Track Matte Liquid 7.2

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Godfrey
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:56 pm

Track Matte Liquid 7.2

Post by Godfrey »

Have tried to get the video background in the track matte to run in colour under the title but it always appears in black and white. Is that because the lettering is white and should be transparent? if so how?

Any help appreciated
Mike Shaw

Re: Track Matte Liquid 7.2

Post by Mike Shaw »

Not quite sure what you're trying to do, but let me explain how it works, which may help.

The matte track which I think you're referring to is the one you can open underneath a 'normal' track, and is indicated by a greenish hue. This track is effectively like an alpha channel for the track above - in other words it responds to black and white - or luma - only: imagine whatever 'colour' image you place on that track as being converted to black and white.

The thing about it is that what is white on the matte track 'allows through' what is on the track above (i.e. the track it is attached to), and what is black on the matte track allows the track(s) below to be seen.

So, let us say you have a fire video on the main track, the word Fire, in bold white (on black) on its matte track, and a video of say a field on the track underneath those. What you'd see is the bold word 'Fire' with flames filling the letters (the white shows through what is on the track above it), and that word Fire overlaying the video of the field.

Not sure whether that would answer your question - but I hope it helps you to resolve it !!

It is an extremely powerful feature of Liquid, which I don't think other editors have (????). They may allow an alpha channel as part of a still or video on a timeline track, but think the ability to add an alpha channel at will is unique at this level of editor. But I don't know...

There is actually a filter called 'Track Matte' as well, but I have never investigated what that does ... now my curiosity has been aroused and I must go find it and check it out! One of the things I periodically work on, is trying to use that matte track to generate and use a 'travelling matte' ... one can have video on the matte track - and so converting a required video to black and white and then isolating the required area for the matteing (blacking out the rest) should do it ... sounds easy, but I haven't yet cracked doing it to my satisfaction.

One trick is that the track matte image can be inverted - so in the 'Fire' example, with 'Fire' in black on a white background, you'd see the field video (from the track below) through the letters of the word 'Fire, overlaying the video of the fire. Sounds complicated (harder to explain than to see and do) - but if you try it out, you'll see how it works.

Fun to play with!!
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