Alternatives to built-in Chroma Key? (it's pretty bad?)

killertomato

Newbie Joined: Nov 28, 2018 22:23 Messages: 43 Offline

Solved by

Nov 29, 2021 02:11

So I thought maybe my green screen setup wasn't lit well as I cannot for the life of me get a clean image using the two sliders PD provides under chroma key. I decided to make some animations with a perfect green background as well as download some green screen samples and no matter what I do there's still that green fringing around subjects.

Is there a solution to this? Why is this "feature" even in the program since it works so poorly? I checked out some online tutorials and they were getting the same horrible results (or using an expensive NewBlue plugin. )

What am I missing here? Is the built in chroma key just broken? OBS which is free broadcasting software handles everything perfectly that PD leaves with a green halo around it.. ugh. I know this is consumer/prosumer software but I'm just so bummed as I have a project to work on and now pretty much have to do the entire thing in Resolve which I don't know that well since PD can't handle this one thing...

Thanks!

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Nov 29, 2021 16:34

With a clean, solid background (no gradiations in lighting or texture) and with subject material with a clear contrast, you shouldn't have any trouble with a single chroma key.

Subjects with poorly defined edges (like hair) or that fade into shadow might be trickier, but you can usually deal with those kinds of issues with a combination of masks and up to two additional chroma keys. Take a look at this discussion for more details.

Also look at the online Help system (F1)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Nov 29. 2021 16:37

Maliek

Senior Contributor Location: San Antonio, Texas USA Joined: Nov 10, 2012 12:01 Messages: 851 Offline

Nov 29, 2021 19:04

Quote Why is this "feature" even in the program since it works so poorly? I checked out some online tutorials and they were getting the same horrible results (or using an expensive NewBlue plugin. )

If you're gettng bad results with the built in tool and the NewBlue plugin it probably has more to do with the clip and how it was filmed (lighting, shadows, shutter speed, etc.) than the program/plugin. Check out the discusion that Optodata linked to as it has lots of useful information.

killertomato

Newbie Joined: Nov 28, 2018 22:23 Messages: 43 Offline

Dec 01, 2021 12:28

Quote With a clean, solid background (no gradiations in lighting or texture) and with subject material with a clear contrast, you shouldn't have any trouble with a single chroma key.

Subjects with poorly defined edges (like hair) or that fade into shadow might be trickier, but you can usually deal with those kinds of issues with a combination of masks and up to two additional chroma keys. Take a look at this discussion for more details.

Also look at the online Help system (F1)

But this is not the case. Using images I created that have an absolutely perfect green background as well as using downloaded assets that others created I get the same poor results with PD where as Resolve and OBS do it perfectly without any tweaking at all.

There's not even an option in PD to remove spillover (which should solve most of this issue). Two sliders is woefully inadqueate and even when presented perfect conditions PD fails.

killertomato

Newbie Joined: Nov 28, 2018 22:23 Messages: 43 Offline

Dec 01, 2021 12:33

Quote

If you're gettng bad results with the built in tool and the NewBlue plugin it probably has more to do with the clip and how it was filmed (lighting, shadows, shutter speed, etc.) than the program/plugin. Check out the discusion that Optodata linked to as it has lots of useful information.

Thanks (and great channel btw!). Would you care to explain how I can get that NewBlue plug-in to work with my PD 365 sub? I can't even find PD compatible plug-ins on their website and it seems a bunch of plug-ins that used to work great from NewBlue have since been removed?

I doubt it has anything to do with the lighting as again, Resolve and OBS give me perfect results without any tweaking even and I do have key lights that keep the green screen perfectly lit with no shadows, wrinkles etc in the shot. I just want to do everything within PD. I Cheers

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Dec 01, 2021 13:30

Quote But this is not the case. Using images I created that have an absolutely perfect green background as well as using downloaded assets that others created I get the same poor results with PD where as Resolve and OBS do it perfectly without any tweaking at all.

There's not even an option in PD to remove spillover (which should solve most of this issue). Two sliders is woefully inadqueate and even when presented perfect conditions PD fails.

I haven't encounted problem like you're describing without the kinds of issues I listed above, and it would help a great deal to see what you're working with.

Screenshots of the timeline and existing chroma-key settings would help, and even better would be to share a clip or two directly so other people can actually work with them (as long as you're comfortable sharing them here).

You can use the Attachments button below the forum's text box to upload them here or you can upload them to OneDrive or Google Drive and paste a publicly shareable link to it here. See this FAQ for more details.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Dec 01. 2021 13:32