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Green screen work using DVCProHD?
I’m about to begin digitizing HD footage shot on the Panasonic Varicam at 720p, 24p. A lot of it is talking heads on a green screen.
I’ll be pulling the footage in via firewire from a Panasonic HD deck, using the DVCProHD codec in FCP (there are reasons we can’t pull it in using HD-SDI for this project).
Will the DVCProHD codec yield a solid-enough picture to pull good-to-great great keys? Typically I use Keylight for compositing, in tandem with Composite Wizard. When doing green screens in standard def,I pull the footage in 10-bit uncompressed. But again, on this show, I need to pull the HD footage in via Firewire using the DCVProHD codec, and wondered what other’s experience has been doing green screen work with this codec?
Thanks very much,
Larry Marshall
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6 Replies
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DVCPRO HD gives a great key…especially with Keylight. I have had very good success.
Shane
Alokut Productions
http://www.lfhd.net -
Keying is not bad with DVCPro HD and I only capture via Firewire as an HD-SDI and a Firewire capture using the DVCPro HD codec yield identical results. There is definitely blockiness and issues around the edge of the person so you’ll need to tweak the key and I found that throwing the 4:2:2 or the 4:1:1 color smoother on the shots helped a great deal.
I’ve actually created a mobile uncompressed High Def workstation just for green screen work now. We take the HD-SDI feed directly out of the Varicam to my system. Now THAT is a gorgeous and ridiculously easy key to pull.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Thanks Shane and Walter, although Walter’s “Keying is not bad…” response was a bit less encouraging than Shane’s endorsement!
Typically I export out of the timeline and into After Efffects, where I use Keylight and Composite Wizard. I’m more of a Media 100 editor than Final Cut, although I’ve done numerous FCP projects with green keys and the DVCPro50 codec. Where is the 4:2:2 and/or 4:1:1 color smoother filter? Is it applied and rendered to the clip *before* the key is applied, or is it a a final finishing filter *after* the key (and additional tweaks)are applied?
Like Walter, I prefer pulling stuff in 10-bit uncompressed for green screen work, but that was in SD-land… was just checking now that I’m in Firewire DVCPro50 land…
Larry M
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Add Color Smoothing prior to the keying filter.
Kevin Monahan
Take My FCP Master’s Workshop!
fcpworld.com -
[Lawrence Marshall] “Where is the 4:2:2 and/or 4:1:1 color smoother filter? Is it applied and rendered to the clip *before* the key is applied, or is it a a final finishing filter *after* the key (and additional tweaks)are applied?”
It’s in the Video Filters > Key and you apply it before the Chroma Key filter. In your case, if you’re going to After Effects, apply it to the clip before you send it to AE.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Thank you Walter, Kevin and Shane…
LM
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