshown only when the Outside Mask is set to None. Otherwise the offset of the Outside Mask willbe shown. It is presumed that you do not need to see the offset Inside Mask once you have

duplicated and set the outside mask, because you will most probably use one of the other two

actions to further offset and manipulate the Outside Mask.

Original Layer

This setting MUST be set to the layer that the plugin is applied to, and is set automatically upon

application of the plugin. We had to expose this setting to you, the user, because the plugin might

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get the incorrect layer assigned to it upon cut-and-paste from another layer. After cut-and-paste of

this plugin from one layer to another, make sure the Original Layer setting is reset by you to the

layer the plugin is applied to.

Opacity

You can control the opacity for the mask by setting AEs Opacity for the mask that is used for PVFeathers Inner Mask (the mask Opacity setting is settable within the Timeline window of AE).

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