Hey I'm Axel from HitFilm and you may have noticed that I've redecorated my office.
It was not by choice - but it takes more than a house fire to shut us down!
So in this tutorial we're going to look at creating a split screen effect in HitFilm
Express.
We get a lot of questions about this, but it's actually really simple once you know
how.
So let's take a look.
OK, so here we are in a HitFilm project with a few video clips imported.
The specific video clips used make no difference at all for this process, but I did include
a project file showing the results, in case you want to look at how they are set up.
So you can download that, or just create a project and import whatever video you want
to work with.
As usual, there are several ways this can be accomplished in HitFilm.
The basic method we will use involves masks in a composite shot.
So right click on your first clip and make composite shot.
So here I have these firemen and perhaps we want to create a split screen showing the
aftermath of the fire on one side.
So lets drag Trussis onto the timeline as well and then we'll use a mask to create the
splitscreen.
We can add this clip above or below the last one, the layer order doesn't matter.
As long as the mask is applied to the top layer, then the effect works.
So, I'll put Trussis on top and then select the rectangular mask.
Now, drag a rectangular mask over the portion of the clip you want to keep, reducing the
viewer zoom level so you can mask past the edges will help.
If the area you want to keep is on the side, then you can just drag from outside of the
frame around the part you want, and you're done.
If the portion you want to keep is in the middle of the frame, that's fine too - just
drag the mask around it, then switch to the selection tool again, select your layer and
drag it to the side of the frame.
If you want to see a different part of the lower clip, you can reposition it as well.
So the portion you want to see is visible.
So, that's it for basic split screen.
But what if you want one side to contain multiple clips in sequence?
Well, using this same technique, you can add more than one clip below.
To do this, make sure that you place the long clip on top that runs the entire running length,
and apply the mask to it.
Then you can just add the other clips below, stacked in the order they should appear and
stagger them to control when each one is visible.
That's one way to do it, on the editor.
But what if you have several clips sequenced on the editor - like, this.
and you want to place another clip over them as a split-screen.
If you film the split-screen clip so the portion you want is on one side, then you can just
reposition it so only that side is visible.
That’s a super-easy method, if you have planned for it before filming.
But maybe the footage is already filmed, then what?
That is when we use a sort of hybrid variation of these two methods.
Right-click the layer we want to put into our split-screen, and make it a composite
shot.
Then, add a mask to define the part we want to use.
Switch back to the Editor, drag that composite shot onto the second video track, above the
main sequence, then reposition it on whichever side you want it to be on.
You could also reposition the clip inside of the composite shot if you preferred.
If you don’t want a straight-down-the-middle split, and prefer to split the screen diagonally,
or with a curved line, then just use the Freehand mask instead of the rectangular mask, and
you can create any shape you want.
Another variation on split-screen that you might wonder about is picture-in-picture.
This is easily done on either the editor or in a composite shot.
Add the two clips you want to use to the timeline, with the picture-in-picture clip on top.
Then, select that clip, open its Transform controls, in the Controls panel, and reduce
its scale however much you like.
25-30% is good for most situations, but you can use any value you want.
Then, reposition the clip into whatever corner you want it in, and you are all set.
The editor is usually the best place to handle this, since typically the picture-in-picture
will be placed above a sequence of other clips.
So using this method allows you to edit your sequence in the usual fashion, then place
the picture-in-picture above it very easily.
The last option I wanted to mention is the Split Screen Masking effect, which is not
included in the free version of HitFilm Express, but can be added by purchasing the Starter
Pack from the HitFilm store.
I don’t have that pack in the license of HitFilm Express I’m using here, so I will
jump over to HitFilm Pro to show you how Split Screen Masking works.
But if you purchase the starter pack, the controls are exactly the same in HitFilm Express.
So, for split-screen masking, we can convert our first clip to a composite shot, then just
drag in all the other clips we want to use, in our split-screen panels.
Now, add the Split Screen Masking effect to the top layer, and you will see a diagonal
split running through it.
Open the Preset menu, and try some of the other presets.
We have a bunch of typical split-screen presets in here, but you can also customize them,
to create any sort of split-screen you want.
(Asymmetrical Row 3) In the Input Layers/Frames, you can set which layer is displayed inside
of each panel (Input 2-TV).
You can also adjust the Scale of the layer, its position within the frame, and use Frame
Shift to adjust the timing of the clip.
In the Cuts section, you can adjust the exact positioning and angle of each cut, or customize
the number of cuts involved (adjust cut 1).
And in the Border section, you can modify the thickness of the borders between the panels,
change their color, or reduce their alpha, so you can see through this layer to whatever
is below it on the timeline.
So, if you do a lot of split-screen work, especially with more complex layouts, you
can see how much time this effect can save.
And it is quite affordable for users of HitFilm Express.
But if you just want to stick with the free version, then you can still create excellent
split-screens quickly and easily.
So, thanks for watching, and I hope this answers some of your questions.
Please subscribe if you haven’t yet, and goodbye for now!