Photoshop: Creative Video Compositing

Course details

Learn how to perform creative video compositing using a tool you already know and love: Adobe Photoshop. Seán Duggan teaches you how to use your existing Photoshop skills to create stunning visual effects and motion graphics for video-based projects. Learn how to add motion and life to type, create virtual locations, adjust the lighting of your scenes, and creatively transition from one clip to another. The techniques rely on Photoshop basics—layers, masks, and blending—but Seán also shows how to edit video in the Timeline panel and animate with keyframes. Plus, get tips for shooting video specifically with compositing in mind, and options for when you find you need a more robust video editing tool.

Learning objectives
Creating a simple video composite
Adding a mask to a video
Adding effects and transitions
Animating elements with keyframes
Compositing with type and graphics
Using blend modes
Creating custom transitions and special effects
Shooting video for composites
Creating virtual locations
Advanced blending

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - How to use the exercise files

1. Essential Concepts and Techniques

03 - Create a file structure for projects
04 - Create a simple video composite
05 - Add a mask to a video layer
06 - Custom split-screen effect
07 - Add crossfade transitions
08 - Control opacity with keyframes
09 - Animate elements with keyframes
10 - Modify Smart Object video layers
11 - Export finished video clips

2. Composite with Type and Graphics

12 - Use type to mask a video layer
13 - Animate layer styles
14 - Copy animation keyframes to a layer

3. Use Blend Modes to Create Composites

15 - Composite elements with blend modes
16 - Select Focus Area and Select and Mask
17 - Blend modes and masks to combine clips
18 - Combine blend modes and animations

4. Custom Transitions and Special Effects

19 - Prepare a custom layer mask transition
20 - Create a custom layer mask transition
21 - Custom transitions - Filters
22 - Animate a Smart Object
23 - Use videos as masks
24 - Lighting effects with adjustment layers

5. Shoot Video for Composites

25 - Previsualize composites
26 - Lighting, motion, and the action area

6. Put It All Together - Create Virtual Locations

27 - Bring in the video layer and refine masks
28 - Match color and brightness
29 - Finalize the project with animation

7. Advanced Blending Techniques

30 - Keyframe a mask to track motion
31 - Use Blend If sliders for motion masks
32 - Limitations for color keying

Conclusion

33 - Next steps