DVMatte PRo versus PriMatte (or buy an old copy of Shake) for chroma key project

[Phil Balsdon]

This is a green screen c/k test I did for my Canon C300 on difficult hair using DV Matte Pro and then a trial version of Primatte.

https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/vlog/canon-eos-c300-green-screen-codec-test/.

I’ve since achieved comparable results using Keylight in After Effects.

The Primatte results were slightly better and easier to achieve.

Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/

[Adrian Smith]

Thanks for providing the comparison video, Phil. Nice work.

[Stephen Smith]

I’m a big keylight fan. It is a great keyer. If you don’t want to use it in AE you can purchase it as a plug-in for FCP for around $270 (US) or so. Check it out here: https://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/keylight/
They also have a 15 day free trial if you like. Best of luck.

Stephen Smith
Utah Video Productions

Check out my Motion Training DVD

Check out my Vimeo page

[Chris Lehmann]

It’s pretty easy to pull a good key in DVMatte Pro, even with a less than perfect screen, especially compared to the included tools in FCP7/Motion 4.

I like the way the plugin can preserve and match grain in the footage and it is very capable of keying individual hairs, even without a lot of tweaking. There are also other plugins included with it like DVWrap which can really help “sell” the effect.

That being said, there are some annoying as hell bugs in DVMatte that the company refuses to respond to. There are workarounds but it is disappointing that the company doesn’t respond to inquiries on a product they are still selling.

What camera are you using? Anything not 4:2:2 or better will benefit from the de-blocking technology in DVMatte.

[Adrian Smith]

Thanks for the info. Playing around with DVMatte and Keylight.

Sources come from different cameras at different times (depending on the DP). Current project was shot with the Panasonic AG-AF100.

Thus far they both seem to do a comparable job – Keylight seems quicker and easier. Both clean. Still experimenting.

[Scott Sheriff]

Food for thought on Shake
If you don’t have any other use for a compositing program except for a CK, Shake is going to be complete overkill.
The last version of Shake for mac was meant to run on Leopard. It may, or may not run well on your system. Snow Leopard is doable, and some have even reported getting it to run on Lion. The farther you get from Leopard, the better the chance it won’t run, or that an OS update might break it. To have the best odds of a successful Shake installation, you should do a clean install and Shake should be loaded before FCS. If you are at a point of freezing your system at a particular level, it might be something to consider. But if you need to keep your OS up to date to support other apps, it might not be that great for you.
Also the UI, and workflow is quite different. Similar to Color with a node based UI. Even just doing a simple CK might prove to be a challenge for some new users. I’m not saying it can’t be done. Just that it’s a lot more work than installing a FCP plugin.
On the plus side, it can be had for bargain prices.
Another option is to farm out the shots that are giving you trouble to someone that has Shake or other compositing software.

Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair

Where were you on 6/21?

[Adrian Smith]

Thanks for the info Scott. I was thinking pretty much the same about Shake myself (that it might be overkill and do more harm than good).

I might buy it anyway and install on an older laptop still running Leopard. It’s currently so cheap you might as well buy it just to have it.

None of the shots are giving me trouble (other than the usual). I just want to be sure I can make them as clean as possible for large screen projection.

So it is currently good – I just want to make it great.

And if I can get it to great without being too much of a pain in the ass I will have a clear winner.