Effects and transitions

Non Red Key effect

The Non Red Key effect creates transparency from green or blue backgrounds. This key is similar to the Blue Screen Key effect, but it also lets you blend two clips. In addition, the Non Red Key effect helps reduce fringing around the edges of nontransparent objects. Use the Non Red Key effect to key out green screens when you need to control blending, or when the Blue Screen Key effect doesn’t produce satisfactory results.

The following Non Red Key effect settings are adjusted in the Effect Controls panel:

Threshold Sets the levels of blue or green that determine transparent areas in the clip. Dragging the Threshold slider to the left increases the amount of transparency. Use the Mask Only option to view the black (transparent) areas as you move the Threshold slider.

Cutoff Sets the opacity of nontransparent areas specified by the Threshold slider. Higher values increase transparency. Drag to the right until the opaque area reaches a satisfactory level.

Defringing Removes residual green or blue screen color from the edges of the opaque areas of a clip. Choose None to disable defringing. Choose Green or Blue to remove a residual edge from green-screen or blue-screen footage, respectively.

Smoothing Specifies the amount of anti-aliasing (softening) that Premiere Pro applies to the boundary between transparent and opaque regions. Choose None to produce sharp edges, with no anti-aliasing. This option is useful when you want to preserve sharp lines, such as those in titles. Choose Low or High to produce different amounts of smoothing.

Mask Only Displays only the clip’s alpha channel. Black represents transparent areas, white represents opaque areas, and gray represents partially transparent areas.

RGB Difference Key effect (Windows only)

The RGB Difference Key effect is a simpler version of the Chroma Key effect. It lets you select a range for the target color, but you cannot blend the image or adjust transparency in grays. Use the RGB Difference Key effect for a scene that is brightly lit and contains no shadows, or for rough cuts that don’t require fine adjustments.

Note: The Difference Matte effect uses a matte to define the alpha channel much as the RGB Difference Key effect uses a color.

The following RGB Difference Key effect settings are adjusted in the Effect Controls panel:

Color Specifies the color in the video that will be made transparent by the mask.

Similarity Broadens or reduces the range of the target color that will be made transparent. Higher values increase the range.

Smoothing Specifies the amount of anti-aliasing (softening) that Premiere Pro applies to the boundary between transparent and opaque regions. Choose None to produce sharp edges, with no anti-aliasing. This option is useful when you want to preserve sharp lines, such as those in titles. Choose Low or High to produce different amounts of smoothing.

Mask Only Displays only the clip’s alpha channel. Black represents transparent areas, white represents opaque areas, and gray represents partially transparent areas.

Drop Shadow Adds a 50% gray, 50% opaque shadow offset 4 pixels down and to the right from the opaque areas of the original clip image. This option works best with simple graphics such as titles.

Last updated 1/16/2012

Effects and transitions

Remove Matte effect

The Remove Matte effect removes color fringes from clips that are premultiplied with a color. It is useful when combining alpha channels with fill textures from separate files. If you import footage with a premultiplied alpha channel, or if you create alpha channels with After Effects, you may need to remove halos from an image. Halos are caused by a large contrast between the image's color and the background, or matte, color. Removing or changing the color of the matte can remove the halos.

Use Background Color to specify the new background color when you want to change the color of a matte.

Remove a black or white matte

If you imported a clip that contains a solid black or white matte that’s premultiplied (merged into the RGB channels instead of stored in the alpha channel), you can remove the black or white background.

1In a Timeline panel, select the clip containing the matte you want to remove.

2In the Effects panel, click the triangle to expand the Video Effects bin and then click the triangle to expand the Keying bin.

3Drag the Remove Matte effect to the clip containing the matte.

4(Optional) If you’re animating the Remove Matte effect over time, make sure that the current-time indicator is in the position you want. Click the Toggle Animation icon next to the Matte Type setting.

5Choose either White or Black for the Matte Type setting.

