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434

Don't require track mattes to be above the layer it modifies (and also allow re-use)

Community Beginner ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Requiring a track matte to be right above the layer it modifies seems like an archaic convention at best. Get rid of that requirement and make them like parent layers which can be anywhere and used by many layers.
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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Adobe Employee , Oct 18, 2022 Oct 18, 2022

We are pleased to announce that Selectable Track Mattes are now available in After Effects 23.0. Thank you for your feedback and insight during the public beta period!

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Oh please! I've been saying this for years. This would be soo handy!

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Use the Set Matte effect! The only drawback to it is that if you're using it on footage layers or solids that don't have the same dimensions, it doesn't work as expected. Still extremely useful for vector/shape/text layers though.

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Explorer ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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We don't need set matte if the trackmatte did what Micah said, it was the way Combustion did it and I was always mistified about why AE couldn't do it like that.

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Set matte is great for shape layers. It's not a workable solution for image layers though.

Size differences tend to put the matte where I don't expect or want it, and transformations are ignored. Only track mattes do what I need for image layers, but at the expense of needing to layer them in the expected order and often making a bunch of duplicates.

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Explorer ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Some sort of a node-based approach would be great here, even as I know full well that AE is a layer based compositing system. It would be nice for stuff like matts.
I end up duping the Matt layer, and setting up expression links from the 'Master' mask keyframes to all the dupes in dupe layers, effectively 'cloning' the matt layer, so if changes are made, they roll out to the dupes.

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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It could work like the parenting pickwhip. That'd be awesome.

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Explorer ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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@ Justin - BAMB! that would be RAD
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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LEGEND ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Agreed, a pick whip, with the option to select 'Source' - 'Masks' - 'Effects & Masks '

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LEGEND ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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It could also be an idea to improve the set matte effect to ignore resolutions and basically to the same thing.

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New Here ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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This would be game changing!! I often find myself with dozens of duplicates of the same matte precomp in the timeline. To have my mattes sitting on the bottom layers and pickwhip would be huge.

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Explorer ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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@ Darren Place : Same over here. Agreed!

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LEGEND ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Use Set Matte effect and Transform effect or just precomp the track matte layer.

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Contributor ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Track mattes should work for all layer types, all dimensions and also when they are animated by their transform properties or by parenting. Without the need to precomp. This would speed up work, feel way more fluid and less complicated.

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LEGEND ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Or make Set Matte work like just like Track Mattes

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New Here ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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would be great to be able to link layers to track mattes, as they are usually the layer above, so when linked you won't move them separately by mistake and would be a lot easier to manage them.

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Explorer ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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It would be cool to use one matte for multiple layers, I'm not fussed whether they have to stay above as I find that easy to locate them.

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New Here ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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This would be so useful!

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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i have just completed a project where it would really have helped to be able to let multiple layers refer to the same track matte. OK it's easy enough to duplicate them during the build but if you ever need to come back and re-edit something for a client, or worse still need to give that job to someone else to do, you really need total recall of what you duplicated and where/why in order to be able to do this... I'm only human!

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LEGEND ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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I would love this feature to work how it does in Photoshop. Can make folders (not pre-comps) - and - apply a mask(s) to that folder/group.

For now, we need to create some sort of Master Control Layer that other layers can reference. Could be done with pre-comps or Pick Whipping the properties of your Master Layer.

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LEGEND ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Agreed. AE compositions organization should get closer to nodes / graphs

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Contributor ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Agreed. Or they could improve the functionality of the set matte, which is absolutely useless if you ever have to precomp. AE really, really should introduce some kind of node-based workflow option. AE is great (for now!) but working exclusively with layers is so old-fashioned for compositing/animation.

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LEGEND ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Or, give the "Set Matte" effect some love. Generally, some filters feel like they were completely abandoned. Example: Ramp.

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New Here ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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The set matte effect is great yes. And may be for visual help in the timeline a lasso could be nice.
And the node based comping for ae would also be awesome in my opinion.

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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Make a new effect called "Track Matte" which can be applied to the layer. Or fix "Set Matte" to have that option!

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Community Beginner ,
Sep 28, 2022 Sep 28, 2022

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I currently am duplicating the layer to be used for the track matte for each layer that needs it. added 20 layers to my current job when one would do.

Precomp will work but it removes the ability to edit and adjust layers and see the results over the background and under this track matte.

Why not have track mattes work like parenting, simply choose the layer for a track matte.
Done.

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