How to remove video background with AE?

RinSaber · Post by **RinSaber** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:13 pm

Anyone knows how to remove a video background with AE?
I have no clue how?
Note: I have read most of these topics...I'm still a bit confused...

Autraya · Post by **Autraya** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:36 pm

masking...
look for one of your tools that looks like a fountain pen and draw shapes (or the outline of an anime character/object) with it... (I'd suggest zooming in to 200-300% to help you)

LivingFlame · Post by **LivingFlame** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:13 pm

It's Going to Be All Write: An AMVer's Guide to the Pen Tool

That guide is intended to be for Photoshop's pen tool, but AE's pen tool is nearly identical. (There are a few small discrepancies, but I'm sure you can figure your way past them.)

RinSaber · Post by **RinSaber** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:43 pm

The thing is. What do I do after I outline it?

LivingFlame · Post by **LivingFlame** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:07 pm

Once you close the outline, everything outside the outline should disappear. (i.e. the area outside the mask becomes an alpha channel so that you see everything below that layer.)

So just drop your new background behind it. And for the record, if the character moves, you'll have to mask every frame. You probably already realize that, though.

Autraya · Post by **Autraya** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:16 pm

RinSaber wrote:The thing is. What do I do after I outline it?

you need to close the circuit ie, connect the last dot to the first dot to create a shape, then everything outside will disapear, if it's not working change the mask type to "subtract"

jenilo · Post by **jenilo** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:07 pm

Thanks buddy asking for this question, i was also searching for it.

Deci · Post by **Deci** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:59 am

I need help figuring out what I am doing wrong with masking out background. The clip I'm editing has a moving object and I've already selected the object in every frame with the pen tool. I also check to make sure I closed the all the circuit. However, the did nothing to matte out the background. Also, the mask mode option appears to be missing from that particular mask. I know I probably did something really stupid and its more than likely a simple fix but I am still learning the ropes for AE and I'm all out of solutions. If anyone can shed some light over this issue please help me out.

DriftRoot · Post by **DriftRoot** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 11:09 am

Is there only one layer in the composition you're working in? Is your footage only in the composition ONCE? If you have the masked footage on a layer that's directly above another layer that contains identical footage (albeit unmasked), then your mask is not going to show up like you want it to. When the mask on the upper layer is completed, there will be no black visible because the second layer of footage is filling in the area that would otherwise be black/hidden. You'll still see the outlines of the mask if you have it selected, but otherwise it will seem like it's not actually masking anything.

If you don't have the above situation, then can you post a screenshot of your work area with the lines of the mask visible?

And if you need help with the pen tool in AE, I can give you some directions. It's different enough from Photoshop (not to mention other Adobe programs) that figuring out its quirks can be a pain in the butt if you're not really comfortable with it to begin with.

Deci · Post by **Deci** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:10 am

Thanks bunch DriftRoot I played around with the layers a bit more after reading your post and discovered the footage weren't aligned correctly. I originally assumed both layers were on top of each other since I reseted all transform values to default but I guess that wasn't the case. I don't understand why resetting all motion values to default didn't fix this problem in the first place?

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How to remove video background with AE?

How to remove video background with AE?

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