My Experience With Keying

While I wouldn’t necessarily refer to myself is a “Green Screen Guru”, I have my share of experience with pulling color based keys. For me is started on a Grass Valley 200 switcher in the late 80’s with the little spinning knobs you used to select and finesse the color. I remember that little chirping sound it would make as you went from one limit to the other. Just thinking about that switcher really takes me back.

In later years I worked with a Ultimatte 45 external hardware box that allowed you to pull great keys using a component signal. At the time it was a $35k box and the place I was working at would only rent it when we had a project that required it. Sometimes I would run it as part of a studio shoot to check keys as we went, but most of the time it was setup in the online suite I was in.

The difficult part about using this box was that the first few times I used it I only had a few short hours to actually learn the box. As soon as it showed up I would pull out the manual and start reading so that I could at least appear to the client that I knew what I was doing!

Years later we have tools that are so much more powerful right on our computers, and they cost a small fraction of what the original Ultimatte did, or in some cases come free with editing and compositing software. FCP Studio has some ok keyers included, but Primatte inside of Motion is actually pretty good. And AfterEffects has KeyLight, which I find to be the best blue/green screen keyer out there for what I do. It’s rare that I can’t get a good key out of keylight regardless what I throw at it.

Why I Decided To Read It

So with my years of experience you might think that I’m great at pulling keys of all kinds without issue. In fact you may say the same thing about yourself.  While I can hold my own for sure, I have always felt there were holes in my knowledge. I learned on the job, and only learned about the things that were thrown at me, as opposed to any kind of formal training or even keying basics. We have a reoccurring job at Edit Creations that always seems to be more difficult than it should be. While the keys in the end come out pretty good, they’re not perfect. And while there are times that maybe you decided it’s “good enough” what you’re doing, I want to know that I can in fact pull that perfect key every time, no matter what.

So it was with great pleasure that I found Jeff Fosters new book, The Green Screen Handbook. The book’s only focus is green screen, and it’s a modern book that’s based on technology that’s available today, not from 10 years ago.

What The Book Is NOT

If you’re hoping that this book has tons of difficult keying examples with step-by-step detailed instructions on how to get great results, it is not. It does not get into what slider bar to adjust or which keyed is the best for which situation. This is what I was hoping it was. While I was disappointed initially, as I kept reading I realized it was much more comprehensive and covered the entire process, not just the post production part.

What Is Covered

The book starts out with a history of how we got to where we are today with travel matts, and what it was like in the early days. I actually found this part of the book fascinating and really enjoyed it. It gave me a good appreciation for what we have today and I couldn’t help thinking that the originators of the technology would really be amazed with what can be done now with relative ease.

Jeff goes on to explain the difference between blue and green screen (and when to use one over the other as well as when to use both at the same time), and hardware vs. plug-in based tools.

What I really ended up liking about this book is the way he covered everything from pre-production through post, as well as different budget levels. In other words, no matter where you are in the spectrum, if you do green screen work you’ll find something that applies to your part of the world.

One of the most important things I learned from reading the book was that the reason that some of my keys are difficult to pull, is that there are some issues related to the way they are shot. First, there would be a great benefit to using green bulbs to light the green wall (I didn’t even know you could do that). There are specific bulbs made just for this purpose. Second, and the biggest problem we’re having is the video we’re recording, while in HD and the P2 format, has too many compression artifacts, thus we are getting very noisy source footage to start with. There are some adjustments that can be made in the camera, but we are also considering recording uncompressed right out of the camera to ProRes 4444 on a Ki Pro. Our next shoot is coming up in a few months, and I look forward to implementing some of the new ideas.

There is a section of the book called “How the Pros Do it” that make my little head shot keys look like child’s play. It’s interesting to see some of the high end work with explanations on how they accomplished the scene.

Other topics covered include the importance of pre-production and storyboarding, testing shots as well as your workflow, having your talent interact with background elements and how to retain natural shadows from your subjects.

Overall I was very impressed with the work that went into this book and feel like I will be a better green screen artists having read it. It reminded me of when I took a motorcycle riding class years ago. Going into the class I thought I knew it all (or at least a lot). But once I was done with the class I realized how little I really knew, and was a much more confident rider.

Included DVD

There is a DVD that comes with the book (unless you buy the Kindle version, more on that later) that includes tons of goodies organized into folders that match the chapter numbers. You’ll find movie clips PS files and AE files that let you see first hand how some of the examples in the book were created.

Don’t Buy The Kindle Version

I love my iPad and the Kindle App, so when I realized I could buy the book and have it instantly I didn’t hesitate. However, a book like this probably would have been better in print. Here’s why.

Formatting on Kindle books is great, if you have a simple text layout with few images that can be shown in-line. Because this book is about visuals as much as the printed content, the formatting was just terrible. This is not the fault of the author, but of the Kindle book format itself. It just does not allow for free flowing organic looking layouts. I could have gotten by with this and still been happy with the Kindle version. The big problem was that you get no DVD with the kindle version, and that is a deal breaker for me. I was able to get a copy after making a few phone calls, but this was the exception. No physical book, no DVD.

