Adding a background matte

You can create a full-frame matte of a solid color that you can use like a clip. You can use mattes, for example, as a solid background for titles. Brightly colored mattes can serve as temporary backgrounds while you use a key to help you see transparency more clearly.

To create a background matte:

1 Activate the Project window.

2 Choose File > New > Color Matte.

3 Select a color from the Color Picker window and click OK.

4 Type a name for the matte, as you want it to appear in the Project window. Then click OK.

Create a backdrop from an existing frame by exporting a frame as a still image. See Exporting a still image.

To use a temporary matte for keying:

1 Create a background matte as described above. Typically, a bright green or yellow works best.

2 Place the matte in a track beneath the clip you are keying, in either a superimpose track or the Video 1 track.

3 Make the matte the same length as the clip you are keying so that you can preview transparency across the entire clip.

4 Create transparency in the clip as described in Using keys to superimpose and create composites. The brightly colored matte shows through in the areas that are transparent.

5 When you are satisfied with your keying, delete the colored matte from the Timeline window.

Superimposing and Compositing > Adding a background matte