4 Replies Latest reply: Mar 27, 2014 5:28 PM by R Neil Haugen RSS

    Chroma key effect

    Bingo888 Community Member

      Hi All,

       

      I am trying without success to use the Chroma Key effect only in part of the frame.

      Is it possible? Can I draw the borders?

       

      Thanks

       

      Shaul

        • 1. Re: Chroma key effect
          shooternz Community Member

          Use a Garbage Matte for local area selection and masking.

          • 2. Re: Chroma key effect
            R Neil Haugen Community Member

            shooter ... I've always wondered, and I expect you'd know as well as anyone ... why's a "garbage matte" called a garbabe matte?  

            • 3. Re: Chroma key effect
              shooternz Community Member

              Never thought about it before.

               

              I guess..it cuts out the "garbage"

               

               

              I used to shoot film graphics on an animation film  camera (Mitchell single frame) and much of it was mutiple passes with mattes, masks and hi con film graphics. (plus opaqueing paint and tape)

               

              IIRC - I  think we used the term "hold back mattes/masks" instead of garbage mattes.

              • 4. Re: Chroma key effect
                R Neil Haugen Community Member

                Coming from a stills background, I once years ago saw a video of a post-processing person in naturally film working (there wasn't this digital thing then) and he showed how they used masks, flags, & mattes in front of the camera during shooting of special effects. It was very elaborate work, some of it literally done by shooting a scene with a mask (totally blocked all but one part of the image from being exposed, cut to shape and placed just so in front of the camera), then re-winding the film and shooting with a flag over part of it ... then re-winding and shooting another section with both masks to block areas and mattes that were colored or painted for either shifting color/tonality or detail level or simply adding background/foreground to the image. Some of his work the same footage went through the camera 5 or 6 times, complicated re-registration on re-winds and exposure controls & all ... but allowed him to do things that couldn't be done otherwise.

                 

                What struck me at the time was he credited his ideas tools & techniques to Ansel Adams, the way he'd mastered making prints with held-back/extended exposures using precise shapes and movements to mutliple dodging and burning tools. This guy just did it on base footage in-cam, which sorta blew my mind away at the time.

                 

                Btw ... I was pretty frickin' hot with those tools myself, b/w and especially color prints. LONG time ago ... and your "cuts out the garbabe" comment is as good as leads to no never-mind (whatever the heck that phrase really transliterates as ... )