Applying What I Learned

There are 3 main things I’m going to change in our reoccurring project based on what I learned in this book.

1) Shoot with green bulbs. This is covered in great detail in the book.

2) Record uncompressed out of the camera into a codec that is more “keyer friendly”, or at least to one of the higher bandwidth ProRes codecs. 

3) Try some slightly modified techniques in keylight to see if a different approach will yield different results this time around. Another takeaway from the book was that there is no one single technique that works in every situation, and I picked up a few new ones from the book.

The SuiteTake

I love learning. I love feeling like I have a challenge, I overcome it and have a new set of skills that I didn’t have before. This book really delivered that experience for me.

In my opinion if you are a video professional that either shoots or edits green screen scenes, this book is a must read to take you to the next level. I can’t think of anybody that I know that wouldn’t learn something from this book and improve their craft.

Another great resource is Alex Lindsay of Pixel Corps fame. He’s done some great web posting on the work that he does, with some real world examples. I’ve been really impressed with not only his process and what he has learned over time, but his openness to share what he knows to help others. We all improve when we help each other. Thanks Alex!

You can find some of his posts here.

]]> http://js-kit.com/rss/www.suitetake.com/p=4110 4 http://www.suitetake.com/2009/04/20/recommended-reading-the-knack/ http://www.suitetake.com/2009/04/20/recommended-reading-the-knack/#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:09 +0000 Thomas Tomchak http://www.suitetake.com/?p=1861
For several years now I’ve made it a habit to read business periodicals as well as business books. As a business owner I feel it’s imperative to learn from those with more experience than myself, and I have to say I enjoy it more then I would have ever imagined. I keep up to date with Inc. Magazine and read between 4 and 10 business books a year. Some are good, some not so good, but I always seem to walk away with something of value.

It’s been quite some time since I was really excited about a business book, but I just finished reading one that I thought I would share. The book is called “The Knack:How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up“, and is written by Norm Brodsky, Bo Burlingham, both writers at Inc. Magazine.

The book is written in an interesting way. Throughout the book, between different topics/chapters, questions from business owners are read and answered by Norm. By writing the book in this way a diverse number of topics and questions are covered that are not necessarily covered in the book otherwise.

Topics covered include how to decide if a new business is worth pursuing, how to raise capital to start a business, non-traditional ways to compensate your sales people, ways to detect unhappy customers and make sure you don’t lose them, the decision to grow or not to grow your business and when to ask for help from other business professionals.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when Norm discusses business plans, and says that before you put any effort into a business plan you need to first come up with a life plan. Ask yourself what you want out of your life in the next 5 or 10 years, and be very detailed. Maybe it’s more money, more time for vacation, the ability to travel with your family, or maybe it’s to reach a certain milestone in your company. The point is, you can’t decide what you want out of your business until you know what you want out of life. By planning one without looking at the other you run the risk of moving further and further away from the things that actually make you happy in life. I found this especially powerful and I reflected on it for several days.

While nothing in this book is specific to the media industry, like many business books the lessons learned can easily be applied to any business. And even if you’re not a typical “business owner”, you are still in business for yourself in one way or another. Even if you have a staff position, you are still the President of your own personal company. You still need to market yourself, continue to grow and improve yourself, and at some point move onto another staff position and sell yourself again.

If you are a freelance editor, this is even more true. You don’t need to have your own facility and staff to learn and apply valuable lessons from a book like this. As a freelancer you really are out there selling yourself and your skill set everyday. Books like this one can give you an edge over your competitors.

If you’re like me and have a hard time keeping up with reading, this book is also available as an audio download from Audible.com. If it wasn’t for my iPod and Audible, I would not be able to consume as many books as I do now.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did, and look forward to your comments and emails.

But due to the progression in technology and the drastic drop in prices, nearly anybody can open a little boutique of their own. And in fact, more and more editors are opting to leave their full time job to pursue freelance editing, while also having their own system setup in an extra room or their basement. For many post houses, filling a senior editor job has become a difficult task, with so many of the talented editors deciding to make their own path.

Have you been tempted to go this route? Have you been tempted to start your own production or post production company? It’s not for everybody, that’s for sure. Chances are you know in your gut if it’s not for you already. While on the surface it sounds great and you have visions of building your own room and keeping all of that hourly rate for yourself, there’s so much more to running a good (and profitable) business. If you want to set something up in your house and just work the room yourself, maybe there’s not much more to it, but I’m talking about the editor that wants to get an office, have more then one room, maybe a VO booth, graphics work station and so on.

Here are just a few things to consider.

