@robertkjr 

1. Duplicate your object track (video/picture),
2. Add a blur to one object.
3. Place two masks from Templates - Layer masks in between the duplicates objects.
4. Position masks as needed using Size/Position/Rotation.
5. The order of the objects on the tracks will affect how the blur works, you can switch the Chromakey Alpha using the little arrow at the start of the mask object.

(You can do all this manually using your own B/W masks by adding Chromakey - Activate B/W mask. )

@robertkjr

Hi.

If you are using two instances of a mask there is no reason why Size / Position can't be applied to each one individually.

Ray.

 

Your answer would be easier and all than the other guy's. But I'm not sure two-instances is possible in my version of the software? Correct me if I'm mistaken. How do you add two-"instances of the same Mask"?

@robertkjr

Hi

Perhaps this tutorial will help with the principles, no matter which mask you use, ie the Magix masks or your own..

John EB
Forum Moderator

@robertkjr

Hi.

Simply right click on the mask object on the timeline and select copy and then paste that object onto the timeline on a new track. (preferably the next rack down and right clicking the mouse again to bring up the paste command.) Make sure the track is selected (header turns blue) before pasting.That object should then appear and have the same properties so will appear hidden as it will be over the first masks position unless placed at a different time on the timeline. As it has the same properties as the original mask it will also include the Size Position effect applied. Click on the second masks object on the timeline and use that Size Position tool to then reposition the mask as needed. Once you have the Size Position tool showing in the effects section, the new mask should appear selected (lined box) around the new mask as it appears in the monitor. Grab that section with a left click of the mouse as it appears in the monitor window and that will grab the mask. You can then drag it into the second position and expand or decrease it's size as needed.

Ray.

@robertkjr

Hi

Perhaps this tutorial will help.

John EB
Forum Moderator

this is so annoyingly difficult for something that should be so simple. I deemed it worth looking to spend money on software upgrade. There is about 5 iterations I'll need of the same mask. On several different sections of video.

@robertkjr

Hi.

Simply right click on the mask object on the timeline and select copy and then paste that object onto the timeline on a new track. (preferably the next rack down and right clicking the mouse again to bring up the paste command.) Make sure the track is selected (header turns blue) before pasting.That object should then appear and have the same properties so will appear hidden as it will be over the first masks position unless placed at a different time on the timeline. As it has the same properties as the original mask it will also include the Size Position effect applied. Click on the second masks object on the timeline and use that Size Position tool to then reposition the mask as needed. Once you have the Size Position tool showing in the effects section, the new mask should appear selected (lined box) around the new mask as it appears in the monitor. Grab that section with a left click of the mouse as it appears in the monitor window and that will grab the mask. You can then drag it into the second position and expand or decrease it's size as needed.

Ray.

 

So I thought this was going to work. 1st) by ungrouping... ... I could copy just the 'Mask' and create a duplicate. YEAH. That actually seemed like it was going to work.

But after moving the copied size/position piece around. Nothing new was "Gaussian'd". It seems to be a dud, and doesn't respond to changes. It does say it's connected to the video, just like the original is, but doesn't work. So good try!

Again, are your instructions for the same above stated version?

Edit: I tried copy and paste (without ungrouping) so that I had a duplicate. But that also didn't work. I think I have to do the other guys instructions which make me unhappy.

Hi,

Along with the tutorial posted by John EB, here are two more in which I show various ways to do masking. Watch the first one first as I don't repeat things in the second one. The second one shows how to use multiple masks. The process is not the same.

But, for many masking tasks, I use a simpler method. I use a white swatch, resized and placed (using Size/Position) where I want a mask. Add more white swatches for each mask. You can use 3D Distortion effect if you want to distort the rectangle as I did.

Select all white objects and apply Chromakey Alpha. The white arrow in each white object with Chromakey Alpha should be pointing upwards. If not, click on it.

Then copy the video/photo from track 1 down to the highest track, below the white masks. Apply the blur to the object on track 1.

You should now see the image with blurring in your masks. If not, then toggle the arrow of each white mask down and up. For some strange reason, I had to do that in Movie Studio 2024 the first time round.

