Clean Plate

Yes.
No.
Maybe.
The term is universal by definition: A "clean plate" is a version of a scene or shot that has none of the junk in it that you're either trying to remove or put in. A clean plate must have been shot from the same camera position ad under the same lighting and conditions as the subject plate.

What do you think the term means to users of After Effects? Tell us what you think it means and we'll see if there is a similar concept to yours in Motion. Also, why are you asking? Do you have Motion or thinking of getting Motion?

bogiesan

There is no magic button called Clean Plate in After Effects. There are several displacement and differential effects that can be used if you have the clean plate.

The effect you're describing is possible in Motion; compositing the two shots can be done several different ways. Are you familiar with AE's Difference Matte? There is no such filter in Motion but there is in FCP. There are still ways to create it Motion, just takes some research.

from the AE manual:

*The Difference Matte effect creates transparency by comparing a source layer with a difference layer, and then keying out pixels in the source layer that match both the position and color in the difference layer. Typically, it’s used to key out a static background behind a moving object, which is then placed on a different background. Often the difference layer is simply a frame of background footage (before the moving object has entered the scene). For this reason, the Difference Matte effect is best used for scenes that have been shot with a stationary camera and an unmoving background.*

bogiesan

Motion does not have a filter, but the same can be done with blend modes... See:

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10852119#10852119

Patrick

I just watched one of the latest podcast for FXFactory for the free bar code generator. Why do I mention this? They talk specifically about what I think you are talking about while demonstrating the plugin.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fxfactory-final-cut-pro-motion/id326854134

Look for Tutorial: Barcode

Basically it's just what Patrick is talking about but a bit of a video tutorial.

Yes, they are illustrating the use of a difference matte. AE has a plugin for that. So does FCP. Motion? Not so much. But as I said in the above linked thread, you can roll your own.

Patrick

Don't forget there are also filters hidden in Motion's library called image units. It might help to look through those, I saw one called displacement distortion, doubt it would work though...but it still gives you fresh ideas. I saw 2 i liked already.