Is it possible to copy and paste rotoscope outlines between frames?

[roshanbo]

I'm not sure I'm using the correct terminology, but is it possible to copy and paste a rotoscope outline between frames?

I'm using  roto brush to eliminate the background from a video, and have only the person in the video remain. However, I'm finding it very difficult to crop his hair in each frame, so that when played at normal speed, the video looks somewhat seamless. So, can I somehow the cropped dimensions in the first frame and apply them to the following frames (his head doesn't move much)?

[Warren Heaton]

You could auto-trace the current frame and use the resulting Layer Mask across as many frames as you like.

[Rick Gerard · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately, Rotobrush works in one direction only. You cannot copy and paste anything. When the mask starts to slip have to go back a frame or two and make corrections by adding to or subtracting from the mask. Once you have completed the Rotobrush part of the project you then go back and start refining the mask. When that is complete you freeze everything and do a final check. When it looks good you are done. If the shot is more than a few seconds long it is a good idea to then render a lossless with alpha digital intermediate (DI) and replace the processed layer in your project with the movie you rendered.

Your comp appears to be pretty short so you will probably be fine without rendering a DI. If there is very little movement in the head manual rotoscoping may be a more efficient solution to your problem.

[Warren Heaton]

This could also be a good time to learn how to use mocha for AE!

[roshanbo]

Thank you, I think mocha is going to be successful in the end. I have a simple question about mocha, though. How do I adjust the dimensions and pixel aspect ratio in mocha? All I can find is File > Project settings, but that only gives me limited options.

Thank you!