Other good chroma-key plugins except keylight and BorisFX? at DVinfo.net

Heiko Saele · October 6th, 2010, 10:56 AM

I compared the internal FCP chroma-keyers with test versions of keylight and BorisFX.
So far I'm all for keylights - the internal FCP keyers didn't give me any useable results (either edges are green, or black and either jaggy, or wobbly - source is in DVCAM PAL with 4:2:0 compression...)
BorisFX chroma key seems okay, but not as good as keylights which seemed the only one that was able to deliver natural looking edges without too much blurring.

Are there any other chroma keyers available that I should be looking into? Preferably available as FCP plugins, but if you say there's this standalone program with a much better keyer I'd also like to check it out.

Thanks in advance for any hints!

Dave Partington · October 6th, 2010, 11:50 AM

Motion 4 has a great keyer built in (much better than the FCP keyer). If you have FCP you likely already have Motion too - so it's effectively free - and round tripping from FCP to Motion (and back) is simple.

Michael Liebergot · October 6th, 2010, 01:00 PM

I find dvMatte Pro the best keying software for FCP.
dvGarage - dvMatte Pro

As was mentioned taking your footage into Motion will also produce good results. but if you want to work and stay in FCP, then I highly suggest dvMatte Pro.

Heiko Saele · October 7th, 2010, 02:01 AM

Thanks, I will try them both. I have never been working with motion (I'm not much of an editor really...) but it's definitely installed here, so it'd be the most cost effective solution, I guess.

*edit* @Dave, it looks to me like the Blue-/Greenscreen Filter in Motion 3 is exactly the same as the Blue-/Greenscreen Filter in FCP? They feature the same sliders and the exact same results, it seems. I also tried the chroma key filter in Motion and it only featured one slider and delivered the worst results so far. Where would the other keyer be, the one you said is much better? The version is Motion 3.0.2 by the way.

Dave Partington · October 7th, 2010, 03:22 AM

The one to use in Motion is Primatte RT - this is not in FCP and give much better results. Larry Jordon has a great tutorial on it @ Linda.com.

Simon Denny · October 8th, 2010, 02:56 AM

I use dvMatte Pro and this works every time and is the easiest way to pull a key in FCP and Motion.
Spend the money and get it if you do a lot of keying.

Cheers

William Hohauser · October 8th, 2010, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Partington

The one to use in Motion is Primatte RT - this is not in FCP and give much better results. Larry Jordon has a great tutorial on it @ Linda.com.

Primatte RT is in my copy of FCP 7 and it works great.

Joe Batt · October 8th, 2010, 01:32 PM

I've been using primatte RT also and it does a good job if you mess with it long enough. I'm wondering if there's something better for use with HDV footage. I know HDV can be a headache for keying. unless its lit PERFECTLY, But i haven't seen anything better yet.

October 6th, 2010, 10:56 AM	#1
Heiko Saele Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wurzburg, Germany Posts: 316	Other good chroma-key plugins except keylight and BorisFX? I compared the internal FCP chroma-keyers with test versions of keylight and BorisFX. So far I'm all for keylights - the internal FCP keyers didn't give me any useable results (either edges are green, or black and either jaggy, or wobbly - source is in DVCAM PAL with 4:2:0 compression...) BorisFX chroma key seems okay, but not as good as keylights which seemed the only one that was able to deliver natural looking edges without too much blurring. Are there any other chroma keyers available that I should be looking into? Preferably available as FCP plugins, but if you say there's this standalone program with a much better keyer I'd also like to check it out. Thanks in advance for any hints!

October 6th, 2010, 11:50 AM	#2
Dave Partington Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: York, England Posts: 1,323	Motion 4 has a great keyer built in (much better than the FCP keyer). If you have FCP you likely already have Motion too - so it's effectively free - and round tripping from FCP to Motion (and back) is simple. __________________ Qualified UAV Pilot with CAA PFAW Aerial Photo / Aerial Video \| Corporate Video Production

October 6th, 2010, 01:00 PM	#3
Michael Liebergot Trustee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,505	I find dvMatte Pro the best keying software for FCP. dvGarage - dvMatte Pro As was mentioned taking your footage into Motion will also produce good results. but if you want to work and stay in FCP, then I highly suggest dvMatte Pro. __________________ Michael www.lvpvideo.com

October 7th, 2010, 02:01 AM	#4
Heiko Saele Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wurzburg, Germany Posts: 316	Thanks, I will try them both. I have never been working with motion (I'm not much of an editor really...) but it's definitely installed here, so it'd be the most cost effective solution, I guess. edit @Dave, it looks to me like the Blue-/Greenscreen Filter in Motion 3 is exactly the same as the Blue-/Greenscreen Filter in FCP? They feature the same sliders and the exact same results, it seems. I also tried the chroma key filter in Motion and it only featured one slider and delivered the worst results so far. Where would the other keyer be, the one you said is much better? The version is Motion 3.0.2 by the way. Last edited by Heiko Saele; October 7th, 2010 at 03:16 AM.

October 7th, 2010, 03:22 AM	#5
Dave Partington Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: York, England Posts: 1,323	The one to use in Motion is Primatte RT - this is not in FCP and give much better results. Larry Jordon has a great tutorial on it @ Linda.com. __________________ Qualified UAV Pilot with CAA PFAW Aerial Photo / Aerial Video \| Corporate Video Production

October 8th, 2010, 02:56 AM	#6
Simon Denny Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,409	I use dvMatte Pro and this works every time and is the easiest way to pull a key in FCP and Motion. Spend the money and get it if you do a lot of keying. Cheers

October 8th, 2010, 01:32 PM	#8
Joe Batt Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Forest Ranch, CA Posts: 106	better than primatte rt ? I've been using primatte RT also and it does a good job if you mess with it long enough. I'm wondering if there's something better for use with HDV footage. I know HDV can be a headache for keying. unless its lit PERFECTLY, But i haven't seen anything better yet.