Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 1155)

368 Part II Project Interchange
3 Place the main clip that you want masked on track V3, directly above the matte layer.
4 Select the main clip on track V3.
5 Choose Modify > Composite Mode, then choose Travel Matte - Alpha or Travel Matte -
Luma, depending on the clip you’re using as your matte layer on track V2.
 Alpha: Uses the clip’s alpha channel, if one exists, as the mask.
 Luma: Uses the luminance, or grayscale image, of the clip as the mask.
Note: The matte clip’s RGB information won’t be seen.
To view the affected area of the sequence, you must select one of the clips and render
it (see Chapter 24, “
Rendering ,” on page 533).
Working With Layered Photoshop Files
You can create multilayered graphics in Adobe Photoshop for use in a composited
Final Cut Pro sequence. This allows you to create a complex arrangement of separate
graphics elements and import them as a group, with their position and layer ordering
intact. Once you import layered Photoshop files, they appear as a sequence, with each
individual layer stacked. At this point, it’s easy to manipulate each layer individually to
create sophisticated composites.
Once imported, you can automatically open a layered Photoshop file in Photoshop to
make further changes by:
 Choosing View > Clip in Editor
 Control-clicking the file in the Browser or Timeline, then choosing Open in Editor
from the shortcut menu
You can make changes to any of the layers and save the file. When you return to
Final Cut Pro, those changes are updated in the corresponding multilayered sequence
in your project.
∏
Tip: While compositing, you may need to make changes to different types of clips that
you’re using. You can select separate editing applications for three types of files: still
images, video, and audio. For more information, see Volume IV, Chapter 22, “Choosing
Settings and Preferences.”
The main clip to be
masked goes above
the matte clip.