User Manual

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All composite modes interact with the Opacity slider (found below the Composite Mode pop-up
menu in the Inspector) to make a clip more or less transparent in addition to compositing
already being done.
Composite modes can be used on clips that are superimposed over other clips in the Timeline.
However, these composite modes are also available for use within a grade on the Color page
using the Layer Mixer node, within which you can combine differently graded versions of an
image in creative ways. For example, the Add and Overlay composite modes can be useful for
creating glow effects, while Subtract and Difference can create more surreal effects.
Working with composite modes in the Edit page is simple.
To set or change a composite mode for any clip:
Select a clip in the Timeline, then open the Inspector and choose one of the options from the
Composite Mode pop-up menu.
Composite mode and Opacity controls in the Timeline
To turn a clip’s composite mode off:
Select a clip in the Timeline, then open the Inspector and choose Normal from the
Composite Mode pop-up menu.
More About Composite Modes
There are ten composite modes to choose from. For clarity, simple image math is used to help
explain the available Composite Mode effects.
Normal
No image compositing is done. The topmost image on the Timeline or the bottom input of the
Layer Mixer node occupies the entire frame.
Add
Each pair of pixels in both superimposed layers is added together. Layer order does not matter.
This can result in a dramatic brightening of light areas of both images with areas of the picture
that are blown out to maximum white, and this effect is often used by adding the brighter part of
an image to itself to create hot glow effects. Image data going above 1.0 is preserved and may
be retrieved by later color correction operations. On the other hand, black areas of either image
do not alter the combined image at all (0 + n = n).
Color
Recombines two layers using HSL image components by combining the Luma of the bottom
layer with the Hue and Saturation of the top layer.
Color Burn
Inverts the bottom layer, which is divided by the top layer, and the end result is itself inverted.
Chapter – 41 Compositing and Transforms in the Timeline 821