Paint Effect Tutorial in Avid Media Composer

This tutorial is an overview of the Paint Effect in Avid Media Composer. We’ll go through the following modes: Solid, Clone, Blur, Saturation and Erase. We’ll also dive into keyframing.

Here are the links I talk about in the video:

• Twitter: @editvideofaster
• Contact Page
• VideoHive

Quick Recap of Paint Effect Tutorial in Avid Media Composer

You can find the Paint Effect in the Effect Palette in the Image folder. Open the Effect Editor to adjust the Paint Effect’s parameters. Select the Mode.

Solid Mode

The Solid Mode creates a solid shape (shocker!). You can change the color in the Color parameter. Using the polygon tool or free draw tool you can draw different types of shapes besides squares and circles. Select a shape then alter it’s options like opacity and feathering. Selecting the shape and hitting delete will remove it.

Clone Mode

The next mode is Clone. Draw a shape over the part of the video you want to copy. Then select that shape and move it to the location where you want it. You can hit Command+C (Mac) / Control+C (Windows) to copy the shape. Then hit Command+V (Mac) / Control+V (Windows) to paste the shape then move it again so you have a duplicate version. This is similar to the Stamp/Clone Tool in Photoshop if you are familiar with it.

Blur Mode

Select the Blur Mode. Select the shape tool to draw a shape around the area you want to blur. Change the blur amount and feathering as desired. In the Record Monitor you can create a keyframe by hitting the Keyframe icon. This allows you to track the shape. You can do this in any of the modes. Create a keyframe then move the shape. Repeat this as necessary.

Saturation Mode

Change the mode to Saturation. Draw a box around the clip in the Record Monitor. You may need to zoom out on the Record Monitor to do this. The default settings is probably not what you want. Open the Color tab’s parameters. Under the Saturation parameter you can lower the saturation. This is how you make a black and white video or image quickly.

Erase Mode

I use this in conjunction with the Saturation Mode a lot. In the example in the tutorial I desaturated the video using the rectangle shape in Saturation Mode over the clip then desaturating it. Now, select a shape tool. Draw a shape around the area you want to “erase” from being desaturated. Change the mode to Erase. And now that area is back to regular color. Erase mode erases whatever shape is below it in the Paint Effect.

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