Click on the aforementioned empty square.

If you donвЂ™t see it, click Toggle Switches/Modes, which should be at the very bottom of the layers bin. That will be the Preserve Underlying Transparency Option, denoted by a T at the top.

Look for a little empty square to the right of the Modes.

Make sure the footage layer is above the text layer (and positioned to obscure the text layer at this point).

There youвЂ™ll see the two layers you selected earlier, all safe and ready to be used.

Now, double click the precomp layer within your project to navigate inside it.

In the Precomp box that pops up, name it Transparency Windows.

The benefit to having one of these is organization, itвЂ™s easier to animate, and you can add all sorts of cool effects you canвЂ™t do otherwise. A Precomp is like a container nested within your project that holds layers within it. This will create a Precomp in your layers.

Look near the bottom for the Pre-compose option.

Right-click on either selected layer to bring up a list of options.

Shift+click on your bottom footage layer to have both selected.

In this section, weвЂ™ll create a precomp to organize our layers as well as make it easier to animate later on. You should now have a top text layer, then your footage layer, then your bottom text layer with the white solid beneath it all.

Now that you have that footage file, click and drag it into your layers, right above the bottom text layer.

You should now have that footage file in your Project files. Make sure Footage is selected in the Import As dropdown menu.

Navigate to After Effects Track Matte FilesВ and click on Cloud Footage.

Hit Command-I (Mac) or Ctrl-I (Windows), which is a hotkey for Importing Files.

LetвЂ™s add some more files to work with here. YouвЂ™ll see in the file that there are only three layers: A top text layer, a larger bottom text layer, and a white solid for the background, which is locked to prevent editing.

Navigate to After Effects Track Matte Files and open the Track Matte Tutorial.aep file.

Here we go! Importing and Layering Footage WeвЂ™ll also be using the transparency technique to visually insert a video clip into some text and adding a few effects to give the project some oomph. WeвЂ™re going to use a simple shape to track matte some text as it slides down and вЂњrevealsвЂќ itself in the composition.

You should end up with an After Effects Track Matte folder.

After theВ download has finished, be sure to unzip the file if it hasnвЂ™t been done for you.

This is particularly useful in revealing graphics, as weвЂ™ll see later in this tutorial. If you use a track matte, no matter where you move your layer, the track matte stays in place. What that means for you is that if you put a mask onto a layer, then move the layer, the mask goes with it. Now, you might be asking, why not use a mask? HereвЂ™s the main difference: Track mattes are not layer dependent, masks are. Do you want a picture of a flower placed in your text? Or a graphic to hide your video clip until you want it to be revealed? Track mattes are your friend. Simply put, you can shape a particular layer using the appearance of a track matte above it. Track mattes are a fun and powerful tool in After Effects that allows you to use a clip, still image, or text to dictate the transparency of the layer beneath.

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