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Home: Video University Forums: Tech Q & A:
green screen and chroma key

 
 


mmagic
New User

Apr 6, 2006, 11:31 AM

Post #1 of 10 (1629 views)
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green screen and chroma key Can't Post
Hello,

My wife and I perform a stage illusion show and are interested
in having an illusion using chroma key and green screen effects.

We want to vanish a volunteer from the audience, and the illusion
will be that we have transported them to another location.

After the vanish, we would walk them down the hall backstage,
to a room set up with a green screen. Then, a projector screen
back in the theater would be showing the vanished volunteer
standing in front of the green screen....which would have a
background image of some location elsewhere in the world.

Can you please tell me what hardware we need to purchase
in order to have a green screen effect shown during a live
performance? (Something like a weatherman might use during
a news broadcast.)

Thank you very much for any suggestions or assistance you might
be able to offer.


videobear
Veteran


Apr 6, 2006, 11:50 AM

Post #2 of 10 (1624 views)
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Re: [mmagic] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
You need:

- a video camera

- a background with a solid color, evenly lit (green is good).

- a source for the background video (or still image). This could be a VCR or DVD player or your computer.

- a keyer.

There are a lot of devices that have keying capability. You could look for a used video mixer, such as the Panasonic MX-30. Or you could do this with a computer and a video editing program. If you already have, or have access to, a DV camcorder and a computer with a DVD player, that might be the easiest and least expensive way.

Your editing software might do a good enough job of keying for you, but there is also a dedicated software program called "Ultimate 2" from http://www.seriousmagic.com that you might want to look into. It can make a very clean key, even with DV source material.




Regards,
Doug Graham
Panda Productions


mmagic
New User

Apr 6, 2006, 11:57 AM

Post #3 of 10 (1622 views)
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Re: [videobear] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Doug,

Thank you so much for such a thorough response. Really appreciate your help.

The website for seriousmagic.com has a demo video for Ultimate 2. The special effects there are just absolutely incredible. Someone told us, though, that computer software only allows for post production work....meaning that we couldn't use it during an actual live performance. They said we'd have to invest a few thousand in buying hardware that does the work because it is labor intensive.

We'd much rather buy software, if it would do the job! Would you happen to know if Ultimate 2 could be used for a live show?

Thanks again for helping us!


videobear
Veteran


Apr 6, 2006, 2:16 PM

Post #4 of 10 (1611 views)
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Re: [mmagic] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
Well, although it has a live preview function, Serious Magic does say that Ultra is designed as a post-production tool, so I guess it would be chancy to try using it for your purpose.

Used hardware keyers don't have to be too expensive. Take a look at this search result from eBay: http://photography.search.ebay.com/...gZ1QQsofocusZunknown


I would try for one of the professional level mixers...say a Panasonic MX-12, MX-30, or MX-50. The prosumer models, like the AVE-5 and -7, and the Videonics MX-1 and MX-PRO, have keyers, but they're not all that clean. For any of these hardware mixers, you don't need a DV camcorder, since you will be using the s-video output from the camera into the mixer (or component video, if both the camera and your mixer support that). Any camera that will give you a good quality image can do the job. If you don't currently have a good camcorder, high quality analog cameras can, again, often be found on eBay at prices far below what they sold for when new. Here's one possible example: http://cgi.ebay.com/...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

For new gear, check out the NewTek Tricaster, http://www.newtek.com It costs about $5K. It'll do far more than just keying, but who knows? Maybe you can find a use for something that will let you produce a live TV show on-site.




Regards,
Doug Graham
Panda Productions


mmagic
New User

Apr 6, 2006, 2:21 PM

Post #5 of 10 (1611 views)
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Re: [videobear] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Doug!

Wow, thank you so much for all of this very valuable information. Your email has shaved off quite a lot of time in the learning curve I would have otherwise had to go through!

Finding a used video mixer on Ebay sounds like it would be just perfect for us.

My friend, I am so grateful for your help this afternoon! A thousand thank you's for your time and interest!


ppatton
User

Apr 6, 2006, 9:26 PM

Post #6 of 10 (1588 views)
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Re: [mmagic] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
you may also want to take a look at edirol products. they make a lower end video selector that has the ability to do keying, does a pretty good job of it. Forget what the model is.

paul


MSDowney
Veteran


Apr 14, 2006, 2:03 AM

Post #7 of 10 (1512 views)
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Re: [videobear] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
I second Ultimate also... it is one of the best keyers out there!


Mike

Thomson/GrassValley


razach
New User

Apr 27, 2006, 5:01 PM

Post #8 of 10 (1406 views)
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Re: [mmagic] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
     There is a video that you can purchase that goes through all of the steps you need to know about chromakey. It's pretty informative I think! You can see what video I'm talking about by going to this link: http://www.elitevideo.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=469

Allie


AndrewMSV
Veteran


Apr 28, 2006, 8:02 PM

Post #9 of 10 (1385 views)
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Re: [mmagic] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
hey magic man,

off topic question for you:
I noticed you call your work "illusion show" instead of magic. I assume it's because you don't think "Magic" is truly what you're doing.
So my question is, what do you make of David Blaine? Just illusions or partially something more sinister?

Just curious.

Andrew
m o r n i n g__s t a r__v i d e o g r a p h y
sf chapter, vu california crew
I think we should turn that whole region into one shiny piece of radioactive glass. - CartoonChris



Gal In Socal
User

May 3, 2006, 12:44 PM

Post #10 of 10 (1336 views)
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Re: [mmagic] green screen and chroma key [In reply to] Can't Post
I was at NAB last week and serious magic was doing a live key. I would contact them about how they did it.