Vegas keying plugin?

[Mike Tesh]

Is there a better chroma key plugin for Vegas then what it comes with?

Thanks

[David Mintzer]

Check this out---:http://www.seriousmagic.com/products/ultra/index.cfm

[Mike Tesh]

Wow that looks great. Kinda pricey but great.
Thanks

[Ian Stark]

It is great, but keep in mind it's a standalone app, not a Vegas plug-in.

[John Rofrano]

Originally Posted by Mike Tesh

Wow that looks great. Kinda pricey but great.
Thanks

Yea, but you get what you pay for and it’s worth every penny. Serious Magic Ultra 2 is an outstanding keyer, especially under suboptimal lighting conditions. Download the trial and see.

~jr

[Mike Tesh]

Thanks for the suggestion. But it sounds like some people are having some problems with it. Like it still suffers from many of the same problems as a regular chroma key app (green spill, transparency issues, ect). Kind has me worried. I probably should try he demo first but I currently don't have anything to key out to try it on.

I guess my big question is though, is it really all that much better then the kind of chroma key work you can do with After Effects or FXhome's Chrominator? Especially if you're like me and have low ceilings and only photoflood bulbs for lights. You have to understand I've never really done any keying before, and now I want to take my personal filmmaking to a another level. But I have limited space and resources, so whatever program is going to make that easiest and most effective for me, wins.

I mean it is expensive but if it really does work wonders I'm willing to pay the price. But if it's only marginally better then say Chrominator then I'd rather save the $300 and get that.

Oh well I should just shoot something and try the demo I guess.

[John Rofrano]

People who are complaining about spill don’t know how to shoot for chroma key. You MUST have your subject at least 5 feet from the screen and light the screen separately from the subject. It also helps if you backlight the subject to separate them from the background and perhaps use a complimentary color gel so that it further reduces the spill (although Ultra 2 has a pretty good spill suppressor). No chroma keyer in the world is going fix the fact that you have green reflected all over your subject. You need to learn how to light for chroma key.

Originally Posted by Mike Tesh

I guess my big question is though, is it really all that much better then the kind of chroma key work you can do with After Effects or FXhome's Chrominator?

I don’t have After Affects and I tried Chrominator a long time ago and didn’t like it. Just too complicated for something that should be so simple. I would download the trial of both Chrominator and Ultra 2 and see which one best fits your needs. Ultra is dead simple to use. What you do is shoot a few seconds of your green screen with no talent in the frame. Then when you drop the footage in Ultra 2, select the frame that is all green and press the Set Key button. This tells Ultra 2 to sample everything in the fame and key it out. That’s It! Your done! You have a perfect key every time.

Ultra 2 also comes with a variety of virtual sets which I us a lot. They have built in camera tracking on some of them which adds to your production value. Additional sets cost $395 so I have to believe a large amount of the initial price is going to the virtual set that comes with it.

Originally Posted by Mike Tesh

Oh well I should just shoot something and try the demo I guess.

We have two excellent tutorials on the VASST site by Keith Kolbo called Gain a better understanding of Chromakey / Greenscreen / Bluescreen and
Chroma Key Techniques for Tight Budget Productions that will get you up and running quickly with shooting for chroma key. Like everything else., it is an acquired skill.

~jr

[Robert Kirkpatrick]

Originally Posted by John Rofrano

You MUST have your subject at least 5 feet from the screen and light the screen separately from the subject. It also helps if you backlight the subject to separate them from the background and perhaps use a complimentary color gel so that it further reduces the spill (although Ultra 2 has a pretty good spill suppressor).

Exactly. I learned this the hard way when I shot my DV Challenge film. The Vegas Chroma-Key is not bad, but there's nothing you can do if you have the subject too close. I had mine about two feet away, and the spill was horrendous. Using various layers, I was able to isolate bad parts of the greenscreen and recolor it.

Any suggestions on a good complimentary color to use?

[John Rofrano]

Originally Posted by Robert Kirkpatrick

Any suggestions on a good complimentary color to use?

Depending on the color of your green screen a pinkish / purpleish color should be used to neutralize the green.

~jr