Hi David -

As you've found, once a mask is applied it stays "stuck" to the video. In other words, it moves wherever the video moves.

The way to overcome that is (instead of applying a mask) use the same .png file as an overlay in a higher numbered track. That way, the overlay can stay in one position and the video can be shifted independently.

To do that, you may need to resize the video to allow motion.

Cheers - Tony
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-deleted - got wrong end of the stick again

Got the trick using an overlay.

Now the problem is to create the right overlay picture, witht the transparent center and black borders of the desired size.

Using Inkscape I did got this result, the problem is the white center coming from the background, any idea how to make it transparent?

Hi David -

You almost worked it out faster than I could make this little QuickTip video. Using an overlay, rather than a mask, gives you flexibility to shift, resize & aplly motion to either the video or the overlay independent of each other.



I'm not all that familiar with InkScape, though I've used it a few times. In Paint.NET, making things tranparent is simple. Any of these tutorials will show you how:

Making & Using Frames - https://youtu.be/prM840dAbXM

Making Frames - https://youtu.be/msx6dp0oymk

See Through - https://youtu.be/6OLKfRILqBM

Your mask/overlay (with transparency) is attached. It took two clicks

Cheers - Tony
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Beautiful thanks yonotfish!

Now trying to obtain a gradual transition with the equivalent of the feather in Mask dialog.

I did need to be dumb these days since I can't find a way to use Paint.net to create the thing you created in 2 clicks, can you explain me the procedure or attach .pdn file?

As example I can't find how to define exacly the size of the central rectangle and how to define exatly his position from the corner of the canvas.

After you've clicked the magic wand, click in the space you want to be transparent, then press Delete or Ctrl+X - see in the attached screen capture...

Use the horizontal & vertical rulers to determine the size & position of internal shapes. View > Rulers

Cheers - Tony
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Finally I was able to obtrain the final effect with the combination of your created mask and adding to his timeline the (hw accelerated) Blur effect, I attach the final result.

To recreate such kind of mask I was finally able to do from myself but only using Inkscape, Paint.net is really nice but I'n not able to fine control the positioning.

Will be nicer to didn't waste GPU cycles in applying a blur to a static image for all video frames, but I can't find a way either in Paint.net nor Inkscape to create the gradient from black to transparent on all central rectangle borders. Always something to learn!

David -

Are you familiar with working with layers in graphics? If your image hasn't been flattened (i.e. it still contains layers) it's easy to align objects with the canvas. I'm not sure about InkScape but Paint.NET has an Align Objects tool which is easy to use.

I'm not sure whether you want to go there or not, but it would solve your alignment issue.

I got the blurred edge by (a) applying transparency then (b) applying Gaussian blur.

Cheers - Tony
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Yes I'm familiar with layers, I didn't just have the time to learn, I'm switching among 5 different programs for this project that need to be delivered next week, and I did have worked only on PD for more than one week.

As example in Paint.NET I didn't find in program help any sign about this Align Objects tool, so I did give up before losing another day to simply try to create a blurred mask.

Maybe somewhere there is a program made only to create masks, so to have ready and usable all the the specific tools for this job.

Thanks for your patience, you are really supportive, it's just me that lack time and feel the pressure.

David -

You would understand that it's "less than ideal" trying to learn how to do somthing when you're pressure to complete a project.

This may help a bit, given that you're familiar with layers... it shows how to align objects and get that blur happening



Cheers - Tony
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Really nice video thanks!

Yes is less than ideal, but so it is, lot of preparation to find the right tools and define the project goals, now I need to use it!

One question about the blurred edge mask -- does it work in PD10?



BTW - awesome tutorials PDToots, easy to understand and follow, even for a beginner like me. Thank you.

Hi scottg -

Thank you for the positive feedback about our tutorials. It's great to know they're helping people out

Yes - the feathered masks will work the same in PDR10, but there's a significant difference in how the mask is installed.

In PDR11, 12, 13... the mask can be imported directly in PiP Designer by clicking "Create Mask". A thimbnail image is created automatically.

Prior to PDR11 - i.e. PDR10,9,8... both the mask and its thumbnail need to be made, then installed by placing both in the *Masks folder. There's a PDF attached from one our subscribers' giveaways (a set of 80 masks) which explains how to make & install custom masks in pre-PDR11 versions. I've also attached a mask + thumbnail from that set.

The Masks folder is at C:\Program Files(86?)\CyberLink\PowerDirector10\Masks

The attached mask can be applied in PDR11, 12, 13 etc - it's only the installation that's different.

Cheers - Tony
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Thanks Tony -- and I had already watched PDToots tutorial on pre-PD11 masks and did a few test runs earlier today and although I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, even I was able to follow the excellent step by step directions. I think the feathering effect for my mask is going to be just what I need to really make my planned video work.



I really do appreciate all the prompt help you guys provide for newbs like me.