Apple Motion 5.1.1 - Manual (Page 503)

Chapter 13 Keying 503
2 Click the disclosure triangle of the Matte Tools row of the Filters Inspector.
The row expands to reveal the Levels control, which adjusts the contrast of the matte. Also
revealed are the Shrink/Expand slider, the Soften slider, and the Erode slider.
3 Use the Levels control to modify transparency and contrast in the matte.
A general rule for using the Levels control is to drag the center Bias handle left to decrease
transparency in the matte or right to increase transparency in the matte. The Black slider on the
left and the White slider on the right modify contrast in the shadows and highlights of the matte.
The effects of Levels adjustments are best seen when View is set to Matte. In this view, the white
area of the matte is the solid part, and the black area of the matte is the transparent part. Gray is
translucent, with lighter grays creating progressively more transparency. With this in mind, here
are some guidelines:
•
Dragging the black bias handle right pushes gray areas to black, expanding areas of
transparency within the matte.
•
Dragging the center bias handle left pushes the grays in the matte towards white, widening
solid areas of the key as semitransparent areas are made solid.
•
Dragging the center bias handle right pushes the grays in the matte towards black, widening
transparent areas of the key as semitransparent areas are made transparent.
•
Dragging the white bias handle left pushes the grays in the matte towards white, expanding
areas of solidity within the matte.
4 Drag the Shrink/Expand slider left to shrink the matte inwards, widening holes in the matte; drag
the Shrink/Expand slider right to expand the matte outward, filling in holes in the matte.
Increasing Shrink/Expand Reducing Shrink/Expand Original matte
5 Drag the Soften slider right to blur the matte overall, resulting in softer edges throughout
the matte.
Original matte Softened matte
67% resize factor