Masked video over another video

[Birdchaser]

Hi,

I’d like overlay a video with a masked version of another video (no animation required). It works if I use the presets like rectangle or a circle, but I cannot find a way to use a customised mask (PNG) for this purpose.

What I did so far is the following:

1. Load the original and complex EPS vector graphic into Inkscape, ungroup and delete everything I don’t want;

2. Export the selection of the remaining vector elements as a PNG;

3. Load the PNG into GIMP and create a shape, the shape itself (an ox head) being transparent and the rest in black;

4. This works fine for creating a mask for one track (see screenshot). However, if I want to use the mask or the masked video inside another video with both videos being visible, I couldn’t find a way to do so.

Am I missing something or is that currently impossible with Shotcut?

Thanks in advance for any helpful answers.

[shotcut]

Add the Mask: From File filter.
Choose File > Custom (inside the filter UI).
Pick your PNG.
Click Channel > Alpha (inside the filter UI).

[Birdchaser]

Thanks a lot! Problem solved. I somehow missed the “Custom…” option.

It’d be great to be able to freely resize the mask in a future version.

[shotcut]

@Birdchaser

It’d be great to be able to freely resize the mask in a future version.

Already there using Mask: Draw. That opens a new window with drawing and animation tools. You can import an image into that drawing and resize it.

[Birdchaser]

Thanks again for the quick answer.

However, that doesn’t seem to solve my problem, because in Glaxnimate the image dimensions are displayed correctly. But when I use the PNG as a mask, it gets distorted to the dimensions of the video.

I can work around this by creating a appropriately dimensioned PNG file in Inkscape and GIMP, but it would be great to have an on-screen option to adjust the mask.

I have attached a screenshot of the result, another one on how it’s supposed to look as well as the mask file.

[Birdchaser]

Addition: I know that I can resize the track inside the mask to get the correct dimensions, but that seems to be a bit complicated.

Again: on-screen resizing of the mask would be a great addition, but I know how to get what I need for now.

[shotcut]

@Birdchaser

But when I use the PNG as a mask

Your screenshots do not show Mask: Draw.

I can work around this by creating a appropriately dimensioned PNG file in Inkscape and GIMP

This is what Glaxnimate provides. And when you start within Shotcut’s Mask: Draw filter, it creates the drawing size the same resolution as your project.

it would be great to have an on-screen option to adjust the mask

The Glaxnimate integration provides that.

Look

Click New in the filter’s UI. Glaxnimate opens with an empty drawing and Shotcut’s video in the background:

I import your image, adjust the size and position, but your PNG has no transparency. I was assuming it would since you wrote that in the beginning:

the shape itself (an ox head) being transparent

Yeah, if you only want to work in black and white, Mask: Draw will not work for that since it is driven by the alpha channel. I will fix your PNG to have an alpha channel and show you

And now how it shows in Shotcut:

[shotcut]

That is an image on an upper video track with transparency added. And here I thought you were asking about “Mask video over another video”

Here is the simple way I did your what I think you wanted with your original image:

[shotcut]

And here is an example of using Glaxnimate to size and position it. I use Open Other > Animation with a black background. Glaxnimate opens and I add the image and adjust it. Here is after I added it to the timeline and reopen it from Properties where I can see the Shotcut video in Glaxnimate’s background:

Then, the Mask: Chroma Key video filter like previous:

[shotcut]

Yet another way without Glaxnimate is 2 filters:

• Size, Position & Rotate
• Mask: Chroma Key

[Birdchaser]

Question: Why did you delete your previous last reply?

I actually try to use a custom mask for video over video. I only added the third screenshot to show how the mask is supposed to look, and in that case I used an image over a video.

Here’s a screenshot that shows the oxhead in Glaxnimate, and as you can see, it’s exactly where it’s supposed to be.

[Birdchaser]

Oh, and for the last screenshot I used a PNG where the white has been converted to alpha.

[Birdchaser]

I used Inkscape and GIMP to solve the issue, because the Glaxnimate way is a bit too tedious for my taste and this particular task, where I need the mask to be in a reliable and fixed position. However, I found that Glaxnimate is extremely useful for other tasks.

Thanks again for your help!