Adv Post Week 5 Notes

Review of Masks
Masks are best worked with in Layer window
-Composition/New Comp
-NTSC/DV, 5:00 duration
-Layer/New/Solid
-Doubleclick the Solid: this opens the layer window.
-Why is Layer window Best?
-This way we don't accidentally re-position or rotate or scale
our layer.
-All we want to do is create Mask Shape keyframes.

The rules of masks & mask animation
-mask keyframe: is the diamond-shaped thingy in the timeline
-mask point: is the dot that the curved line connects.
-handles are the lines that come off of curved mask points.
-mask point 1 on this mask keyframe stays consistent with point 1
on next mask keyframe.
-Never remove (as in delete) mask points over time. 

You can add them though.
-Removing mask points later in timeline removes them from
earlier mask shapes as well. Example: instead of deleting
mask points from an ear you don't see anymore, smush the
mask points against the side of her face.
-Avoid using too many points. Create shapes with as few mask
points as possible. Fewer points=fewer chances of error.

Pen Tool Actions
-Clicking creates a sharp mask point
-Click-dragging creates a rounded mask point
-You can change a rounded point to a sharp
one by using the Convert tool <. 

-This lives at the basement of the Mask Drawing Pen. 

On your New Solid, create 4 mask path keyframes. 

-Square to a triangle to a circle to marshmallow 

Creating the square:

-Dbl-click solid to open in layer window 

-Click to start the square, move mouse (not clicking) to Right 

hold shift and click again, move down (not clicking) 

hold shift and click, move Left (not clicking) 

shift and click, 

-Close the shape by going back to the 1st point we made. 

This gives you a circle next to your pen tool. 

Click to close when you see that circle. 

-Hit M for Mask Path. 

Hit stopwatch to enable animation on Mask Path Property. 

-Under Layer window, turn off Render box. 

This way you see your whole layer, not just the part you masked off. 

Creating the triangle: 

-Go to time 1:00 

-Select the top 2 mask points. 

Click the first, hold shift to select the second with it. 

Release shift. 

-Double-click them to get a Transform box 

Creating the circle:

-Go to time 2:00 

-Select the 1st keyframe Copy, Paste 

-Go to Convert Tool, located under Pen. (or hit G till you get it) 

Convert tool is only for changing the nature of a mask point.

Continue moving the handles with your Black Arrow tool.

Creating the marshmallow:

-Go to time 3:00, with Black Arrow deselect all your points. 

And then click on one. 

-Select the Convert tool. 

Use it to break the handle of your Mask Points 

Tools: Pen tool for everything. 

Pen on its own -creates new points when clicked on a path. 

Pen when clicked on a point -Deletes points (yikes!) . 

DON'T DELETE POINTS. 

Pen+Apple: changes it to Black Arrow tool. 

use this to move mask points and their handles, 

as well as to select points (shift click to select more than one or draw-a-box) 

Pen+Option: changes it to Convert tool. 

use this to change a sharp point to a rounded one, 

or to change the nature of a rounded one 

so that each handle can move a different way. 

Rotoscoping basics. 

1. Visually analyze your footage. 

-To start: analyze your footage. 

With your eyes. The ones in your head. 

-Seeing where I should start roto. 

   -Probably not 1st or Last frame. 

   -Pick a frame where all her bodyparts 

   that will ever be roto'd are visible. 

2. Enhance your footage, if needed. 

-Apply color-correction effects so you see your actor more clearly. 

   -You can Remove these after you're done roto-ing. 

IF you apply effects to enhance your footage: 

-Apply brightness/contrast, curves, levels and/or hue/saturation 

to your footage layer in order to see the edges of your actor better.

-Select your Layer & go to Layer/Precompose. 

-Choose "Move All attributes to new comp" 

-Draw your masks on this new layer. 

3. Draw your first frame. 

-Go to Layer view, make sure "View: Masks" is chosen from pulldown. 

turn off "Render" checkbox, so you can see what you're masking. 

-Carefully draw your first mask. 

Make sure it's closed, by re-clicking your first point 

with your pen tool after the shape is made. 

This gives your pen tool a little circle by it, 

so you can close your mask. 

4. Make sure the first frame is perfect. 

-Go to the Composition view by hitting the \ key 

that's below the Delete key on the keyboard. 

-Turn off the Mask View button at the bottom 

of the Comp window. it's to the left of the timecode. 

5.Start animating, by keyframing 10 frames at a time. 

-At the frame where you started the animation, 

keyframe the Mask Path. (turn on stopwatches in timeline) 

-If you don't see mask Path property hit M on keyboard. 

-Hit Shift Pg Dn to go fwd 10 frames. 

-Use the black arrow tool to draw a box around your mask shapes. 

And move it over. 

-Use your black arrow to draw a box around areas of mask points, 

double-click one of those points and you get your transform box. 

-Move areas of points as much as possible 

-To move them together, you can also use your arrow keys on the keyboard. 

Adding Shift to an arrow key moves 10 pixels at a time. 

-Zooming in more means smaller "pixel" movement when using arrow keys. 

6. After you've done 10 frames at a time, do 4 frames at a time. 

    Then 2 frames. Then 1 frame. 

-If you like the way AE did your inbetweens, click the DIP between the 2 arrows 

(in the "sound" column of timeline) to add a keyframe at the current value. 

-otherwise, changing the mask shape will automatically make a new 

Mask Path keyframe 

After you've done 10 frames at a time, do 4 frames at a time. 

Then 2 frames. Then 1 frame. Why this funky way of working?

1) it's more accurate than going frame by frame
2) it's faster.

Your Homework:
Rotoscope 30 frames. My footage or yours. as long as it's big enough and Live-Action.

If using my footage: 

-all of it 90% perfect=A
-head and neck 95% perfect=A
-Also make a rough shape around her hair.
we'll use that for color- keying in class.