How to use Chroma Key Pro

Chroma Key Pro mixes two shots together by converting a selected color in the source shot into transparency. Typically, the source is shot with a green or blue background and then the Chroma Key is applied to replace the background. Additionally, Chroma Key Pro lets you add an Outline or Drop Shadow without having to use a second video effect.
 
Setup

Chroma Key Pro requires two clips - a foreground clip and background clip. Apply Chroma Key Pro to the foreground clip.

  1. Select the background color with the Color picker by sampling a color from the background in the clip.  This should be an average value - somewhere between the darkest and the lightest.
  2. Calibrate it with the Sensitivity control.
  3. You might also adjust the Color Range if you'd like to widen or restrict the range of color used in the background.
  4. Set Erase Spill to remove any chroma color bleeding from the background.
  5. If you still have problems with borders, use the Soften and Shrink controls to clean up the boundary between the foreground and background image.
  6. Use the Garbage Matte to remove any unwanted items from the image
  7. Then, place the background clip on a second track so it displays wherever ChromaKey renders the foreground clip transparent.
  8. Finally, use the Outline or Drop Shadow to help your image stand out from the background

 

  • The Color control sets the chroma key color. Use this to sample the background color. If the background has an uneven intensity, pick something in the middle.
    • Color Range adjusts the hue range accepted by the keyer. This is useful if the chroma paint is inconsistent. Increase this to allow a greater range of color.
    • Sensitivity sets the sensitivity of the keyer. Adjust this to find the best threshold to separate out the background. You might enable the Show Mask option so you can more easily see the mask.
    • Turn up the Smooth Key control to improve the keying in heavily compressed video clips
    • Erase Spill removes key color from the image. Often, there is some background color reflecting off the sides of the subjects or bleeding through translucent objects (hair is a good example.) When this image is then keyed over a different color background, the color bleed becomes very apparent. Turn up the Erase Spill control to subtract out this color. Don't overdo it, though, because at higher settings it can remove more color than you might want.
    • Feather blurs the edges of the mask.
    • Shrink reduces the size of the visible portion of the foreground image. This is useful for cleaning up the edges of the mask.
    • Enable Invert to reverse the key
  • Enable the Chroma Key option under Show Mask to see the image as a black and white mask. This makes it much easier to calibrate the color key.
  • Enable the Shape Mask option under Show Mask to see the area defined for the Garbage Matte
  • The Garbage Matte allows you to define an area around your image to remove any unwanted items from view.
    • The Shape group lets you adjust the four corners of the Garbage Matte.
    • Curve sets the roundness of your Shape. With Curve set to 100, your shape will be an oval. With Curve set to 0, your shape will be a rectangle.
    • Feather blurs the edges of the Garbage Matte. Turn Feather up to create a soft edge to the shape. Turn it down for a sharp edge.
    • Enabling the Invert option removes everything inside the shape area that you have defined
    • Check the Enable option to turn on the Garbage Matte
  • Outline adds a colored outline to your chromakey video. Create cut-out paper looks, glow, and more.
    • Color sets the color of the outline. Click the dropper icon to select a color from anywhere on the screen, or click the color box to select from a large spectrum of colors.
    • Width sets the size of the outline.
    • Soften blurs the edges of the outline.
    • Opacity sets the visibility of the border.
  • Drop Shadow adds a drop shadow to your chromakey video.
    • Color sets the shadow color.
    • Offset sets the distance of the shadow.
    • Angle sets the direction of the shadow.
    • Blur controls the width of the blurring.
    • Opacity sets the visibility of the shadow.
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