50 point garbage matte with bezier curves for Final Cut
50 Point Bezier Matte is a filter for Final Cut Pro (and Final Cut Express) that lets you create a garbage matte with up to 50 points. Unlike the 4 and 8 point garbage matte filters that come with Final Cut Pro, 50 Point Bezier Matte lets you create curves between the points instead of straight lines. This allows you to easily create a mask to extract almost any element you need.
Each point can be turned on and off independently, so you only have to position the points you need, and the points can be animated using keyframes, allowing you to extract a moving object for instance.
Since I had to take the original site off .Mac I've decided to release the source under the MIT licence.
@REAL6 confirmed this still works fine in FCP7. Please let me know if you've used this in later versions.
A Bezier Curve is a line drawn between two points that is bent according to two control points. If you've ever used vector graphics applications such as Illustrator, Freehand or Flash you will already be familiar with the way the control points alter the shape of the curve.
The first step is, of course, to select a clip on the timeline and apply the filter, by selecting Video Filters > Tom's Filters > 50 Point Bezier Matte from the Effects menu.
Next we need to open the clip in the Viewer, either by double clicking it, or dragging it from the timeline to the Viewer window (you will need to drag if you are applying the filter to nested clips, since double clicking will open the nested clip's timeline).
By clicking on the Filters tab we can start to set the point positions. Each point defaults to the center of the screen, and initially only 2 points are active. Points 1 and 2 can't be turned off. More points can be activated by clicking on the 'activate' check box for a particular point.
Each point has two Bezier control points associated with it. The Bezier Control In point affects the line coming from the previous point, and the Bezier Control Out point affects the line going to the next point. Bezier control point positions are set relative to the yellow Bezier Target in the middle of the frame. When setting the control points, start close to the target to begin, and drag the point around to get used to how this works. Don't just click where you want the control point to be or you'll end up in a mess.
These controls turn on and off the various GUI elements of the filter. None of these will be visible on rendered material, which will just show the mask. Labels are only visible during previewing. You can enter a name for the path and show it on screen to help identify multiple paths. You can also change the color of the labels.
Alpha Settings affect weather the mask will reveal an area or cut a hole, weather the existing alpha will be preserved, and the softness of the alpha channel.
Curve Resolution is the number of steps between each point. Higher is not necessarily better. 10 - 20 is a good range.
The controls for each point are the same, and function as described above. The smooth option automatically calculates the Bezier Control In point to create symmetrical curves. Points 1 and 2 are always active. All points default to the center of the frame.
Points 3 to 50 must be turned on using the Activate checkbox before they can be set.
Point Positioning: If you apply the 50 Point Bezier Matte to a clip that has had adjustments made under the Motion tab (rotation, positioning, scaling etc) you will have dificulty positioning the points. To get around this problem, select the clip on the timeline and from the Sequence menu select 'Nest Item(s)...'. Enter a name for the new sequence and click OK. Now apply the 50 Point Bezier Matte to the nested clip which will be on the timeline in place of the original clip. To edit the filter's controls drag the nested clip to the Viewer window. To edit the motion effects open the nested clip's timeline by double clicking it.
Copyright (C) 2003 Tom Henderson
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