How to HIDE / MASK outside the action safe area

Acts7 wrote on 6/21/2004, 5:49 PM
Okay Ive been trying to get this right and no matter what I do I cant get it right!
First question is in photoshop I want to create a "frame" that is perfectly fit to the area outside the action safe area. I CANNOT get it right. Ive tried 640x480 and Ive tried 720x480 and a TON of other things in PS AND in Vegas. Anyone have a simple solution.
I created a video for tv but now want to put it online in my portfolio. When I created it for tv I did not clean up the edges.(ie hide the area outside the safe area. I tried the bezier function and no luck with gettting it perfectly lined up nor getting a perfect boxed area

So first question is how do I get a mask that will work properly for online (exporting to WMV)?
Second question - is there an export / render option where it will automatically know the safe area? and not render ANYTHING outside that area even if I have excess stuff exposed there?

Comments

Nathan_Shane wrote on 6/21/2004, 6:08 PM
One method for creating a frame/mask in a photo editor program would be to have the display preview of Vegas set to whichever project size you intend to use, then go to the Media Generators/Solid Colors and then drag the Green media to the timeline, click on your View Safe Areas button so the safe areas are showing on top of the Green Media.

Then capture the window using Alt+PrtScr (print screen) so that it will paste an image of Vegas to the clipboard, then paste this image into your picture editing program and crop out what you don't need, thereby keeping the Preview Area to use...this gives you a sort of template to go by more or less. You can then create your frame and actually use the Chroma Keyer in Vegas to key out the center green portion which will allow the video tracks below to show thru.

Or create your frame, then paste that frame onto a new transparent background image so that you don't need to use the Chroma Keyer in Vegas at all.
BillyBoy wrote on 6/21/2004, 8:02 PM
What you can do too if you just have a little fringe you don't want use Pan and Crop and just drag in on a corner handle which will zoom in a bit. Its a quick and dirty way to get rid of 1-5% or so of the permeter.
JohnnyRoy wrote on 6/21/2004, 8:23 PM
NTSC DV is 720x480 resolution with a pixel aspect of 0.9091. The images you are making in PS have a pixel aspect of 1.0 (square pixels) so you should use a resolution of 655x480.

If you just want to make a black border around the whole video, drop a Sony Border FX on the output window and make the color black and size it to cover the area outside the safe area. Alternately you can use Track Motion on your video tracks to resize the video a little larger so that the unwanted borders are off the screen.

~jr
Grazie wrote on 6/22/2004, 10:07 AM
Would doiong it the other way aropund help? Import a PNG from the Vegas timeline into your graphics package? - The you've got a "framework" to work with?

Grazie