From the course: After Effects Apprentice: 05 Creating Transparency

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Using alpha mattes

Using alpha mattes - After Effects Tutorial

From the course: After Effects Apprentice: 05 Creating Transparency

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Using alpha mattes

In this chapter we're going to play around with an alternate way of creating transparency, track mattes. I've gone head and closed all of my previous comps. I am going to open up a blank comp, 08a-Alpha Matte*starter. If you don't have the exercise files, just create a blank comp of your own, find a piece of footage, and find something with new interesting alpha like a piece of text. I am going to go down to my Sources folder. I want to pick a background layer such as this VirtualInsanity. I can drag it to my comp or I can use the shortcut, which is holding Command on Mac, Ctrl on Windows and typing forward slash. Then I am going to select a layer with an interesting alpha such as this piece of text Night Vision. Again Command or Ctrl+/ and there it is. A very common use of track mattes is to use one layer to fill the alpha of another layer. For that to happen the layer with the interesting alpha channel must be on top of the fill layer and you must have the Modes panel open. If you…

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