Timing the mask effect

Hi everyone,
I have been trying to use the Mask effect to cover up a list of attendees at my webinar I do not want to appear. The section of the screen I want to obscure is motionless and appears and disappears at a few portions in the video. I am able to insert a mask and pixelate a part of the screen but am not able to time it. There seem to be no controls to time an effect, when it appears and disappears. Can Premiere Pro do this?
Peter

You keyframe the properties of the effect (not the mask) to full (or whatever) when the mask is needed and 0 if its not needed.

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Mask effect not showing up

I created a simple mask effect using CS3 Pro on WIn XP. When
I run the animation in Flash, the effect works perfectly but when I
publish an SWF file, the mask effect does not appear. Strangely
enough, I sent the FLA file to someone who has the same version of
Flash as me. He opened up the file, published an SWF and his mask
effect worked fine. Am I missing something here???

It sounds to me like you are not uploading all the files. The navigation for example needs the feed.xml file.
What FTP application are you using to upload?
Putting effects like drop shadows and frames increases the page file size and slows download.
Its better to take a screenshot of the image and replace the original with this JPEG. See...
http://roddymckay.com/PhotoSatellite/OptimizeImageFile.html
"I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link."

Masking effect problem

i am having problem when i use this masking effect. I make
two layers 1 for image and second for effect and do the fill color
in effect layer .erase the lines by erasor and do the masking
effect also. the problem is when i run my file it only shows up for
first thing i draw . For example if i started with a line then it
shows effect only for that first line not for others.
please explain why it is happening.

sorry friends for bottering u but i am still not getting it
.I think i understood the basic as but when i try myself it doesn't
come out.i am sending this .fla file .Please go through it and tell
where i am getting wrong.
http://www.hostmyfile.co.uk/?code=bda86442c819993c1cfc3afbac96bd3f

I want to create an effect on a photo similar to the mask show in lightroom (you will need to own li

This is quite a complicated request but I hope someone maybe able to make a suggestion.
In lightroom when you are in the develop module detail module you have the optoin to mask the amount of sharpening on a photo. When you hold down the alt key / apple key on the slider it shows how much of a mask you are applying to your image (it goes black and white and by moving the slider you can see the amount of effect).
I have an image I want to make this happen to but can't work out how to do it in photoshop. I have converted to Black and White in photoshop and tried the filter 'find edges' and 'trace contour' but it doesn't quite do the desired effect. I can't screen shot what I am talking about from lightroom as you can't 'Print Scr' while holding down alt!
I ho9pe that makes sense, any sugestions welcome.
Many thanks!

Hello, you can perform the same operation in Camera Raw, or, in Photoshop, approximate it using Smart blur in Edges only mode.

Effect of a mask is off-set from the mask itself. Help ...

I have a corner-pinned layer (it's a screen replacement) that a character passes in front of. I need to animate a mask so the character can pass the screen, but the effect of the mask is off-set from the mask line. It's really annoying.
It seems like the mask is set to the original layer size ... but I have to corner-pin the layer so it fits the screen I'm replacing, which makes the visible part of the layer smaller. Is there a way to make the mask perform in an "aboslute" way?
Pic attached to show how the mask is behaving ...

For anyone who's curious, this didn't really solve the problem, but it was a satisfactory work-around:
I went ahead and exported the corner-pinned, UNmasked screen replacement on its own, sitting on a transparent alpha channel. I then brought that new video layer into my composition and masked it. Since the new layer wasn't being corner pinned, the mask halted perfectly right on the visible masking line.

Why can't I see the masking options in certain effects in Premiere Pro 7.2.0

I am working with PP CC 7.2.0 and have heard that there is vers. 7.2.2. But I have also heard from others that the problem still occurs. Anyone with possible answers???

Yes, I am talking about the masking options that come into play during effects like blur and color correction. They allow you to mask your effect to certain areas. Adobe has been hawking this and other new developments for some time. I have CC through my office and it is deployed through a system that detects updates as they are noted by my admin. He says that 7.2.0 is the latest he has found, but I have read that people using 7.2.2 are having the same problem and that there is a vers. 8.0 out there.
C Roy Parker
Manager Video Communications,
Office of Strategic Communications
News & Media Relations
Penn State University
USB I Suite A, Room 115
University Park PA 16802
814.863.4635
news.psu.edu

How to adjust the timing of any effect in After Effects?

