Comments

farss wrote on 1/7/2005, 2:25 PM
All report indicate it's the best there is. I have heard that Serious Magic's product does work a bit better if you're really desperate. I think at the end of the day the biggest single factor is how well the setup is done rather than what does the key. Also PAL keys slightly better than NTSC DV25 because of the color sampling.
Bob.
Spot|DSE wrote on 1/7/2005, 6:27 PM
Serious Magic is the best of the sub 2K solutions. Vegas is up there as a very good tool, 4:1:1/8bit is pretty dang hard to key well, which is why standalone and proprietary tools that cost more are good. Motion (apple) does a good job, Shake (apple) does a great job, Boris Red does a great job...but Vegas is really, really good. Lighting is everything.
p@mast3rs wrote on 1/7/2005, 6:39 PM
I will have to vote for Ultra from SM. Simple, easy, and quick. Plus the Master sets make it even more amazing.
Barry_Green wrote on 1/7/2005, 10:31 PM
All DV is tough to key, so if you're using a DV source, there'll usually be 4:1:1 color sampling issues. However, I've had Vegas pull some fantastic keys, especially when using the Chroma Blur filter before the chroma key effect. It *really* helps to clean up the edges.
Stonefield wrote on 1/8/2005, 2:31 AM
Agreed, the chroma blur filter was one of the best things added to the latest version of Vegas
logiquem wrote on 1/10/2005, 7:15 AM
Chroma Blur is indeed wonderfull in term of key improvement but take so much time to render...

Am'i the only one? It seems that rendering time is about 4 times longerwith this effect.
mjroddy wrote on 1/10/2005, 9:57 AM
The Chroma Blur has helped me a lot in some very tough situations. I know it increased render times, but I'm not sure how much. For how much it helped me, I didn't mind the increase.
There are several posts here in the archives that might help you with keying. As mentioned above, much of it has to do with the shooting process. Keep your subject as far away from the background as possible. Keep the bkg as evenly lit as possible and use different lights for the bkg and subject. And, a trick I did not know until a year ago; use amber back light on your subject. This really sets up for a nice key (as nice as DV is capable of, anyway).
Jessariah67 wrote on 1/10/2005, 12:46 PM
Spill supression would be nice...
[r]Evolution wrote on 1/11/2005, 11:40 AM
Spill Supression... WOULD be nice!
Sullivan wrote on 1/11/2005, 5:56 PM
You can do spill suppression two ways.
You can use the Color Corrector filter to add a little magenta. You can use the complement eyedropper to sample the green screen to get the exact chroma angle you need and then you can set the amount by eye.

I also use the secondary color corrector on spill, especially on the rim of light around the subject. Set the affected color to the green screen. Set the correction as above.

I usually use both of these in combination. I use the color corrector to clean up the extra green radiosity that's all over the scene and the secondary color corrector just for the spill around the subject.