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Chromakey
Sometimes Chromakeying is referred to as an art,
because getting a seamless composite is less like a science and more
like cooking; you need the right tools, the right ingredients, some
imagination, and a lot of elbow grease. Traditionally the best way
to Chromakey is to light the background and the subject separately,
this means that the backdrop gets a relatively even coverage of lighting,
usually fluorescent, because most Chromakeyers are susceptible to
lighting variations and will give an uneven key. The talent is then
lit to try and simulate the lighting environment of virtual
sets. This can be difficult if the set is dim because of the immense
amount of light usually required to get an even key on the background
and further exacerbated by the fact that the more light you put on
the background, the more spill you get onto the talent's head and
shoulders. An Ultimatte
will fix up the spill, but not all keyers have this feature so special
care must be taken when doing traditional Chromakey lighting for virtual
sets.
Chromakey Backdrops
Getting a good even color behind the talent is the
first step in Chromakeying, this usually requires a Chromakey backdrop
in the form of cloth or paint. Chromakey paint can be picked up at
hardware stores or lighting places like Studio Depot (Burbank, Ca),
green cloth can also be found many places. Some companies sell blue
or green pop up Chromakey backdrops which travel easily and popup
like a windshield shade. Another alternative is Chromatte, a unique retroreflective material which is gray to the eye, requires little or no light, and casts no spill on the talent because the material is gray to the naked eye. But to the camera it sees it as a perfect blue or green. This is because of the Litering, a ring of LEDs around the lens which casts blue or green light onto the Chromatte material. Chromatte is also very portable in the form of a Chromaflex, a 7x7 popup which folds down into a 3 foot hoop. Chromakey
Sometimes Chromakeying is referred to as an art,
because getting a seamless composite is less like a science and more
like cooking; you need the right tools, the right ingredients, some
imagination, and a lot of elbow grease. Traditionally the best way
to Chromakey is to light the background and the subject separately,
this means that the backdrop gets a relatively even coverage of lighting,
usually fluorescent, because most Chromakeyers are susceptible to
lighting variations and will give an uneven key. The talent is then
lit to try and simulate the lighting environment of the virtual set.
This can be difficult if the set is dim because of the immense amount
of light usually required to get an even key on the background and
further exacerbated by the fact that the more light you put on the
background, the more spill you get onto the talent's head and shoulders.
An Ultimatte will fix up the spill, but
not all keyers have this feature so special care must be taken when
doing traditional Chromakey lighting for virtual sets.
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