Using SVG files as masks and graphics in Video by Zaweba
Import an SVG into Video by Zaweba as a mask or as a graphic in its own colours, see which SVG parts are read, and why text needs converting to outlines.
Drawing a complex shape by hand with a pen mask is slow and rarely perfect. If the shape already exists as a vector file, perhaps a logo, an icon or a hand drawn outline from a design program, Video by Zaweba can use it directly. You can import an SVG as a mask, or place it as a graphic in its own colours.
What gets read
SVG files can contain many kinds of element. Video by Zaweba reads paths, rects, circles, ellipses, lines, polylines, polygons, and groups with transforms. Arcs are read too. Together those cover the shapes most logos and icons are made of.
Text is the important exception. Text in an SVG must be converted to outlines first, in the program that made the file. That turns each letter into a path, which can then be read like any other shape. If you import an SVG and words are missing, this is the reason.
SVG as a mask
Imported as a mask, the SVG's shape decides what part of a clip shows. Put video inside a logo, show a scene through the outline of a country on a map, or cut a picture into an icon's shape.
Once imported, it behaves like the clip's other masks. That means you can combine it with others, invert it, feather the edge, expand it and animate its position, scale and rotation. A logo mask that slowly scales up can reveal a whole scene, and feathering the edge softens the reveal.
SVG as a graphic
SVG files can also be placed as shapes in their own colours. Instead of masking footage, the graphic itself appears on the timeline, like a picture with transparency. That suits logos, icons, arrows and diagrams that you want to show on screen.
Because they come from vectors, these shapes are defined by their outlines rather than pixels, which makes them a good fit for scaling and animating a logo, compared with a small raster picture that may look soft when enlarged.
A little preparation in the design program saves trouble. Convert text to outlines. Keep the file simple: a clean logo with a few paths imports more predictably than a complex illustration with effects. If parts of a design rely on features not in the list above, such as filters, they will not come across, so stick to plain shapes.
Check the shape after import. If something looks off, open the file in the program that made it, simplify it, and import again.
Jobs to try
Video inside a logo. Import the logo as a mask on a video clip, place it over a plain background, and animate a slow scale.
A shaped reveal. Use an SVG shape as a mask that grows from small to full frame, revealing the next scene.
Branding. Place your logo as a graphic in its own colours in the corner of every video, positioned with guides so it is the same each time.
Maps. Import a country or region outline and use it as a mask to show footage inside the shape, or as a graphic to highlight an area.
Why an SVG looks wrong
Forgetting to convert text is the most common one. Before exporting the SVG, outline all text.
Bringing in an illustration with gradients, filters or effects and expecting them all to appear is another. The paths and shapes come across; complex effects may not.
Using a mask when you meant a graphic, or the other way round, is easy to mix up. If you want the logo's colours, place it as a graphic; if you want footage inside it, import it as a mask.
Choosing SVG over drawing
SVG masks are one of several ways to show part of a picture in Video by Zaweba, alongside drawn masks, colour masks and track mattes. For a shape you already have as a file, they are the most accurate choice, and they save you from tracing it by hand.
