You need to know these 4 video masking techniques

Want to learn how to mask your video? YouTube channel Orange83 has 4 great masking techniques that will help you learn the basics of video masking.

What is masking? Masking is a tool in post that allows you to target effects to a specific area or section of your video clip. It also allows you to cut out something or even place something on top of your video. That means, if you want to combine two clips into one, you can. You just have to mask the videos.

Here are 4 techniques you should try to do right now in Premiere Pro, or any software that supports video masking:

Removing unwanted objects

The first technique Orange83 suggests to try is removing unwanted objects in your videos. Sounds hard right? Don’t worry. It’s not that difficult. The video uses a clip of a hawk that has some unwanted rips on the bottom of the clip. To mask them, you have to duplicate the layer, select it, go to the Effects Control Panel, and select the Pen tool in the Opacity section. From there, you draw around an area you can use to mask the unwanted object. After finishing the drawing, adjust the position so it will cover the part you want covered and increase the mask feather to make it blend into the clip better.

Targeting or isolating effect to a portion of a clip

Here, we are applying a mask to a specific part of a video, like a face for instance. If you want to color correct and brighten a subject’s face, first color correct the image to the point where you are happy with your subject’s face. Then, go to the pen tool under the Lumetri Color section, not Opacity. Draw around the face and adjust the feather to have it blend in more smoothly.

You also have to animate the mask to follow the model’s face frame by frame. You can do that by clicking the play icon in the Mask Path section.

Combining clips with masking

This technique can be very creative. You essentially can combine different clips together to make one. For instance, you can change the horizon of a clip. To do that, have both clips stacked on top of each other. Go to the Opacity section, select the Pen tool and draw the mask of the horizon. Once that is done, you need to invert the clip to see the clip below. From there, you lower the Feathering to zero and adjust the position of the back clip accordingly to the horizon.

Transitioning with masking

If you want two clips to transition into each other, you can create neat effects with masking. One example of using masking for transitions is to have a subject move across a clip, bringing a new scene along behind it. To do this, find the first frame where the background becomes visible behind your subject. Select the Pen tool in the Opacity section and draw around the part that is visible. You will have adjust the mask for every frame until the person walks off camera. You should also feather the mask so it all looks blended together. After that, you just have to have to add the clip you want to transition to below the original clip.

These 4 video masking techniques will teach you the basics of masking video. Try them out whenever you have the opportunity.