-
Chroma Key, Vertical Camera
I’ve read quite a bit in the archives about the difficulties in Chroma Keys with DVCAM footage. Not knowing more about DVCAM footage, is there any advantage to tilting the camera on its vertical axis while shooting? I know I’ll get a taller frame, but will this help with keying because of the nature of DVCAM pixels? Just thinking out-loud….
-
5 Replies
-
[Geof Gilland] “… but will this help with keying because of the nature of DVCAM pixels?”
No more than if you ask your talent to stand on the wall instead of the floor.
If you think about it, your camera will just see an image and not care whether it’s right side up, sideways, or a shapeless blob.
Now if you shot DVCPRO50, with a higher data rate, that might make a difference.
Steve
-
Actually, if your talent stays within the frame, you’d definitely benefit from shooting with the camera rotated 90 degrees.
You’d be making more efficient use of the pixels. Downscaling after pulling the key would make the DV artifacts along the edges less noticable, and you’d get a sharper result compared to regular shooting. The limitation is of course that the talent would have limited room to move.
On another note: the de-artifactor in Magic Bullet is very effective in removing the DV compression artifacts before keying. Highly recommended.
Bar3nd
Forum COWmunity leader for:
ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS
MAGIC BULLET SUITE
INDIE FILM & DOCUMENTARY -
Ah! Now I understand! Humble pie taste good. Yum.
S. 🙂
-
Now having your talent walk on the walls would probably help, too. You’d just have to adjust your shutter phase 90 degrees to match…
Baddabing!
No more coffee for this fellow…
Bar3nd
Forum COWmunity leader for:
ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS
MAGIC BULLET SUITE
INDIE FILM & DOCUMENTARY -
You might also want to look at Ultra 2. They have a Plus 90 mode that takes SD footage and outputs a 1280/720 composite. Of course you can do the same thing yourself in After Effects but this just saves you a few steps.
It also has hardware acceleration that should give you a faster than real time key if you have a modern GPU. The only downside is it is PC only but it looks like you are on the PC anyway.
I have ULtra 2 and I have thought about using it with Magic Bullet for Editor’s to de-artifact footage first. Since it is also GPU accelerated it could be a great combo.
Gary
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up