I want to make a building shatter at a specific time in my video (using the shatter plugin). However, when I add the effect, it doesn't seem to give me any options on adjusting the timing. I think it has something to do with a stopwatch, but I don't know how to use the stopwatch thng.
PLEASE HELP!
Thanks

If you type "shatter" in the Search Help field at the top right corner of AE the first link takes you to the After Effects / Simulation effects help page. If you click on Shatter effect (the sixth link in the list) It will take you to the specific instructions for the Shatter effect where the force and radius are explained in the first paragraph. There are also links to a bunch of tutorials and other resources for the effect. Farther down you will find a more detailed description of the Force 1 and Force 2 controls including the quote that Todd gave above.
I'm not doubting that you gave a look before answering, but far too many folks expect that everything in AE has a simple click and solve solution. The more you read, the more you use the help tools and the community resources, the more you'll learn how things work and the better and faster you will become at your craft. I actually spend about 2 hours a week just reading over things in the help files that I haven't looked at for a while, just to keep up. I also use the Search Help field in AE all the time to check out other possible techniques used by others in the AE community. If you get in that habit then you will become a better artist in less time. Relying on user forums for a click and solve solution won't do much to help you learn how AE works.

Newbie M5 question - How does the Censor effect blur only the inside of the circle?

I'm brand new to Motion 5. I'm trying to understand how an effect like "Censor" applies the blur to only the inside of the circle. I opened the Censor effect in M5 and studied it, but the answer is just out of my grasp. Can someone explain it to me, or point me to an article that will help? Thanks.
Dan

In Motion, in the Censor effect project, if you turn off the Effect Source (lowest layer) you'll see the "circle" used to "limit" the effect.
Actually, this is just an illusion:
The original Effect Source (in FCPX, that's whatever clip this effect is applied to) is Cloned (the layer is called "Mask"): a clone is basically a "rasterized copy" of the original -- what I mean by that is that Clones not only copy original objects, but also all their filters and other layers/effects if you clone a group of objects -- reducing them all down to a single layer copy. This copy can be treated just like any other object in Motion (with an interesting exception*): you can add masks and other filter effects and/or behaviors to create new actions while the original source of the clone is left intact.
In this effect, there is a Circle Mask applied to the Clone, as well as three different Filters: Pixellate, Gaussian Blur, and Brightness. These three different filters are turned on and off separately by use of a "pop-up" rig so that only one of the filters is applied to the clone at a time. The gear shaped objects are Behaviors, in this case Link behaviors that "link" to the Circle Blur filter properties that is attached to the Effect Source which control the location in the canvas and the scale of the mask (Radius to Scale-X and another to Scale-Y). The Circle Blur filter has Onscreen Controls of a center point and a "radius" and those property values can be shared to other objects in a project via these link behaviors. The Circle Blur filter effect is turned off in this project because it *only* needed as a *source* for the onscreen control properties (and those can be turned on for use in FCPX [Publish OSC] whether the filter type is used or not.) All of the visible action in this project is created by applying other filter effects to the Clone copy and masking the area so that the rest of the source is uneffected while this effect (Censor) is active in FCPX.
The *interesting exception: Clones can be "retimed" -- even timed to go in reverse. No other object (other than actual video) can be made to do the same. What does this mean? It means that you can create, basically, an "in-project" video of other objects in animation (without exporting the animation first) and retime them to loop over and over, go in reverse, speed up, slow down, etc... Clones are a very useful tool in Motion (not to mention "light-weight"). Their only drawback: they *flatten* 3D animations, so you can't apply "more 3D" effects to them because they'll just look flattened on a plane if you do. So any time you feel you need to duplicate something, ask yourself if you would be better served by a clone instead.
HTH

Is this possible to access arbitrary frame and to modify the mask?..

