Effect 5: Pull an Object Out of a Phone — Three Layers, Two Masks That Merge at the Grab, and Why the Green Phone Must Be Dim

Shot 1: camera on a tripod, you holding a smartphone that shows the downloaded green-screen image; lower the screen brightness so the green is not overexposed - a solid, distinct green that stands out from the rest of the frame keys best. Shot 2: camera on a tripod, you grabbing the object and pulling it out of frame; keep it wide and do not zoom while filming - zoom in the edit. Begin with the hand fully outside frame; every lesson trims the dead lead-in because social viewers must be caught 'right off the bat.' Product-ad variant: mount the object on a ~$10 Amazon rotator with background lighting so it spins before the grab (a cologne bottle, then a shot of it being applied).

Layer 1: the grab clip, positioned inside the phone screen. Layer 2: the keyed green-phone clip on top - scale, position and rotate THIS layer (about 1 degree) to centre the object; never shrink the grab footage or the entering hand gets clipped. Layer 3: a duplicate of the grab clip on top, masked. Draw a static mask around the object first; on a further duplicate (Premiere/Final Cut) or the same clip (Resolve/CapCut), animate a mask around the hand as it enters; at the frame of contact cut the object-mask clip away and extend the hand mask to wrap the object - one merged cutout that lifts off the flat screen; keep adjusting as the object leaves frame, dragging surplus points off-screen. CapCut skips the geometry: its brush cutout is refined frame by frame instead.

Desktop (Pro; free users told to use Resolve): stack green over grab; Video > Remove BG > Chroma Key, click the green, Intensity 50 (higher erodes the image); resize the grab into the phone screen; hide the green track, Split before the hand enters, delete the lead-in; Option-drag the grab to track 3 above the green; Remove Background > Auto Removal then Custom Removal: Smart Brush the mug (don't start on frame one - step one frame in), Smart Eraser the overspill, brush size ~45 for gaps and small for fingers, step every frame, Apply; Cmd-select both grab tracks to align out-points; trim the green tail. The chair rim fooled the algorithm where it lacked contrast with the cup. Mobile (free): add grab then green; Overlay (stacking inverted); trim to match; Chroma Key, Intensity ~20; one thumb to position, two to resize; Duplicate > Overlay > drag to track 3; Split two frames before the hand enters and again after it exits, delete both outer pieces; Remove BG > Custom Removal > Brush the mug, then the hand frame by frame; tick; re-enter via Remove Background > Custom Removal to fix.

Green clip to V2/A2; Unlink and delete both audio clips. Effects > Ultra Key on the green; eyedropper; Matte Generation (Tolerance, Pedestal) and Matte Cleanup if needed. Hide the green track, Razor a second-plus of lead-in, drag to the start. Do NOT scale the grab clip - adjust the green clip's Scale, Position and Rotation (~1 degree) to centre the mug. Option-drag the grab to V3; Effect Controls > Opacity > Pen, points around the mug (Option-click adds a curve handle), Feather 0; hide the green while masking; click Mask Path's toggle animation and step frames with the arrows nudging points. Option-drag another duplicate for the hand, delete its inherited mask, pen the entering hand, animate the same way. At contact Razor the mug-mask clip and delete its remainder; extend the hand mask around the mug; keep stepping, dragging surplus points off-screen with the Selection tool; delete the leftover segment; play from zero. 'Masking in Premiere is slightly tricky - it does take getting used to'; Cmd+Z immediately on any wrong nudge.

Timeline Settings > Format > untick Use Project Settings > Custom 1080x1920 > tick Use vertical resolution. Unlink (heard 'Link Clips') and delete audio; green above grab. Fusion page: Shift+Space > 'Delta Keyer' > Add; pick the green; Matte > Threshold to clean. Edit: Inspector Position X/Y, Zoom, Rotation ~1 degree on the green clip. Trim the lead-in with the green disabled (Blade, arrows). Option-drag the grab to V3. Color: Add Alpha Output, connect, Window pen around the mug; Ctrl/Cmd-click a point to curve it; add points at corners. Duplicate to V4 for the hand: Alpha Output, pen a small box where the hand will enter, points off-screen initially; Tracker to Frame (clip tracking fails on this much motion), Right arrow and move all points per frame; near contact double-click points to make them linear and build the combined mug+hand outline on one mask; surplus points off-screen as the mug exits; review with Left arrow; Cmd+Z restores a deleted point - never delete. Trim the green tail; fix 1-2 frame glitches by moving stray points off-frame.

Green over grab; trim the lead-in with V toggling the green off, Left arrow five frames back, Blade, delete. Effects > 'Green Screen Keyer' on the green. Video > Transform on the green clip: Scale (All) toward 120, X/Y position (mind the hand), Rotate ~1 degree left. Option-drag the grab above; viewer Zoom 50 -> 100; V to hide the green; Effects > 'Draw Mask'; click points around the mug (click-hold to curve; right-click for Add Point or Linear/Smooth). Option-drag another duplicate for the hand, remove its mask, new Draw Mask; enable the Control Points toggle, step a frame and move a point (it turns gold), Add Point until the hand is enclosed; step as the hand approaches. At contact: on the mug-mask clip Blade one frame before and delete the rest; extend the hand mask around the mug; keep stepping, points off-frame as the mug leaves; V on each mask layer to check the handoff; Left arrow to review; re-enable the green; play.