Remove objects and people

9 Trim the clips

1 Import clip

Choose File>new Event. Label it ‘Remove’. Choose File>import Media. Browse to Remove_start.mov and choose ‘Import Selected’. Drag the clip into the Timeline.

2 Crop out the scaffolding

Zoom out to view at 50%. Press Shift+t to activate the Transform tool. Drag the corner handles to enlarge. Drag in the clip to hide the scaffolding at the right. Click ‘Done’.

3 Layer the clips

Set the clip size back to 100%. Click on the timeline clip. Choose Edit>copy, then Edit>paste. Drag the copied clip onto a layer above the original clip.

4 Offset the action

Drag the top layer’s clip right so it starts four seconds later than the below clip. When people walk in the top layer they overlap a clean patch of building on the layer below.

5 Draw a mask

Scrub the playhead to 6:05 to see the unwanted people. Go to the Masks section of Effects. Drag the Draw Mask tool onto the top clip and draw points around the people.

6 Complete the mask

Complete the mask by clicking the last control point on the first. This hides the top layer, apart from the people in the mask. You can see two sets of people from both layers.

7 Invert the mask

In Draw Mask, tick ‘Invert Mask’ to make a hole on the top layer to reveal the clean building from the layer below. The people on the lower layer are hidden by the top layer.

8 Animate the mask

In Draw Mask open Transforms. Click the Add a Keyframe icon. At 8:13 drag the mask over the people. This makes the mask follow the people between 6:05 and 8:13.

Scrub to 12:12 and drag the mask to continue hiding the people. Use Trim>blade to chop the overlapping start and end points of both clips. Now the people are hidden.