Image Matte Keys for Cookie-Cutter Effects

Because television is filled with so many complex images and effects these days, you might wonder how some of them are created. The image matte key effect allows you to use a still image to cut out any custom shape you design and fill it with video (see Figure 7.12). Therefore, you can design a still black-and-white graphic (in any paint program) and use that shape to define the image's borders. No more plain, rectangular Picture-in-Picture windows. Black-and-white images work the best for clean, crisp-edged cuts. You can also use any shades of a grayscale image for matte keys. This results in shadow- or blend-style effects. Gradients in your still image (fades from black to white) produce a soft-edge shadow effect. Image matte keys work with layers.

Figure 7.12. Create custom matte keys using any grayscale image.

To use the image matte key effect, do the following:

1. Edit your background video clip onto any video track.

2. Edit your foreground video clip onto the video track directly above the first clip.

3. Click the upper clip to select it.

4. Click Setup next to Transparency in the Effect Controls window.

or

4. Select Clip > Video Options. Select Transparency from the pop-up menu, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-G (Windows) or Command-G (Macintosh). The Transparency Settings window appears.

5. Select Image Matte from the Key Type pull-down menu.

6. Click the page peel icon to view the keyed image, as shown in Figure 7.13.

   Figure 7.13. The page peel icon shows how an effect looks without leaving the Transparency Settings window.

   

7. Click OK.

By default, Premiere uses the white portion of the matte graphic to display the selected clip and drops out the rest of the image indicated by the black portions of the still graphic. If you're not sure which area will remain, and the matte key drops out the portion of the clip you wanted to keep, check the Reverse Key check box in the Transparency Settings window to get the desired results, as shown in Figure 7.14.

Figure 7.14. The Reverse Key check box drops the opposite of the normal default key value.