Creating Composites

There are several ways to create a composite:

• Open footage and place it in a new composite. The composite settings are based on the size and duration of the first file you select in the Open file browser.
• Create an empty composite, and then import footage into it. You define the composite settings such as frame size and duration.
• Open footage into the Footage Library, then add a Composite operator to it. This operator can be added to footage like all other operators. See Opening Footage and Creating Solid Footage.

To open footage into a new composite:

1. Choose File | Open, or press Ctrl+O (Windows) or Command+O (Macintosh).

The Open file browser appears.

Note: You can also double-click the Footage Library in the Workspace panel to access the Open dialog.

2. Select the footage you want to open. Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh) to import multiple files.

Note: If you open multiple clips, a composite layer is created for each selected piece of footage.

For more information on the browser, see Using the File Browser.

3. Click OK.

The Open Footage dialog appears.



4. Click either Composite - 2D or Composite - 3D and then click OK.

The footage is imported into a new composite. The composite uses the format settings (for example, the size and duration) of the first file selected.

To create an empty composite:

1. Choose File | New, or press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Macintosh).

The New dialog appears.



2. Select Composite from the Type list.
3. In the Name field, enter a name for the new composite.
4. Select one of the standard formats from the Format Options list or select Custom to create a custom format. For more information, see Choosing Format Options.

The corresponding properties (output size, bit depth, frame aspect ratio, pixel aspect ratio, frame rate, and field order) appear in the Format Options box.

5. In the Duration field, enter a duration for the composite in frames or SMPTE timecode.

Note: You can use the following shortcuts: substitute a colon (:) with a period (.). Type "5." to indicate 5 seconds, or "5.." to indicate 5 minutes.

6. Click the Background Color box to select a background color.

The background color appears in the rendered composite wherever layers are transparent or in areas where no footage is present.

7. Select a bit depth from the Bit Depth list.

Usually, 8 bit is a good choice. You can always change this setting (and all the others) later in the Composite Controls panel.

8. Select the 2D or 3D composite mode.
9. Click OK.

The new composite is added to the Workspace panel and appears in the viewport.



Now you can import footage into the composite. For information, see Importing Footage.