Need masking advice on project

Hey guys,

I need to do a complicated mask job on a clip, looking for specific advice on how I might proceed if anyone has the time to take a look:

The video (http://homepage.mac.com/lefty1/JohnKnowles/iMovieTheater61.html) features several doctors walking down a hall and through two swinging doors. We are supposed to see a roaring crowd when the doors swing open, as if they were walking out on stage. Of course, they didn't put a green screen behind the door so it just opens onto black and the doctors disappear into the black when they walk in there.

I'm thinking I need several masks on this clip before it's placed onto the concert footage. I need to mask out the door frame, then make two moving masks for the swinging doors, then another moving mask for the doctors so they are silhouetted against the crowd when they walk through. I'm hoping there's a quick shortcut but I'm sure I'll have to do it by hand. In that case, what's the best way to do moving masks? Outline each frame in Photoshop? (oy ve). And which app would be better suited for the compositing, After Effects, Motion or FCP?

Thanks for your help,
John K



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SCQT! Self-contained QuickTime ? pass it on!

I would do this in Motion. I would first just try a luma matte to see how close you get, then create animated masks to cover the places you still need to cover - create each mask with the maximum points you'll need, turn on record animation, and mask the first frame, last frame, then middle frame, then quarter, then eighths, keep going as needed.
Mark