The Power of Masking

In the example above, the ocean surface layer on the right is composited into the full scene on the left. To do so, the layer arrangement seen earlier was used to apply a Luma Track Matte from the layer above it. The layer used as a solid that had a Gradient Ramp applied to it. This created a fade out of the image so it receeds into the rest of the scene. Mouse over the right hand layer to see the Gradient Ramp that is being applied.

Using a Gradient Ramp this way is a great way to fade elements in and out of a Comp. When using a Track Matte, the result is combined with any Mask being applied to the target layer separately. You can adjust either the transparency of the target layer or the transparency of the Track Matte (or both) to further affect how the target layer sits in the Comp. Choosing an alternate Transfer Mode for the target layer affects the result further.

To apply more than one Track Matte to a layer, appy the first matte and then pre-comp both together. Now apply a 2nd Track Matte to the resulting Pre-comp. This can be done ad infinitum.