Final Cut Pro. How do I make a censorship box on my video?

Question

Ok so here is the deal. Im cutting this video but there is some information that we do not want to display/ How can I make a blurr thing over the persons face?

I think i need to overlay a seocnd copy of my original clip on a top track then do something called "cookie cutter" on the top track but I dont know how to do the cookie cutter effect.. well pelase walk me through it all if you know how to.

Answer 1

You are on the right track. Pardon me if I don't use the correct FCP terms here, I dont have the book with me.

On the bottom clip, apply Effects>Video Filters>Blur (or whatever effect you like)

On the top clip apply Effects>Video Filters>4 point Garbage Matte. Double click the top clip and click the filters tab in the viewer. select (check) the Invert box in the options.

To make your work easier, at this point I would turn the video in the bottom clip off.

The 4 points begin at the four corners of the image, to move them, click the "crosshair button" and then using the mouse, click on the canvas where you want the 4 points of your "hole" to be. You should now see a black shape over what you want to obscure.

Turn the lower track back on, monkey with the settings to make it look the way you want ( smooth, choke, and feather on garbage matte will really help here), render, and you should have it.

You can also use 8 point garbage matte too, it all depends on how good it needs to look and how hard you want to work.

Answer 2

The above answer will work, but if you're trying to keep up with somebody or something that is moving around alot, i would recommend exporting to Motion, and using that interface to better control your blur.