• You’ll need to secure office space. Location is key, but so is the monthly rent. Will you need to sign a lease (probably) and if so for how long?
• Will you need to build out the office at all to fit your needs? Painting? Will you have to pay for this or will the landlord?
• How much furniture and office equipment will you need? What will that cost, especially if you like those Herman Miller chairs.
• You’ll need at least one phone line, two or more is better.
• How much cash will you actually need to lay out for all of the necessary gear? Sure, you can get a mac and Final Cut Pro for around 6K, but add to that a capture card, tape deck(s), audio board, speakers, lots of cables, edit monitor, client monitor, machine room rack and some really fast hard drives and suddenly you’re more around 25-100K.
• Do you have that kind of cash, or will you need to buy on credit? If credit, where will you get it? Credit cards, bank loan? What type of interest will you need to pay?
• After you’ve spent all of this money, you had better have some business insurance.
• At this level, you probably will want to incorporate your business. That will cost anywhere from $500 to $1,200 depending on who does it and to what level that handle the details. On average expect to pay about $800.

Let’s say you get past all of the hurdles above (and this is just a partial list). You now have your small little company ready to go and generate some income. And let’s say you’re the worlds best editor and being booked is not a problem (this is usually not the case if you’re just starting, even if you do have some long time clients that you’ve edited with). What do you actually know about running a business? If you’re busy editing all the time, who is actually running the business? Who handles the accounting, finding new business, keeping the equipment running, doing research on new trends? Do you need to hire an assistant editor to help out with all of the extra duties associated with editing?

One of the main reasons that so many businesses fail in the first 3 years is that they were not well designed from the ground up. In many cases, small businesses are built around a single person doing everything. But no matter how passionate you are about what you do, you WILL burn out if you don’t have a better plan going into it.

And by now you’re probably asking yourself “where’s the book Tom, I thought this was about a book”?

A few years back around the time I was starting Edit Creations I read a great book called,

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.

The book is very good at breaking down how to design your business in a way that you will have control over the business, instead of the business having control over you. While the book does not cover post houses specifically, the lessons taught can easily be applied to any business. For me it answered the question of how I go from one man editing, to a business that can sustain itself without me (something I’m still working towards, one step at a time).

The book is available on Amazon.com in paperback, and as an unabridged audio recording on Audible.com. If you’ve already read it yourself, I would be interested in hearing your feedback.

But due to the progression in technology and the drastic drop in prices, nearly anybody can open a little boutique of their own. And in fact, more and more editors are opting to leave their full time job to pursue freelance editing, while also having their own system setup in an extra room or their basement. For many post houses, filling a senior editor job has become a difficult task, with so many of the talented editors deciding to make their own path.

Have you been tempted to go this route? Have you been tempted to start your own production or post production company? It’s not for everybody, that’s for sure. Chances are you know in your gut if it’s not for you already. While on the surface it sounds great and you have visions of building your own room and keeping all of that hourly rate for yourself, there’s so much more to running a good (and profitable) business. If you want to set something up in your house and just work the room yourself, maybe there’s not much more to it, but I’m talking about the editor that wants to get an office, have more then one room, maybe a VO booth, graphics work station and so on.

Here are just a few things to consider.

• You’ll need to secure office space. Location is key, but so is the monthly rent. Will you need to sign a lease (probably) and if so for how long?
• Will you need to build out the office at all to fit your needs? Painting? Will you have to pay for this or will the landlord?
• How much furniture and office equipment will you need? What will that cost, especially if you like those Herman Miller chairs.
• You’ll need at least one phone line, two or more is better.
• How much cash will you actually need to lay out for all of the necessary gear? Sure, you can get a mac and Final Cut Pro for around 6K, but add to that a capture card, tape deck(s), audio board, speakers, lots of cables, edit monitor, client monitor, machine room rack and some really fast hard drives and suddenly you’re more around 25-100K.
• Do you have that kind of cash, or will you need to buy on credit? If credit, where will you get it? Credit cards, bank loan? What type of interest will you need to pay?
• After you’ve spent all of this money, you had better have some business insurance.
• At this level, you probably will want to incorporate your business. That will cost anywhere from $500 to $1,200 depending on who does it and to what level that handle the details. On average expect to pay about $800.

Let’s say you get past all of the hurdles above (and this is just a partial list). You now have your small little company ready to go and generate some income. And let’s say you’re the worlds best editor and being booked is not a problem (this is usually not the case if you’re just starting, even if you do have some long time clients that you’ve edited with). What do you actually know about running a business? If you’re busy editing all the time, who is actually running the business? Who handles the accounting, finding new business, keeping the equipment running, doing research on new trends? Do you need to hire an assistant editor to help out with all of the extra duties associated with editing?

One of the main reasons that so many businesses fail in the first 3 years is that they were not well designed from the ground up. In many cases, small businesses are built around a single person doing everything. But no matter how passionate you are about what you do, you WILL burn out if you don’t have a better plan going into it.

And by now you’re probably asking yourself “where’s the book Tom, I thought this was about a book”?

A few years back around the time I was starting Edit Creations I read a great book called,

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.

The book is very good at breaking down how to design your business in a way that you will have control over the business, instead of the business having control over you. While the book does not cover post houses specifically, the lessons taught can easily be applied to any business. For me it answered the question of how I go from one man editing, to a business that can sustain itself without me (something I’m still working towards, one step at a time).

The book is available on Amazon.com in paperback, and as an unabridged audio recording on Audible.com. If you’ve already read it yourself, I would be interested in hearing your feedback.

TT