Chroma Key (in Final Cut Pro)
October 20, 2009Chroma Keying is one of my favorite functions when it comes to shooting video. It does however make you lazy, as you can find yourself relying on just shooting in front of a green screen rather than searching for a suitable location.
I could spend hours (and have done) playing with different effects, both with the subject standing in front of the screen or with the back ground, changing it so that you place you subject in different locations.
I use Apple’s Final Cut, and this is what I do to ensure my Chroma Key looks good
1- Add Colour Smoothing 4:1:1, Chroma Keyer and Spill Suppressor (Green/Blue depending on what background you are using).
2- Turn off Colour Smoothing and spill suppressor (for the moment).
3- Adjust the Chroma Keyer take out as much of the background as possible and use the slider functions (Thin Edge, Smoothing and Enhance) to fine tune the colour.
4- When you are happy with the result use the Colour Smoothing 4:1:1 filter and just turn it on/off to see if it helps the overall output, if it doesn’t just leave it off.
5- Finally use the Spill Suppressor to take out any green from the subjects face or features, and use the slider to adjust this.
You should now have a good looking Chroma effect.
