Please Use the Matte

I created a new Macro for Fusion that allows you to tie “bitmap masks,” or mattes, into your script visually rather than with the questionable (and doomed) method that Fusion currently employs.

Download useMatte v1.4 (2kb RAR file)

It works very simply — it has two inputs, one for the image and one for the matte you wish to assign to that image. Check Mult if you want to multiply your image by your new matte (for additive compositing), or uncheck it for subtractive. Float folk check Clamp to ensure that no out-of-range values get used in the matte. The only other control is a channel pop-up, for selecting which channel to use as the matte.

ProLost — Teaching the World How to Use Fusion Wrong™.

Cinefex Weekly Update is Cool

Why would you not subscribe to this? It is the bomb. It is so the bomb that it is actually da bomb. That’s right, it’s been upgraded from “the” to “da” status.

Cinefex Weekly Update

Cinefex is about to publish their 100th issue. It’s an amazing publication that I’ve enjoyed since I was way to young to imagine I might someday be in it! The Weekly Update is free and, rumor has it, comes out once a week.

HD in AE

The thrills never end — today’s offering is a couple of additions to your interpretation rules.txt file in After Effects to support Varicam and Sony HDV footge at their native frame dimensions.

Panasonic Varicam footage is actually stored on tape at 960x720 with a 1.33:1 pixel aspect ratio. Final Cut Pro HD therefore works at this reolution when editing native Varicam. If you want to use this material in AE, the following two lines will auto-identify the footage and set it to the correct pixel aspect:

# Varicam exported from FCP is 960x720 

960, 720, *, *, * = 1280/960/”Varicam”, *, *, *

The Sony HDV 1080 spec is 1440x1080 with that same 1.33:1 pixel aspect. The following two lines interpret this correctly and assume the footage is interlaced:

# Sony HDV is 1440x1080

1440, 1080, *, *, * = 1280/960/”Sony HDV”, U, *, *

I don’t have an HDV cam, but I played around with some samples by converting them to Quicktime using MPEG Streamclip. Thanks to Tim Sassoon for the tip on that one.