Sorry for a bit messy discussion title. Please, let me explain.
I have some experience in implementing video processing algorithms, but as our own software and never under AE. Now there is an idea to implement something for AE and first of all, I'm curious, if this is possible at all.
1) When processing the n-th frame, I need the full access to the data of (n-k)-th and (n+k)-th. Is this possible to do in general case? Or the only variant is to implement frames buffering during the first pass?
2) Our algorithm uses the mask as one of the inputs. But in contrary to the usual case, mask does not define an area of interest. In any case the full frame is processed, but the processing differs for different regions, depending on mask. In our software, it works like this: user defines a mask (and some parameters). Then effect is slightly modifying (let say – refining) the mask during the render and renders final images. After this user can modify the mask somehow again if he/she is not satisfied with what algorithm has done. Can I produce the same workflow in AE? The only way is using a drawbot (this means CS 5.5 and higher)? And what if I want masks to be raster images?
The second question in the framework of this one is how to do two video inputs for an effect (first – the video to be processed and second – the mask (grayscale sequence in general case))?
The possible workflow is that user provides trivial mask – lets say, the black solid. But even during the first pass effect should produce the mask, according to its sight to the video – so, it should somehow substitute the black solid with the sequence on black'n'white images. Is this all possible in AE?
3) Is this possible (should be, I guess) to implement multipass algorithms? How the preview works then, if I need, for example, to pass all the video length 3-4 times, to produce the final render?
I can expect that all this is solvable in AE, but may be experienced users could be so kind to give me some basic recommendation on how to do this. Looking through the PDF, which accompanies the SDK has not allowed to come to a distinct answer for the question: is this possible or not. So, I rely on your consultation.

hi Theofil Mulony, welcome to the forum!
in short, yes, what you want to do is possible, but some parts may be tricky.
and now the long version:
1) When processing the n-th frame, I need the full access to the data of (n-k)-th and (n+k)-th. Is this possible to do in general case? Or the only variant is to implement frames buffering during the first pass?
you can access the pixel data of any layer at times other than the currently processed time. this concept of getting that data is referred to as "layer checkout" in the AE SDK, and "wide time" is the name of getting pixel data at times other than the current.
the following thread discusses the difference between two methods of getting such data:
http://forums.adobe.com/message/4033930#4033930
you can also look at the "checkout" sample project to see how both concepts are implemented.
2) Our algorithm uses the mask as one of the inputs. But in contrary to the usual case, mask does not define an area of interest. In any case the full frame is processed, but the processing differs for different regions, depending on mask. In our software, it works like this: user defines a mask (and some parameters). Then effect is slightly modifying (let say – refining) the mask during the render and renders final images. After this user can modify the mask somehow again if he/she is not satisfied with what algorithm has done. Can I produce the same workflow in AE?
masks in AE generate a matte by default. the user can turn that mask off, so that the shape remains, but the mask does not... mask. (you can also set the mask mode to "none" via API commands).
you can then read the "off" mask attributes and either render using an API command (see "pathmaster" sample to see how), or write your own algorithm if the API constraints on that operation are a problem for you. (and there are a few constraints on rendering masks in the API)
now. when you say "modifying the mask" do you mean you modify it's generated matte, or do you mean change it's defining vector?
both are possible, but completely different.
if you turned the mask off, and rendered it's alpha yourself, then you can modify that alpha as you wish.
if you want to use AE's generated matte of the mask and change the mask's outline shape, then you need to look into "streams" and the "mask outline suite".
the user can modify a mask's shape as he/she pleases, unless you lock that mask or otherwise sabotage the user's operation.
The only way is using a drawbot (this means CS 5.5 and higher)?
drawbot is the API for drawing over AE's interface in CS5 and up.
it's only a drawing tool. previous versions used OS drawing tools. that's all the difference.
what i think you're asking is weather you need to create the mask drawing/handling capabilities or not.
the answer is: you can, but you don't have to.
unless you need control over the mask drawing that AE's existing masks don't have, i would have used AE's masks and not create a brand new mechanism (that the user need to learn as well).
if you insist at creating a custom UI for drawing masks, the "CCU" sample project would be a good place to start the research.
(just don't come crying to me when you get a splitting head ache)
And what if I want masks to be raster images?
The second question in the framework of this one is how to do two video inputs for an effect (first – the video to be processed and second – the mask (grayscale sequence in general case))?
The possible workflow is that user provides trivial mask – lets say, the black solid. But even during the first pass effect should produce the mask, according to its sight to the video – so, it should somehow substitute the black solid with the sequence on black'n'white images. Is this all possible in AE?
by default, "effect" plugins (as opposed to AEGPs) get only one input - the image of the layer, post masks and previous effects (but before transformations).
you can put as many "layer param"s in your effect and let the user select any number of other layers, which you can the "checkout" and use as second inputs.
you can also checkout other layers without the user selecting them manually.
however, checked out layer results are pre-masks and effects. so if the user draws a mask over a black solid, you will not be able to read the "post mask" image unless the user pre-composes the layer with the mask inside the pre-comp. it's a common practice for users to do so, as many effects rely on a second input, and that's the only way to make the input pos-masks and effects. (so it's no biggie from the user's point of view)
in the same manner, you can read any layer's image and use it as a mask.
you get the image buffer, so it's up to you to decide whether to use the alpha channel of that image or the rgb (or any other method you see fit).
3) Is this possible (should be, I guess) to implement multipass algorithms? How the preview works then, if I need, for example, to pass all the video length 3-4 times, to produce the final render?
AE doesn't do multi pass rendering.
it actually can render arbitrary frames, in no particular order.
but as you already saw, you can access the image data from any time - of any time, so you can emulate passes.
if you need to fly through the whole sequence for every frame, that would of course be very time consuming and wasteful.
in such a case, you can try to do these passes only once, when effect is implemented, and cache the results.
look up "sequence data", to see how to manage memory specific to a single instance fo you effect.
but i must say that if you have to do full length scans of the footage, a couple of times over, and cache EVERYTHING, then you're in a bit of a problem in AE.
it's just not set up for such rendering logic.
not impossible, but highly inefficient in the AE rendering pipeline.
there is a lot more to al of the above, but i hope this gave you a clearer picture of how things are in AE.

