How To Get Vegas Pro to handle Multiply Compositing Properly?

MWF wrote on 7/21/2024, 7:54 PM

Hello, I am using Build 315 of Vegas Pro 21 and have ran into an odd behavior that other programs like the Adobe suite don't seem to have.

Traditionally setting a layer to "multiply" would make all the white go away and pass only the darkness of the frame down. For some odd reason Vegas Pro only has a "multiply mask" option (not sure why mask is there) and it reads any transparency from a layer as just black.

I have tried all the different Alpha channel settings in the property tab in the media clip with no success.

To illustrate the problem here is the video source I am trying to only retain the pen strokes of. Multiply in any other program I've used would just result in the letters staying regardless of whether the entire image has pixels to give.
https://i.gyazo.com/f87589a105ccf1d2c4a40f57d39af934.png

However when I set the compositing mode to "Multiply (mask)", "Darken", "Burn", etc, for some reason it reads transparency created by Event/pan/crop as also black? (creating the black bars at the top and bottom of screen.
https://i.gyazo.com/ceb9c24f2ecbd61d84939e07bd4b5ba0.png

My goal is to simply get those black bars to go away when I set that exact source to Multiply.

Would anyone have any idea how I can get Vegas to not care about the edges of the alpha and just apply the multiply regularly like Adobe does?

Thank you.

Comments

zzzzzz9125 wrote on 7/21/2024, 8:49 PM

For some odd reason Vegas Pro only has a "multiply mask" option (not sure why mask is there) and it reads any transparency from a layer as just black.

@MWF This seems to be the expected behavior in Vegas Pro. A transparent mask does cause the part of the layer below to become transparent.

In your case, I suggest removing the white directly with Chroma Key fx, which is more convenient and commonly used.

MWF wrote on 7/21/2024, 8:59 PM

For some odd reason Vegas Pro only has a "multiply mask" option (not sure why mask is there) and it reads any transparency from a layer as just black.

@MWF This seems to be the expected behavior in Vegas Pro. A transparent mask does cause the part of the layer below to become transparent.

In your case, I suggest removing the white directly with Chroma Key fx, which is more convenient and commonly used. After that, use Invert fx to change the black to white.

Unfortunately chroma keying will create a good deal of pixel loss on the edges which renders the writing looking rather chewed out and ugly. Trying to see if there is a workaround to make Vegas Pro behave like a standard compositing program.

gorGaram wrote on 7/22/2024, 12:40 AM

Lay out several project files: the project itself, the "problematic" image and what is in the layer below. Everything is fine with the picture, and everything was fine with Vegas :), show the project.

zzzzzz9125 wrote on 7/22/2024, 1:19 AM

Unfortunately chroma keying will create a good deal of pixel loss on the edges which renders the writing looking rather chewed out and ugly. Trying to see if there is a workaround to make Vegas Pro behave like a standard compositing program.

@MWF Compositing is based on tracks and project size in Vegas Pro, rather than the source itself, and I think that's what makes it different from other programs.

For it to work properly, you'd better match the resolution of the source to the project, which means you need to fill in all the transparent parts in white. You can directly use Microsoft's Paint, or you should use the composition logic shown in the image below, fill white and then compose:

MWF wrote on 7/22/2024, 8:32 AM

Unfortunately chroma keying will create a good deal of pixel loss on the edges which renders the writing looking rather chewed out and ugly. Trying to see if there is a workaround to make Vegas Pro behave like a standard compositing program.

@MWF Compositing is based on tracks and project size in Vegas Pro, rather than the source itself, and I think that's what makes it different from other programs.

For it to work properly, you'd better match the resolution of the source to the project, which means you need to fill in all the transparent parts in white. You can directly use Microsoft's Paint, or you should use the composition logic shown in the image below, fill white and then compose:

Ahh see that method I had tried before (of layer white solid underneath to fill gaps, yet it didn't work. I didn't realize that an *extra* compositing button would appear to the left for some reason, as I was using the default one that is always on the layer regardless. Thanks!