But luckily, Ryan Connolly from Film Riot offers a bunch of great tips on how to speed up that process, like where to start, how to manage the workload, and how to avoid any disruptions to your workflow. They also walk you through three different processes for masking and roto, the first in Adobe After Effects, the second in After Effects and Mocha, and the last using the Roto Brush in After Effects. Check out the tutorial below!

Here are the three tips from the video:

  • Don't just start on the first frame: First things first -- you need to take a look at your footage and figure out where you're going to start. Connolly says avoid starting on the first frame, and instead, start with the frame that has the most information and go from there.
  • Break it down into simple parts: Creating simpler, smaller masks makes it easier to manage your control points. Think about it: would you rather have a big ol' unwieldy mask that you have to work with multiple smaller, simpler parts? (I guess that depends on how many parts there are, huh?)
  • Save constantly: Duh -- this is a no-brainer. Masking and rotoscoping is tedious, repetitive, time-consuming work, and saving often will keep you from having to do it all over again in case of a crash.

Do you have any tips on how to make masking and rotoscoping quicker and easier? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Film Riot

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Editing & Post-Production