New to Pinnacle Studio 23 comes the revolutionary editing power of video masking! The pinnacle of video editing tools, video masks are a powerful feature for accomplishing everything from basic fixes like face blurring and subject enhancement, to pro-level edits like removing unwanted objects, creating clones of subjects, blurring faces, and customizing creative transitions, titles or effects. Video masks can reduce or eliminate the need to reshoot footage, as you can combine and alter clips like never before and achieve Hollywood level cinematic effects!

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Uses for Video Masks

There are two types of video masks you can create in your videos using the new masking tools in Pinnacle Studio 23 Ultimate.

  1. Panel masks allow you to overlay a graphic, image, video, or other asset above your original clip and and manipulate the motion, rotation and position of that asset in 3D. Panel masks are particularly useful when superimposing new content onto a mirror, computer screen, or other 3D object, or creating a unique picture-in-picture effect. Panel masks are generally created in relative position to the footage in the clip that is being masked, but do not impact it directly.
  2. Shape masks let you manipulate your footage and apply creative filters and functions to your footage. Shape masks are particularly useful when looking to enhance footage, create unique titles, or achieve pro-level edits like cloning, hiding, objects, and more. Shape masks are generally intended to target and directly alter the clip that is being masked.

In summary, apply a shape mask if you’re looking to manipulate the clip in a way that alters the existing clip directly. Apply a panel mask if you’re looking to create a mask that involves a graphic or other asset to sit atop your original footage, not directly altering the clip being masked.

How to Add a Shape Mask

  1. Select the clip you want to mask, and click on ‘Mask’ to open the mask creation window. Click ‘Create Mask’, and then ‘Create Shape’ to get started.
  2. Using the masking tool of your choice, mark out your mask in the preview window above your footage. Feel free to group and rename shapes you create for improved organization of any unique shapes in your mask. The size, position, rotation and motion of your masks are all keyframable for full editing precision.
    Note: You may want to set the start and end points of your mask first, and then continue adding keyframes between those points until the automatic motion of the mask between them fits to the intended target of your mask.
  3. Once your mask has been created, apply a function to it by selecting ‘Function’ in the top of the mask creation dialog box to open the mask’s Function options. From here, you can manipulate both the area you’ve masked with the ‘Mask Properties’ dropdown menu, and the area that is unmasked with the ‘Matte Properties’ dropdown menu.

Choosing between ‘Function’ and ‘Filter’ in the first dropdown will control the preset options that are available to choose from in the adjacent dropdown menu. Under ‘Function’ are the most common video masking adjustments including color correction, opacity settings, zooming options, and more. Choose ‘Filter’ instead if you’re looking to filter out/remove areas from the mask or matte based on color, light, and other properties. The most common case for selecting the ‘Filter’ option list instead of the ‘Function’ option list is when applying Green Screen or Chroma Key based effects.

The creative edits you apply in this stage of the mask creation are also fully keyframable, so you can edit every detail of your changes to match the creative vision you have for your project.

How to Add a Panel Mask

  1. Select the clip you want to mask, and click on ‘Mask’ to open the mask creation window. Click ‘Create Mask’, and then ‘Create Panel’ to get started.
  2. Using the masking tool of your choice, mark out the frame into which you will add your assets above your footage. Feel free to group and rename shapes you create for improved organization. The size, position, rotation and motion of your masks are all keyframable for full editing precision.
    Note: You may want to set the start and end points of your mask first, and then continue adding keyframes between those points until the automatic motion of the mask between them fits to the intended target of your mask.
  3. Once your mask panel/frame has been created, add an asset to display inside by selecting ‘Assets’ in the top of the mask creation dialog box to open browsing options. From here, you can navigate through Project Bins, Video, and Photo assets using the prompts in the top. Select an asset to show through the panel you’ve created, and click ‘Apply’ to add it to your project. Next, manipulate the media you’ve added in the preview pane by adjusting it’s position, size, and rotation until you’re happy with how it’s positioned in relation to your panel. Just like the panel itself, the size, position, rotation and motion of your media is all keyframable for total editing precision.
  4. If desired, add depth to your panel by selecting ‘3D’ from the top menu and adjusting the swivel, tilt, rotation and 3D position of your media, adding keyframes if/where desired. Click on ‘Mask’ in the top menu at any point to preview your completed panel mask.
Try Pinnacle Studio for free!

Download a FREE 15-day trial and discover all the essential and advanced video editing features that Pinnacle Studio delivers to make your videos look their best.

Comments (4)

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Comments

  1. Kent Stavholt says

    Hi
    How can i remove the MASK, in Pinnacle Studio 25 Ultimate and the my instruction or tabsprojekt, i can´t find this, please show me.

    My ticket is 3557050

    • gilliandarby says

      Hi Kent,
      To remove a mask you can delete the mask track on the timeline, or delete the mask group on the Mask panel by clicking on the trash can icon beside it.
      Hope this helps!
      The Discovery Center team

  2. Hermano Cabral says

    I have Pinnacle Studio 22 Ultimate and I’ve been trying to find a way to assign masks to my projects for a long time and I haven’t had any success yet. Can you help me?

    • gilliandarby says

      Hi Hermano,

      It depends what kind of masking you are trying to do. The video masking features demonstrated in this tutorial were only introduced in Pinnacle Studio 23, so they would not be available in your version 22. However, here is a tutorial will show you how to mask an object to use for motion tracking https://learn.corel.com/tutorials/video-masking-with-motion-tracking/, which you would be able to do in Pinnacle Studio 22.

      Best regards,
      The Discovery Center team

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