Masked pre comp of clip not showing clip motion within the mask please help

Hi there,
I'm trying to create a phenakistoscope Phenakistoscope - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia out of a motion picture of a dancer.
I've transformed the clip of the dancer and precomposed it and then masked and animated the rotation of the pre comp in a new composition. I then duplicated the now animated pre comp 20 times offsetting each one, a frame later than the last to create the wheel effect with trailing frames.
The animation of the mask and offset is working fine, however the footage in the clip is not playing in the masked composition.
please help, here is the project file. Dropbox - caropheankistope.aep
RAW FOOTAGE SAMPLE Dropbox - carolina base_raw sample.mov
NON WORKING COMP SAMPLE OUTPUT Dropbox - carolina base_sample.mov
Thanks
adam

I'm replying to your question on my phone so I can't look at your project but I did look at your video.
Here is what I would do to troubleshoot the project. First run a RAM preview of the pre-composed and masked wedge comp. If that plays back correctly then everything else should work unless you have applied some kind of time effect to the duplicated layers. If that doesn't work then show us a screenshot of that pre-comp with all of the properties of the movie layer revealed (Press that u key twice).
If you have not sorted this out by the time I get back the office I will try and take a look at your project.

Simple Mask Effect not working in Flash 8 Pro

I recently updated to Flash 8 pro.I'm having a wiered
problem.First I was having problem applying masking.I applied a
masking effect in a movie clip and when view the movie instead of
showing the effect it shows my masking shape that is a
rectangle.When i move the play head in the movie it shows me the
effect, im trying to achieve but when I hit ctrl+enter to test the
movie, it does not work.Then another thing was I tried to apply a
Fade in effect and even that does not work.Any suggestion would be
appreciated.As im having these problems in the player, so I assume
there is something wrong with the player.I have Flash Player 9
installed.I unistalled and re installed a new copy,Still did'nt
help. I am

Hi,
Are you sure that you set your Mask layer to a Mask? Double
click the icon int he right of the Layer name and set the Layer
type to a mask.
And regarding the Fade, I guess you may miss some thing, let
me know the steps you have done to create your Fade effect?
hope this helps

How to copy a black and white layer to the mask of another layer.....

Earlier I asked, "How?"
Got a reply, but the solution didn't work in PSE 10.
After trial and error, I figured it out.
When dealing with abstract art or even hair, it is too time consuming to make a
mask pixel by pixel.
Load the image you want to mask into a new layer and convert it to black and white. You might need to
adjust contrast/brightness to maximize the effect..
Using the Magic Wand tool, click on the WHITE area of the image.
Click Edit/Copy.
Click on the layer you want the mask copied to.
Next, click on "Add new layer mask" button on the bottom of the layers panel.
Your mask should appear and is now ready for a touching up!.

