Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? by John Rofrano on Aug 3, 2008 at 3:13:20 pm
Vegas has a chroma key tool built in. Otherwise Boris RED has an excellent keyer and matte tools. I don't know if the less expensive Boris FX has the same keyers but Boris RED rocks!
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? by Blahtor Magnus on Aug 3, 2008 at 3:28:49 pm
I think that the inbuild Chroma keyer is a joke.
Or at leas very hard to get good results out of without the need to extra-tweak the video.
I need something that has it all in one package.
Will check this Boris RED thing out.
If there are other similar keyers for Vegas, I'll be glad to check them out too.
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? LOOK!!! by Michael Bey on Aug 13, 2008 at 4:39:14 pm
I've found out recently that Sony Vegas' chroma keyer is better than I originally thought. But that's because I wasn't using it correctly. First of all, the better shot you start out with the better results. That goes for ANY chroma-key software. Try this for a better key on Vegas:
1. after chroma key is added to a clip, click the effect off. Then use the eye dropper to click & drag to sample an AREA (not just on point) of the green screen (or whatever color you're keying).
2. click "Show mask only".
3. 1st adjust the High threshold until the subject is entirely white.
4. 2nd adjust the Low threshold until the background is entirely black.
5. Toggle back & forth the mask on & off to get as smooth a key as possible. Always 1st adjust the High THEN the Low threshold.
5. Add the "Chroma Blur" effect BEFORE the Chroma Keyer and turn both Horizontal and Vertical pixels to 4.000. This will smooth the jagged edge.
6. If need be, use the "Blur amount" on the Chroma Keyer, but use this very sparingly. Not much at all or you'll get a glow around the subject.
Hope this helps. If not, I HIGHLY suggest checking out FXHome.com and looking at their Composite Lab Pro. It's relatively inexpensive and is outstanding for the price. All their products are great. I have that & Effects Lab Pro as well. Good luck!!!
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? LOOK!!! by John Rofrano on Aug 13, 2008 at 8:51:37 pm
Also, if you have a problem area on your green screen that can't be keyed out... add a Secondary Color Corrector before the Chroma Keyer and use the Secondary to fix the off-color of green to match the rest of the screen.
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? LOOK!!! by Michael Bey on Aug 14, 2008 at 3:35:41 pm
Great point about the secondary color correction that I forgot to mention! Thanks JR~
I purchased a 12'x24' green screen w/stand from Pacific Lighting along with a lighting kit and they had a tutorial on getting the ultimate key. They suggest first cross lighting the green screen, then placing your subject at least 8 feet away from the screen and cross lighting the subject (overhead light as well if you can). Then place the camera at least 8 feet from the subject. I know you need some square footage to do this, but it works great. My keying is 1000% better now. A LOT LESS work in post production and shorter effect chain in Vegas. Makes Vegas' Chroma key work better. Check out: HUMAN TORCH TEST 3 on YouTube by MB3Productions (me). Thanks again JR~
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? LOOK!!! by John Rofrano on Aug 14, 2008 at 4:01:47 pm
Another good thing to do is check the lighting on your green screen with your camera's Zebras. Turn up the zebras and make sure the entire screen has stripes. If it's only partly striped you have dark spots that will be hard to key out later. (don't forget to turn your zebras back down before you shoot)
Also if you use DV Rack or have a waveform monitor you can check your lighting with that. You should see a nice even spread on the waveform monitor telling you that your screen is lit evenly. I do almost all of my green screen work using DV Rack.
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? by Steve Rhoden on Aug 3, 2008 at 3:44:48 pm
Blahtor, it isn't a joke,
Early in my career i was looking for a chroma key plugin for
vegas that was like the big guys in hollywood used.
Now, i have come to realise that the chroma key filters in vegas
are just as good to achieve supperior results just as those popular keying plugins. (tried them all, and vegas stands up there with them).
But to achieve perfect keying in vegas, you need to use it in
combination with the color corrector and the chroma blur filters.
Steve Rhoden
Creative Director
TNX EFFECTS STUDIOS.
www.youtube.com/hentys
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? by Blahtor Magnus on Aug 3, 2008 at 5:16:21 pm
Yes, Steve, this is what I am talking about.
You can not use Sony Vegas'es inbuilt keyer without the need of a pretty long FX chain before and after it.
I need a bundle that has it all streamlined and tidy.
Like in Keylight.
Unfortunately, Keylight is not available for Vegas users. Wonder why.
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? by Danny Hays on Aug 3, 2008 at 7:12:12 pm
Hello, If your using DV footage and you haven't shot the green or blue screen shots yet, Be carefull to minimize any spill onto the subject. There's no spill fixes in the chromakeyer in vegas, Just put some space between the subject and the screen. Also put a chromablur set to medium just before the chromakey plugin and it will make a huge difference, Also tilt your camera 90 deg for shooting standing people as you'll have more lines of resoultion and not cropping and wasting the sides of the video. Keylight and Ultra are still far superior IMO. Danny Hays
Re: Is there such a thing for Sony Vegas? by Steve Rhoden on Aug 3, 2008 at 8:26:23 pm
Blahtor,
If you have a compositing software as an additional tool to your editing you most definitely can get a plugin for it like what you are
looking for.
Autodesk Combustion is my personal "holy grail" for my high end compositing needs (Keylight works in this).....But when not doing keying in vegas i do it in Combustion using "zMatte" from 'digital film tools'. To me, this plugin is a bit superior to Keylight for
quick work.
Steve Rhoden
Creative Director
TNX EFFECTS STUDIOS.
www.youtube.com/hentys
