Keep subject in center of frame

Question

Keep subject in center of frame

I'm making a keynote video and I'm going for a similar style that Apple does at WWDC.

Basically, for the subject video (right box), it's shot at 16:9, but I crop it to fit the figure to make room for the left 16:9 image.

This gives me some room on the left and right to work with. Is there a way to keep the subject in the center (even if I have to do it manually with keyframes)? The camera guy is not always spot on with this. I'm hoping to do this all within FCPX.

Thanks!

Jeremy

Posted on Feb 8, 2013 12:42 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 9, 2013 2:22 AM in response to jeremyzimmermann

You need to create a matte.

Create a white shape to match the size of the frame you want your presenter to fit into.

You can use a Custom generator set to white for this. You can use transform or crop to refine the size/shape

Put the white box you've created on top of the subject video and change its composite mode in the inspector to 'Stencil Luma'. Reposition the subject as required within this frame. You can keyframe its position at anytime.To complete the composite, select these two layers and create a compound clip (Alt+G) to reveal the background shot.

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Answer 2

Feb 9, 2013 1:15 PM in response to Neil Sinclair

Great stuff! My videos will look great now! The presenter originally asked to keep the projection screen in the shot… this will look much, much better. Thanks so much!!

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