Premiere Compositing Help?

[Donovan Cerminara]

Hello everyone,

I´ve tried searching for this, to no avail. My problem is simple: I´ve been experimenting with Detonation Films stock footage, and cannot seem to key the white background (from blood hits, dirt explosions, etc.) nearly as easily as the black background FX. When perusing their tips & tricks page, the boys that demonstrate the how-to make it seem really easy (but don´t use Premiere Pro)... but as I´m a complete FX noob, I´m having difficulty.

Can anyone take pity on me, and share the secret how to key white BG from said FX shots, without pulling the white from the desired effect, within Premiere?

Much appreciated!

[Andy Harding]

Sorry not within Premiere :(
It's the wrong tool for the job you need After Effects or simlar (look for the threads below on keying green screen). Prem is basically an editor, it may have some keying tools within it (have not used it for a long time) but really it's not up to the job your asking it to do.

[Jackson Carver]

You can use the track matte option for black backgrounds, I know. But as far as I am aware of, not for white.

[James Huenergardt]

Ok, here's how you do it.

1. Take your 'dirt hit' footage and put in the video layer 2
2. Take the footage you want to apply this to and place it in video layer 1
3. In the Effects pallet, select Keying->Track Matte Key and apply that to video layer 1
4. Now, go into your Effect Controls and set the Matte to video layer 2, Composite Using to Matte Luma, and then select the Reverse checkbox.

Let me know if that works out.

Jim

[Simon Jones]

I am having the same problem... Unfortunatly I am in the stone-age and using premiere 6... Anyone know how do this with AP 6?

Any help greatly appreciated...

(Sorry for thread hi-jacking)

Simon

[Dylan Tucker]

The Track Matte instructions that James posted should be relatively similar in premiere 6

[John Hewat]

Originally Posted by James Huenergardt

Ok, here's how you do it.

1. Take your 'dirt hit' footage and put in the video layer 2
2. Take the footage you want to apply this to and place it in video layer 1
3. In the Effects pallet, select Keying->Track Matte Key and apply that to video layer 1
4. Now, go into your Effect Controls and set the Matte to video layer 2, Composite Using to Matte Luma, and then select the Reverse checkbox.

Let me know if that works out.

Jim

I've been trying to do exactly the same thing. Your instructions get rid of the white perfectly but they've turned the red blood black and I cannot figure out how to move the blood image around to the right position in the frame.

Except that hitting REVERSE does the exact opposite of what we want - it takes the blood and makes it transparent and makes the unwanted space turn black.

[Graham Risdon]

Ok - try this.

Put the "explosion" clip in an overlay video track (track 2 or higher) then switch on transparency from the effects pallete. From the options choose "luminance" and adjust the threshold and cutoff to suit. This worked fine on the demo clip downloaded from the detonation website. I haven't got their library footage so can't test that it works with that...

Hope this helps.

[John Hewat]

I don't have a transperancy effect in my PPro.

But I applied a Luma Key to the overlay footage and made the settings:

Threhold 49
Cutoff 65

and it looks perfect.