In the Compositing Options you will find a Mask Reference property. Click on the little ‘+’ to add Compositing Options to the Brightness & Contrast effect. Every effect in After Effects CC 2014 now has a new setting for Compositing Options. In the screenshot below, I have cut out the area around Walter.Īpply a Brightnss & Contrast effect to the layer and then expand the effect properties in the Layer window. First, add a mask to the layer that you want to work work with. In After Effects CC 2014 you can apply a mask directly to the Brightness & Contrast effect.
In the old world you might make a copy of the footage layer, add a mask over your actor to cut them out of the upper layer and then apply a Brightness & Contrast effect to darken everything except the area around your actor. Let’s assume you wanted to darken your entire footage, except the area around your actor. These masks can be applied to individual effects and control the area that will be affected. After Effects CC 2014 takes this concept one step further and introduces Effect Masks. After Effects long had the concept of Adjustment Layers which allow you to apply effects to specific areas of your footage.