What’s the correct way to proceed?
Joke?
In Photoshop there are often more ways than one to achieve a task and none of them need be considered »wrong« as long as the result fits the intention, so »the correct way« seems to be problematic terminology.
Anyway, one can use a Layer set to Blend Mode Color and paint on that with whatever colors.
Or one can use Solid Color Layers set to Blend Mode Color.
Or Hue/Saturation Layers …
To edit contrast if necessary Curves or Levels Adjustment Layers can be employed.
You could also have googled »photoshop colorize black and white« …

How can I sync up my clip in Premiere Pro with the After Effects Comp I replace it with? How do I link them?

I am having some issues seeing a tracked mask work correctly in Premiere Pro. I clicked on my clip in my Premiere pro project and hit "replace with after effects comp". After correctly masking out everything in AE and tracking it to perfection, I clicked save and went back to my Premiere project. However when I view the new "linked" clip in my project it has dropped frames. The mask seems to track correctly but the dropped frames are an issue. Does anyone know how I could fix this?
Thanks,
Ajnies

When I return to the linked clip in my Premiere project, it does not contain every single frame of the original after it has been replaced by the AE comp. It skips about every other frame. I am doing a stop motion animation so this is highly noticeable.

In RGB mode, why does pasting 50% gray into a layer mask actually put K 59% in the mask?

Create a new (small) document in RBG mode, 8 bit, transparent background.
Fill the resulting Layer 1 with 50% gray, 100% opacity. The eyedropper reports RGB=(128,128,128).
Copy the layer to the clipboard.
Create a new Layer 2. Fill it with Green #00ff00 (the contents don't actually matter here).
Add a layer mask to Layer 2.
Bring that mask up for editing.
Paste in the contents of the clipboard. The eyedropper reports the contents of the mask as K 59%.
I was expecting 50% gray (or K 50%). Why did I get K 59%?
Addenda:
I'm using CS3 on a Mac. I haven't had a chance to see if the same thing happens with more current versions of PS.
Apply the layer mask in Layer 2. Extract the transparency to a new layer. The eyedropper gives the RGB of the
new layer as (106,106,106), with variations pixel by pixel of plus/minus 1.
Take the Difference between that new layer and Layer 1; the eyedropper gives the RGB of the difference as (22,22,22),
again with variations of plus/minus 1.
Paste the contents of the clipboard into a new layer. The eyedropper gives the RGB contents of that new
layer as (128,128,128), both without and with a Black & White adjustment applied.
Create a new layer, add a layer mask, fill the mask with 50% gray. The eyedropper gives the contents of
the new mask as (128,128,128) (now as expected).
The 50% gray used above is just for simplicity. I'm actually interested in inserting a complicated RGB
image containing only shades of gray into the layer mask. This example indicates that pasting won't
preserve the gray levels. Indeed, when I replace the initial 50% gray with a Black to White gradient,
the differences between the initial gradient and the one in the mask range roughly quadratically from 0 at 0,
22 at 128, and 0 at 255.

Thanks. First doing Edit > Color Settings, Gray > Gray Gamma 2.2 resulted in putting 50% gray in the layer mask.
Does changing the Gray setting have any effect on channel calculations, via Image > Calculations?
Or what you get from
Image > Apply Image, Channel > Transparency ?
I don't see "sGray" listed among the options for Gray in the Color Settings. Is it somewhere else?

Masking Effects

Hi. Is it possible to use the solarize effect on an object within a video without affecting the background? Basically i want to have a person covered with the solarize effect and the background to be unaffected. Is this even possible? I'd much appreciate some feedback on this query.
[Please choose only a short description for the thread title.]
Message was edited by: Jim Simon

First of all, it is easier in After Effects. That said .....
Possible? Yes. Using masks.
Creating the masks? That can be difficult.
If the person stands out significantly from the background in a way that you can create a mask based on a combination of garbage matte and Luma values, you might be able to use levels to create a black forground and a white background, or the other way around. Then use that as a track matte.
But it isn't easy and most video isn't shot in a way that will work for you.
Most people would say to rotoscope the person away from the background, frame by frame. A very time consuming process.
Depending on what you really want to do, you might be able to apply a collection of masks and feather them so that they cover the person in a rather general way, approximately covering them.

Timing the mask effect

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