6(Optional) If you’re animating the Remote Matte effect, move the current-time indicator either in the Effect Controls panel or a Timeline panel and then change the Matte Type setting in the Effect Controls panel.

A new keyframe appears in the Effect Controls timeline when you move the handles in the Program Monitor or change the settings in the Effect Controls panel. You can also adjust the interpolation between keyframes by editing the keyframe graph. Repeat this step as needed.

More Help topics

“Modify keyframe values” on page 420

Track Matte Key effect

Eran Stern shows you how to use the track matte effect in this video tutorial.

Here's a link to a tutorial on www.premierepro.net that shows advanced color grading in Premiere Pro CS5.5 using the Track Matte Key with the Titler.

Here’s a video tutorial for those who want to use Track Matte Key Effect in premiere Pro CS5.

Steve Muratore provides a video tutorial that shows how to use the Premiere Pro Track Matte Key effect and Photoshop to create picture frame around video.

Jeff Schell provides a video tutorial that demonstrates the use of the Track Matte Key effect to highlight a region of a video on the Digital Producer Magazine website.

The Track Matte Key effect creates transparent areas in a clip that correspond to the luminance levels of another clip. Transparent areas reveal the image produced by clips in lower tracks. Exclude the matte clip from the output by selecting the clip and choosing Clip > Enable.

You can use the Track Matte Key effect to blur and obscure faces, license plate numbers, or other identifying features. Television programs use this effect to protect the identities of their subjects. Jeff Schell provides a video tutorial that demonstrates this use of the Track Matte Key effects on the Digital Media Net website.

Last updated 1/16/2012

Effects and transitions

Move or change the transparent area with Track Matte Key

The Track Matte Key reveals one clip (background clip) through another (superimposed clip), using a third file as a matte that creates transparent areas in the superimposed clip. This effect requires two clips and a matte, each placed on its own track. White areas in the matte are opaque in the superimposed clip, preventing underlying clips from showing through. Black areas in the matte are transparent, and gray areas are partially transparent.

A matte containing motion is called a traveling matte or moving matte. This matte consists of either motion footage, such as a green-screen silhouette, or a still image matte that has been animated. You can animate a still by applying the Motion effect to the matte. If you animate a still image, consider making the matte frame size larger than the sequence frame size so that the edges of the matte don’t come into view when you animate the matte.

Because you can use a video clip as a matte in the Track Matte Key, the matte can change over time.

You can create mattes in various ways:

•Use the Title panel to create text or shapes (grayscale only), save the title, and then import the file as your matte.

•Apply the Chroma, RGB Difference, Difference Matte, Blue Screen, or Non Red Key to any clip and then select the Mask Only option.

•Use Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop to create a grayscale image and import it into Premiere Pro.

1Add the background clip to a track in a Timeline panel.

2Add the clip you want to superimpose to any track higher than the track containing the background clip. This is the clip revealed by the track matte.

(Optional) If the superimposed clip is a still image, do one of the following:

•Add an opacity key to the superimposed image,

•Insert the still image into another sequence, and superimpose the sequence containing the still image over the track containing the background clip.

3 Add the track matte clip to a third track above the tracks with the background and superimposed clips.

If you need to add a new track to the sequence, drag the track matte clip to the empty area above the highest video track in a Timeline panel. A new track is created automatically.

4In the Effects panel, click the triangle to expand the Video Effects bin and then click the triangle to expand the Keying bin.

5Drag the Track Matte Key to the superimposed clip.

6In the Effect Controls panel, click the triangle next to the Track Matte Key name to expand its settings.

7Click the Matte setting menu with the down-pointing triangle and choose the video track containing the track matte clip.

8(Optional) If you’re animating the Track Matte Key over time, make sure that the current-time indicator is in the position you want. Click the Toggle Animation icons of the settings you want to adjust.

9Click the Composite Using menu and choose one of the following:

Matte Alpha Composites using the track matte clip’s alpha channel values.

Last updated 1/16/2012