Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 1154)

Chapter 18 Compositing and Layering 367
II
Note: When the travel matte is on track V1, Final Cut Pro uses black as the default
background.
Using Travel Mattes to Hide or Reveal Parts of a Clip
Travel mattes are useful when you want to use one clip to selectively hide or reveal part
of another. For example:
 To show parts of a video layer selectively revealed by a round spotlight shape
 To partially reveal video images playing through a title or logo graphic
 To use an imported graphic to obscure, or mask, part of a layer you don’t want to show
Because travel mattes use information in one layer to affect another, if the alpha
channel, black, or white elements of that layer move, then the resulting matte also
moves. This movement can be a result of:
 Using a video or animation clip as your matte layer
 Moving that layer around with keyframed motion parameters
For more information, see “ Creating Keyframed Motion Paths in the Canvas ” on page 272.
To create a travel matte:
1 Place the clip you want to appear in the background of your composite on track V1 in
the Timeline.
2 Place the clip you want to use as your matte layer on track V2, above the background clip.
 When using the Travel Matte - Alpha mode: Make sure that the clip has a properly
formatted alpha track (see “ Using Video and Graphics Clips With Alpha Channels ” on
page 371).
 When using the Travel Matte - Luma mode: Make sure that the black-and-white areas
of your clip are appropriately set—black for transparent areas, white for solid areas.
The matte clip
goes above the
background clip