Chromakey anyone?

[CCGamer]

I've started investigating chromakey (green/blue screen) studio work - something I'd like to play with...
Are there any PS compatible or standalone plugin/software that anyone can recommend for automatically separating images from the background? I realize it can be done by hand, but that can be a LOT of work.
My object is ultimately (obviously?) to replace the background of the subject with other images or textures.
I believe that there are some full systems in the multiple-$Grand$ category, but I'd like to start small/moderately small.
Any products you've played with and like?

Thanks!

[srwatters]

Corel Knock-out seems to be the standard plug-in.

Personally I don't care for the effect in general, but that's just me. YMMV.

[texxter]

I tried green chromakey seamless paper in portraits the other day and it was quite a disappointment for me. The main reason is that I had green reflections on the skin and a brass musical instrument - this green cast on the skin were impossible to remove! I had to convert the images to B&W. Next time I will use white seamless paper instead.

[brad]

Without going the expensive route, your best bet will be Knockout with a white or gray background... search the forum for Knockout for samples.

[CCGamer]

Thanks for the input all.
The reason for looking into this is an upcoming effort of photographing probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 individual folks while providing the option of different backgrounds. I cringe thinking about the hand cramped around the Wacom pen performing manual PS Extract afte Extract after Extract after...

I've read about the problem with the background green color bleeding into the subjects - a lot of which is suggested to be solved by providing sufficient space 4-6 feet bare minumum between the screen and the subject along with caution to not overlight the screen. But, I'll bet reflections on shiny objects (instruments, glasses, etc) are an entirely different issue..

I'll checkout your suggestions! If any others come to mind, please post!

Thanks!

[kadac00]

Check out Primatte Chromakey from Digital Anarchy. I don't know anything about it, but there is a -TRY- option. It seems a bit pricey ($269), however the website has good general information about chromakeying, background lighting, etc. that would be applicable if you bought some other tool for knock out.

If you do decide to check it out or find something else that works, let me know as I am interested as well.

[prairiefire]

If I were going to do events or if I wanted to make a lot of money doing schools, teams, etc, I'd invest in the Triprism system (www. triprism.com).

It's an automatic system that lets you take a chromakey picture, extracts the subject, and lets you put in a background of your choice.

I first saw it at Imaging USA two years ago, wrote a review, and still think it rocks.

Yes, there is an investment, and it only runs on Mac's, but you can buy the system and a Mac at the cost of a good lens.

sjh

PS. I've found that the key to chromakey is the same as the key to high key -- very careful and even lighting across the entire background.

I've not tried it yet, but I'll bet the new selection tool in CS3 really rocks on background changes.

[CCGamer]

Funny you mentioned Primatte Chromakey from Digital Anarchy. That was one product I ran across. Seemed promising, especially for the price.

The Triprism system, although a much larger investment (including purchase of new Mac ) is probably something along the lines of what I need to be looking for. Certainly helps to have an automated system that does the extraction and composite to final image for you and either automatically prints or saves to file. Quite a timesaver with hundreds of images to process.

I'll keep browsing...

[KeepsakeGirl]

http://www.expressdigital.com/produc...arkroom-C.shtm

You can create your own greenscreen borders and the workshop allows you to turn it on and it automatically drops out your backdrop. The dropout tools helps you manually adjust the edges as needed for any green that may be seeping through.

[CCGamer]

Thank you!! I'll check into it. This looks like more of the higher end products - one of those "you get what you pay for" moments?

Originally Posted by KeepsakeGirl

http://www.expressdigital.com/produc...arkroom-C.shtm

You can create your own greenscreen borders and the workshop allows you to turn it on and it automatically drops out your backdrop. The dropout tools helps you manually adjust the edges as needed for any green that may be seeping through.

[rokclimbertx]

working in video, we try and make sure to the subject backlit well to stand out from the chroma background... with say a blonde subject, no backlight means a lot of green bleeding in the hair but a good halo of light from shoulders to head will negate that...

lighting is the key to getting a good chroma with video; i see no reason that wouldn't be the same with stills...

hth