Adobe After Effects CS4 Classroom in a Book

Chapter 7. Working with Masks

Lesson overview

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the following:

• Create a mask using the Pen tool.

• Change a mask’s mode.

• Edit a mask shape by controlling vertices and direction handles.

• Feather a mask edge.

• Replace the contents of a mask shape.

• Adjust the position of a layer in 3D space to blend it with the rest of the shot.

• Create a reflection effect.

• Create a vignette.

• Use Auto Levels to correct the color of the shot.

In this lesson, you will create a mask for the screen of a desktop computer and replace the screen’s original content with a TV news promo. Then, you will adjust the positioning of the new footage so that ...