Every ProductionBlox background animation comes with a set of matching left, right, and lower third elements. These elements are still images, but you can easily make your own animated elements by using these stills as a matte.

To do this in Premiere Pro, place your edited footage on Video Track 1. This is your program footage, such as a talking head for an interview.

To make an animated lower third, simply choose the Production Blox background you like and place it on Video Track 2.

Now, from the timeline, select the background you put on Video Track 2 so that it appears in the Source View.

Now select the Effects tab for the Source View and the project. Under Keying in the Video Effects folder, you’ll see an effect called Image Matte Key. Drag this effect onto your effects controls window in the Source View. Select the Setup icon for the Image Matte Key effect.

A file dialog will appear asking you to choose a Matte Image. This is the shape that you want to be filled by the ProductionBlox background on Video Track 2. Simply select any Third element from any ProductionBlox background. For an interview we’d probably choose a lower third. And we’d probably choose either the “Clean” or the “With_Trans” version.

Once you’ve selected your Third element to use as a matte, you’ll see the effect in the program window.

With the large number of backgrounds and Third elements included in each ProductionBlox unit, there are many possibilities for mixing and matching to create unique custom animated thirds.

Note: This technique can also be used in conjunction with the cool Static Mattes included with 12 Inch Design’s Power Blox product.