Re: masks?

No problem! You're just not considering all the ways AE can create transparency. I speak of the ever-useful Track Matte.

If your subject's head is motionless, it's a piece of cake.

Start by making a mask. Make a mask on the layer with the subject's head, taking care to create an accurate edge at the orifice of your choice. This will be the edge behind which the text disappears. Now set the mask mode to none, rather than add or subtract.

Once you're done, make a solid that's the SAME SIZE as your head layer. Copy the mask you just made to the solid. Poof! You have the makings of a track matte. Now just place your text below this solid, and make the solid into a track matte for the text layer: either alpha inverted matte or alpha matte. You'll need an instance of this solid for each test layer.

If the subject's head drifts a bit, take all those track mattes and text layers, and parent them to a null. You'll either have to do a motion track on the subject layer and apply it to the null, or just animate the null.

And if the subject turns his head, all bets are off.

Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV