Problem with a simple mask

I am trying to make a simple mask Ive doen the tutorial and cant seem to get the mask to apply. I have a clip that has 2 candles. I used motion to scale to the size I want, zoomin in on the candles, and used crop to make the clip to size. I put a black and white effect on. I rendered the clip effects. I want to change brightness and contrast of the candle flame. So I put the brightness and contrast on the clip, and select the ellipse mask and nothing happens. I am expecting an ellipse to show up on the video so I can move it around and adjust my sliders. What am I doing wrong or not doing? It seems like it should be simple....thanks.