Creative Effects > Compositor and Optics >
Cropping the Front Clip

You can crop portions of the front clip and then use it as an effect in the composite. Alternatively, crop clips and use them temporarily to reduce processing time while working on the composite. Turn the crop box on or off any time while you work.

You can set the borders of the crop box manually using the Channel Editor, or you can use Crop Auto to get a crop box that surrounds the white area of the matte clip.

To crop the front clip manually:

1. From the View box, select Front to view the front clip.
2. From the Crop box, select Crop On.

   Notice the dotted crop border around the image.

3. Click Animation to display the Channel Editor.
4. Open the Object folder, and then the Crop folder.

   (a) Object folder(b) Crop folder

5. Select a channel.

   Select: | To adjust:
   --- | ---
   Softness | The softness of the edge of the crop box.
   Left | The position of the left border of the crop box.
   Right | The position of the right border of the crop box.
   Top | The position of the top border of the crop box.
   Bottom | The position of the bottom border of the crop box.

6. Drag the cursor in the image window to change the value of the selected channel. You can also enter the values directly in the Channel Editor.

NoteWhen you modify crop box borders in the image window, you can modify two borders at once. For example, when you select the left or bottom channel, you can change both borders at once. To modify a single border, use the Channel Editor.

To crop the front clip using Crop Auto:

1. From the View box, select Front to view the front clip.
2. From the Crop box, select Crop Auto.

   The crop box automatically surrounds the white area of the matte clip.

To reset the crop box:

1. In the Channel Editor, click the Crop folder to select all crop channels.
2. Click Reset Chn.