Chapter3.Selections: The Key to Compositing

Chapter 3. Selections: The Key to Compositing

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in And stops my mind from wandering Where it will go.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

A particle physicist works with atoms, a baker and a banker both work with dough, and a compositor works with selectionslots and lots of selections.

If compositing were simply a question of taking pristine, perfect foreground source A and overlaying it onto perfectly matching background plate B, there wouldn't even be a compositor in the effects process; an editor could accomplish the job before lunchtime.

Compositors break images apart and reassemble them, all in motion. Often, it is one element, one frame, or one area of a shot that needs special attention. By the clever use of selections, a compositor can save fellow artists and camera operators, taking control of whatever part of the source footage is necessary.

In this chapter, we'll look at the foundation techniques that define how a layer merges with those behind it. Then Section II, "Effects Compositing Essentials," will focus on particular ways to refine selections, creating high-contrast mattes, and pulling keys from blue-screen footage.