Ok I'm new to the editing on this software I do have the correct oval I drag and drop the png file from my photos in my documents into track three then add the effect Chroma Key / Alpha. I have done that but I have no idea what to do from here I dont see the blur like with the first mask.

You will need to have the same video in Tracks 1 and 4 to create the effect. However, before superposing them, just start with the video on track 1. Click on track 1, go to Effects, Video effects, Sharpness and apply Blur to the video. Then add the same video without the blur to Track 4. You should now only see Track 4 - without the Blur. Put the mask on tracks 2 and 3. Click on the first one, go to Effects, Video effects, Chroma key, and click on Alpha. Do the same with track 3. Run your mouse over the object on track 2 and you will see an arrow. Click on it to point it upwards. Do the same on track 3. Now click on the mask on track 2 and go to Effects, Movement effects, Size/Position. You should see the outline of the object box on the monitor. If not, then click on the Edit button on the Size/Position screen. Then resize your object and drag it to where you want. Do the same with the mask on track 4.

What you have done is wherever there was the white oval, the video on track 1 will show through. Note that when you clicked on the arrow the oval turned black. That is correct. Wherever the oval is not, the video on track 4 will be seen.

Try to get this far.

Next you have to learn about key framing so that the mask follows the face in the video.

Hi,

You're getting there. Using masks always seems to be difficult to understand because of the different methods and uses. Bringing a mask in from the effects pop-down is its own special case. The idea of this is that the mask is linked to the object. When you place an effect on the object on track 1, like pixelation, the linked mask on track 2 shows the effect wherever the mask is white, and shows the original wherever the mask is black. This avoids having the original object twice. However, you can only have one mask at a time on the same object using this method. Thus when you want to have 2 masks, you have to use a different method.

Here is a link to a quick tutorial that I did based on the pdf version by John E Baker.:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j3hc9logpxteyec/Tutorial%2002%20-%202%20effects%20masks%20r0.mp4

I quickly show the process with 2 masks where the oval is white on a transparent background. To make to oval, I used Xara Photo Designer, new photo and created just the oval. When I exported it, Xara automatically has it on a transparent background.

You will notice in the video that I separate out the objects so that I can see what is happening at each step.

If I find more time I will fix up the video and narration better and post it in the tutorial section.

Hi

Where you are going wrong is pasting the image into Photoshop - this is unnecessary as the image is already ready for use. - right click the image in your browser and select Save image as (Firefox) or the equivalent for IE - note IE will not appear to display the image - it is in the top left corner of the browser window. Alternatively use Chrome or Firefox.   Save it with its original file name.

When it is added to the timeline the correct Chroma effect is automatically added.

Added: @ John CB nice tutorial .

John

Hi

I have updated the tutorial for better clarification and changed the Dropbox links to improve the download of the mask and playing of the example video.

It should appear in the next few days.

John

Hi...! So I'm trying to edit a video by bluring multiple objects (sometimes 5 at a time). So I've looked at multiple tutorials (including the one you propose here) and have not managed to make it work. If I have only one mask, then it works perfectly. As soon as I add the second one... well, there's the problem. Or the entire video just blurs out, or nothing happens at all. Do you think it has to do with the image I'm using as a mask? I made a .png file using paint.