11The Matte Effects
The primary focus of the Matte effects is transparency; or more specifically, the alpha channel of a layer. They are usually used in conjunction with keying or rotoscoping. The Matte effects restore holes in a layer (typically caused by keying), and can also eat away at the edges of a layer.
In the first edition of this book, we looked at the two original effects in this category: Matte Choker and Simple Choker. Since After Effects CS5, we have two new additions—Mocha Shape and Refine Edge. Mocha Shape isn’t really a standalone effect—it’s designed to be used with Mocha, which is a separate app included with After Effects CS6. So we won’t be looking at that here.
But the new gem of this category is the powerhouse Refine Matte ...
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