blurring faces/signs etc in FCP

hey i'm trying to blur a license plate in a clip as well as some faces in other clips...

i've:

-duplicated the clip
-placed duplicate on V2 directly above my original
-added a mask shape (rectangle) filter to my duplicate
-added a gaussian blur to that duplicate clip

the problem is that theres a camera move on the clip so my nice little blurred rectangle is cool for the 1st frame but once the camera moves it's not covering the license plate anymore...

help!?!?!?

btw--someone told me to just use a garbage matte..but i don't know how to use it in this instance...

Man, does this need to be added to the FAQ. I'm surprised we dont have it in there.

Anyway, you've done it right so far. Now the problem is the tedious and boring time it takes to move along with the license plate. You do that with rotoscoping or a keyframe at a time. If you know Motion do your roto in there. If you dont know Motion, start keyframing. Or buy Boris Red or Silhouette Roto or Shake or Motion Tracking from Lyric plugins or Motion Tracker Collection from CHV Electronics or google motion tracking plug-ins for final cut pro. Depends on how how much time you want to spend on the thing. No easy way around this.

Michael Horton
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ARRGGHH!! thanks!

I second that motion tracker recommendation, but if you don't have it available, just use a Marker everytime the scene settles-- these instances are the most critical to blur-- and you can simply keyframe your blur mask shape to each marker location. Even if it zooms, mark major changes. Keyframing will interpolate the motion. It's rough and ready but it works.

- Loren
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David at Movies Rock in Toronto
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After Effects 7 Pro's Motion Tracker w/ Corner Pinning does very nicely...

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