Most editing software
can load a black & white (or grayscale) still-image graphic as a matte to show
another clip within a shape. But at that point, there is not much more you can
do with the matte. To make even a slight adjustment to its edge, position, shape,
etc. you typically need to return to a graphics program and attempt changes by
trial and error -- wasting valuable time.
With SpiceMaster,
you can avoid that tedium. Load the matte and then easily fine-tune it. Reposition
or re-scale the matte on the fly, for example, perhaps add a shadow, glow or softness
to the matte's edge. You can even organically animate the edge, if desired. Virtually
all effect enhancements in SpiceMaster are available to you.
Note that you can also use this feature to add creative, organic edges (fixed
or animated) to frame still-photo compositions or picture montages. Or fly and
zoom mattes from 0% to full-screen to create custom iris transitions of logos
or thematic shapes.
TUTORIAL
1. Apply the SpiceMaster transition between
two overlapping clips in your timeline. Or apply the SpiceMaster as effect to the TOP clip of the
matte segment. If
you applied the SpiceMaster as effect, be sure to also activate the alpha
channel key in the TOP clip, if required by your editing software.
2. Click Load Preset button in SpiceMaster, then choose the Basic Setup -- Matte file from the Saved Settings folder.
3. Choose
a matte, which can be any spice file (especially those of iris-like design)
or a custom still-image file. To
choose an iris-like spice file, for example, click the Choose
Spice File button, then select a spice from any of the following folders
of the Library: OrganicFX\Bursts, OrganicFX\HotIrises, OrganicFX\Plasmas (some), or Spices\Irises. To choose
a custom matte file, Alt-click the Choose
Spice File button to see an Open dialog box. Choose the black & white
still-image graphic on your drive that you will use as a matte. It will then appear
in SpiceMaster, as shown below.
4. If you are using a spice file to form the matte, move the flat keyframe
line for Progress up or down in the Keyframes graph
until you have the matte you desire, as shown below. (For iris-like spices, this
will set the size of the iris opening.) If you are using a custom matte file, leave the Completion keyframe line at its default 50% level.
You are done,
unless you want to customize the effect further. To customize the matte's edge,
use any of the controls in the Edge or Depth panes. To soften the matte edge, for example, use the Softness sliders. To animate the matte edge, use the Texture section and activate its Motion slider. Dynamic borders, shadows/glows and bevels are also
available for mattes -- try the various presets provided
in the FX folder icon at the right edge of each effect section.
Tips
• To reposition or scale the matte, drag the frame outline or center
dot in the SpiceMaster preview (or adjust the Matte sliders in the PIP+ pane).
• To reposition or scale the image within the matte
opening, select Choose > PIP (Move Within) at the top of the PIP+ pane, then drag the center
dot or surrounding frame outline in the SpiceMaster preview (or adjust the Image sliders in the PIP+ pane). This can be very handy
to keep a moving subject within the visible matte area.
• To change the opacity of the matte, drag the Opacity slider in the PIP+ pane as desired.
• To
keyframe any of the above adjustments, such as to put the matte in motion, first
turn on (click) the round stopwatch icon at the left of the relevant control (such
as Matte > Scale). The Keyframes graph for that control will
appear. Drag the blue vertical playback marker in the graph to the desired frame
for a keyframe, such as the first key (as shown below). Then do the desired adjustment
for the control, such as setting the Scale to 0%. Go to another frame (such as
the last frame), then set different values for the control. Repeat for as many
keyframes as desired.
• To
invert the matte, click the Invert button next
to the matte image.
• To
switch which clip appears within the matte in the SpiceMaster transition,
click the Switch Clips check box in the PIP+ pane.
• For best results, custom mattes should match the frame size of your
final output (such as 720x480 pixels for DV). The files can be in any of the following
file formats: BITMAP (.bmp), TIFF (.tif), PNG (.png), PICT (.pct), and TARGA (.tga).
• You can also use the alpha channel of a still-image
(such as title text) as a custom matte.
• To
create custom iris transitions with any iris-like matte, keyframe the Matte > Scale slider, such as from 0% to 200%.
This will zoom the matte shape to fill the screen, as shown below.
To zoom the
inside image with the matte, do the above keyframing, then in the PIP+ pane select Choose > PIP (Move Within) and keyframe
the Image > Scale slider identically to the Matte
> Scale slider.
More examples
   
SpiceMaster can add creative, organic edges to frame clips, whether video or still-photo
compositions or picture montages. A huge variety of edge treatments are possible
by experimenting with the Edge and Depth pane controls and presets, as shown above. Texture controls add the organic edge; turning on the Texture >
Motion slider animates the edge.
Another example of a zoom transition of a matte, using a Photoshop file of an
abstract brushed frame, with a white border added in SpiceMaster. Note how the
matte can zoom in off-center and flow with bezier control.
 View
movie at our web site
Enhance a ID logo matte with a border and shadow applied in SpiceMaster, then
scale the logo from full-size to a standard semi-transparent corner position.
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