Creating Images for Matte Keys

Although this book is focused on Premiere, I find that you really need an arsenal of tools in order to use any application to its fullest. This goes for video-editing programs as well. I think Photoshop is a very underrated tool for video editors. There are so many things you can use it for to improve your video projects, including touching up frames that have dirt marks or scratches, creating professional-looking graphics and titles, and of course, creating images for matte keys.

This is a brief description of how to create a graphic (in Photoshop or any paint program) that can be used in Premiere as a matte key:

  1. Create a new graphic (preferably one that is the same size as your video image). If you are working with a final output size of 720 x 486, make your graphic 720 pixels wide by 486 pixels high. Of course, this is only a general rule. The size can vary under different circumstances.

  2. Make sure the background of your image is entirely white.

  3. Select one of the painting tools (paintbrush, airbrush, and so on), and apply black to the areas you want to make transparent.

  4. Save the image in one of the file formats listed after this list.

  5. Import the file into Premiere by selecting File > Import.

  6. Select File from the pop-up menu.

  7. Find and select the file you just created.

  8. Click Open.

note

You can also choose to work with a black background and paint with white.


Premiere can import any of the following still graphic formats:

  • Adobe Illustrator (.AI)

  • Adobe Photoshop (.PSD)

  • Graphics interchange format (.GIF)

  • Joint Photographic Experts Group, or JPEG (.JPG)

  • Macintosh Picture (.PICT)

  • Targa (.TGA)

  • Tag image file format (.TIFF)

Windows versions can also import the following:

  • PCX (.PCX)

  • Windows bitmap (.BMP)



Premiere 6. 5 Fundamentals
Premiere 6.5 Fundamentals
ISBN: B000H2MVO4
EAN: N/A
Year: 2006
Pages: 219

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