If you want more masks, move the main object down to a higher track and add a mask on the blanked lower numbered track as per the image below where I moved the video to track 6 and added another mask on track 5.

And so on.

John CB

Sorry this is stupid hard. It just should not be. Recommend software that in 2024, that is much easier to do this in. There must be.

@robertkjr There's two options,

1. One where a single mask can be added using the 'Load effects mask - HD' from the hamburger menu top right of the blur settings window, this is the one you were using.
2. Second option is pretty much what everyone inc me is talking about, this version you duplicate the video onto two separate tracks, add Gaussian blur to one of them & place masks between them. (Do not use ''Load effects mask - HD' from the hamburger menu in this version)

@robertkjr

OK.

So you could re-apply the gausian blur again if the effect didn't take and it may also have the same tracking applied that was on the first mask. I tend to make my masks first and then apply size positioning. You may also have to track the mask manually as the auto tracking feature never seems to work particularly well for me and I'm not sure if that can be applied multiple times. I have never tried preferring to do the work manually.

Movie Studio Ultimate 2025 has the ProDad Disguise plugin that is supposed to do all this for you but how good it is I have no idea. The disguise plugin can be bought from ProDad but is expensive. You could try the trial if you can't get your masks to work. The most amount of masks I've made in one scene I think is 15 but was time consuming and fiddly.

I would have done a video for you but I'm in the middle of rendering a project that will take some hours. Not expecting to finish for a while and it's already late in the UK.

Sorry.

Other contributors suggestions work just as well such as the one from @browj2 and John may be around later than me.

Sorry this is stupid hard. It just should not be.

One mask is relatively easy. Tracking multiple objects, less so.

Ray.

@robertkjr There's two options,

1. One where a single mask can be added using the 'Load effects mask - HD' from the hamburger menu top right of the blur settings window, this is the one you were using.
2. Second option is pretty much what everyone inc me is talking about, this version you duplicate the video onto two separate tracks, add Gaussian blur to one of them & place masks between them. (Do not use ''Load effects mask - HD' from the hamburger menu in this version)

GID has broken my issues. I have solved the issue. Using his 2nd technique
1) Copy the video to a 2nd track
2) Put Gaussian Blur on the 1st track (not the 2nd)
2) Use the Templates-->Layer Masks (not Load Effects!!)
  a) and load these between the two tracks.
b) Apply size and section controls to the masks added.
3) Then fumble with the directional arrows... they need to be both pointed upward.

Edit: The great part about this one is you can copy & paste as many as you want, and just keep moving down! Yeah... this is the solution!

@robertkjr

Hi,

Yes, what @Gid showed is the way that it's done. However, look at what I said. Instead of using one of the masks, just use the white object and resize it. It's easier than trying to resize a black and white mask to get just the white part where you want. You don't need the black part, only the white part for what you are doing.

Also, note that if the image with the blur was on the higher numbered track and the original on track 1, all you do to get the same effect is to switch the arrow on the mask(s).

To better understand how a mask works, with a normal BW mask with the arrow pointing down, the white part protects or shows what is on the higher numbered track. The black part makes that part of the same object transparent so that you see the background, in this case track 1. You can see this clearly in the image below.

If you flip the arrow, this is like making the white part of the mask black, and the black part white. However, if you had chosen a white mask with a small black rectangle and then resized it down, you would have run into a problem with the part outside of the mask as per the image below. You can see that the part outside of the rectangular mask is blurred. So, it's best to avoid those types of masks, at least for now.

There is more to understanding masks, but that is enough for now.

I suggest that you watch all of the tutorials mentioned.

John CB

@robertkjr

Hi,

Just a little bit more. If you look at the last image that I posted with a mask that is white with a small black square, you can see the effect of the white part clearly so using just a white image for the mask gets rid of the black part that is not needed. Just resize and position the entire white mask, as I have outlined.

John CB

@robertkjr As in @browj2's last image where if you select a mask & reduce it using Size/Position/Rotation you get unwanted blurring around the outside -

You can get around this by right clicking on the mask & changing the Background to white or black depending on your mask's needs.

@Gid

Good one!