A track matte lets any visual layer be masked by another layer’s alpha or brightness — the After Effects analog. The layer shows only where the matte source has coverage, and the source keeps animating the mask with its own transforms and keyframes.
Set a matte
Two places do the same thing:
- On the timeline — click the ◐ chip in a clip’s footer (next to the Fx chip). A popover lists every eligible source layer and the four modes. With a matte set, the chip shows the mode: α, α⁻¹, L or L⁻¹.
- In the inspector — the BLENDING section holds Blend Mode, Track Matte and Matte Mode together: everything about how a layer meets the stack below it, in one place.
Matte modes
| Mode | The layer shows where the source… |
|---|---|
| Alpha | has any opacity |
| Alpha Inverted | is transparent |
| Luma | is bright |
| Luma Inverted | is dark |
What happens to the source
The source layer is hidden from output while it works as a matte — its clip turns dashed with a cyan MATTE tag — but its transforms and keyframes keep running, so an animated shape keeps animating the mask. One source can matte several layers at once.
Hover the MATTE tag to see every layer the source masks, with its channel number (e.g. “Shape (C3)”); hover a masked layer’s matte chip to see which source it points at — useful when layer names repeat.
Track matte vs clipping mask
A track matte differs from a clipping mask:
- It scopes to one layer, not everything below.
- It supports luma (brightness) mattes, not just alpha.
- It clips the layer’s finished look — filters, glow, overlay effects and motion blur included — exactly like After Effects.
Exports render the matte identically to the preview.
Where to go next
- Borders, Shadows and Shapes — clipping masks and shape layers
- Overlay Effects
- Keyframe Builder
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