Gradient fade to transparent just the bottom of a mask

Kevin-Osborne wrote on 11/4/2021, 1:16 PM

Hi all,

Be very grateful if someone knows how to do this.

I've got a green screen video masked using event pan/crop as so:

https://jpeach.co.uk/GS1.JPG

I want to be able to fade the bottom of the mask to transparent so it doesn't have the hard cut-off, needs to look something like this:

https://jpeach.co.uk/GS2.JPG

The track will be zoomed & moved using track motion, so the fade needs to remain in the same place as the mask.

Feather seems to do top and bottom and/or sides, just need the bottom edge faded.

I'm using Vegas Pro 17 (but will be upgrading to 19 soon).

Any advice please?

Thanks,

Kevin.

Comments

Musicvid wrote on 11/4/2021, 1:43 PM

Being oldschool and stuck in my ways, I'd render an image sequence and head straight to Photoshop Actions.

But I'm waiting to see what some of our newer Vegas editors come up with.

Hint: If your source is larger than your project dimensions, don't use Track Motion to zoom, as it still operates at project resolution, I believe.

john_dennis wrote on 11/4/2021, 1:48 PM

I opened Photoshop before I finished reading your post.

Kevin-Osborne wrote on 11/4/2021, 2:42 PM

Thanks for these answers but I'm not talking about a single image, or even a single video, I'm talking about having multiple videos the same all cropped and faded at the bottom in the same way.

The closest I can find to an example is this:

I don't own Photoshop either BTW

Thanks in advance,

Kevin.

Musicvid wrote on 11/4/2021, 3:07 PM

I'll add that it seems quite easy to do with Bezier Masking, once you upgrade to VP19.

You will get some additional ideas by searching "Lower Thirds."

Kevin-Osborne wrote on 11/4/2021, 3:58 PM

I'll add that it seems quite easy to do with Bezier Masking, once you upgrade to VP19.

You will get some additional ideas by searching "Lower Thirds."

Ah awesome, I was reading about Primatte Studio which comes with 19 & has a whole bunch of options so maybe I could do it at the same time as green screen? You got me thinking!
Thanks!
Kevin.

Turd wrote on 11/4/2021, 4:09 PM

I'm not in a position to mess around with it right now, but I highly suspect you can do what you want with parent/child tracks.

Your child track would take care of your chromakey and your parent track would do your fade ramping using a linear composite white-to-black full screen graphic.

Note to self (everyone else please look away -- the note that follows is a reminder for mine eyes only): Figure out a clever, kick-booty signature that suggests I'm completely aware of how to properly and exhaustively party on and that I, in fact, engage in said act on a frequent and spontaneous basis. All joking aside, listing my computer's properties is a futile endeavor. I edit multimedia in a local television station newsroom that has Vegas Pro installed on several machines with widely varied specs. We began editing non-linearly with Pinnacle Studio Version 8. That didn't last long before we upgraded to Vegas Video Version 4, then to Vegas Pro 10.

walter-i. wrote on 11/4/2021, 4:22 PM
Ah awesome, I was reading about Primatte Studio which comes with 19

@Kevin-Osborne
You waited too long - now "Cinema LUTs Bundle" is included.

john_dennis wrote on 11/4/2021, 4:24 PM

@Kevin-Osborne

Here is a transparent .png gradient that you can place on a track above your video.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G7_O7sKijEJpYXgLCepgU8yau8zmJ121/view?usp=sharing

Move it up and down to get the effect that you want.

vkmast wrote on 11/4/2021, 4:30 PM

According to the comparison table, Primatte Studio is included with the VEGAS Pro "deal" but not in VEGAS Edit.

Kevin-Osborne wrote on 11/4/2021, 5:19 PM

I'm not in a position to mess around with it right now, but I highly suspect you can do what you want with parent/child tracks.

Your child track would take care of your chromakey and your parent track would do your fade ramping using a linear composite white-to-black full screen graphic.

Thanks, doesn't that mean though as the video was enlarged & reduced using track motion, I'd have to somehow do the same on the parent track?

Kevin-Osborne wrote on 11/4/2021, 5:21 PM

@Kevin-Osborne

Here is a transparent .png gradient that you can place on a track above your video.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G7_O7sKijEJpYXgLCepgU8yau8zmJ121/view?usp=sharing

Move it up and down to get the effect that you want.

Thanks, doesn't that mean though as the video was enlarged & reduced using track motion, I'd have to somehow do the same on the track above my video? BTW, I realise this is similar to my reply to another post!

Kevin-Osborne wrote on 11/4/2021, 5:21 PM
Ah awesome, I was reading about Primatte Studio which comes with 19

@Kevin-Osborne
You waited too long - now "Cinema LUTs Bundle" is included.

Does "Cinema LUTs Bundle" help with what I'm trying to achieve?

walter-i. wrote on 11/4/2021, 5:25 PM
Ah awesome, I was reading about Primatte Studio which comes with 19

@Kevin-Osborne
You waited too long - now "Cinema LUTs Bundle" is included.

Does "Cinema LUTs Bundle" help with what I'm trying to achieve?

Excuse me, I was wrong as @vkmast stated:
https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/product-comparison/#productMenu

john_dennis wrote on 11/4/2021, 6:51 PM

“Thanks, doesn't that mean though as the video was enlarged & reduced using track motion, I'd have to somehow do the same on the track above my video?”

If the size, position or rotation of the crop box or Track Motion selection changes, it’s likely that you, the editor, will have to place a keyframe to adjust the gradient position, or, use some form of motion tracking software to do it for you.

If the subject(s) stay(s) in the same relative position in the final output, maybe it won’t be so bad.

john_dennis wrote on 11/4/2021, 7:01 PM

BTW

I very much like Attention by Charle Puth. His arrangement is so entrenched in my brain that I don’t think it’s necessary for anyone else on this planet to ever perform it, though.

Kevin-Osborne wrote on 11/5/2021, 6:24 AM
Ah awesome, I was reading about Primatte Studio which comes with 19

@Kevin-Osborne
You waited too long - now "Cinema LUTs Bundle" is included.

Does "Cinema LUTs Bundle" help with what I'm trying to achieve?

Excuse me, I was wrong as @vkmast stated:
https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/product-comparison/#productMenu

The pop-up when I go into Vegas 17 says it is included. Would that help with what I'm trying to do?

Thanks,

Kevin.

gary-rebholz wrote on 11/5/2021, 2:52 PM

If I was doing this, I'd do it with Parent/Child as previously suggested. I'd:

  • Create a track with a Gradient media generator on it that fades from transparent to black at the bottom
  • Create a track with your video(s) on it
  • Make the second track a child of the first
  • Use the first track's Parent Motion controls to do your zooming and moving

All done within VEGAS Pro (and will work in 17 too) with no additional file needed for the fade effect.