After Effects Compositing: 4 Color Keying

See how to produce high-quality keys that fit well within their new scenes, while retaining the subtle details that make the results believable, in After Effects.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Using the exercise files
• Overview: What is color keying?

1. Work with Keylight

• Working with Keylight: Introduction
• Key a green screen simply with Keylight
• Begin a color key with a g-matte
• Quickly and carefully sample for screen color in Keylight
• Precisely adjust Clip Black and Clip White in Keylight
• Fine-tune Keylight adjustments with Screen controls
• Use only these two views in Keylight
• Know which Keylight controls to ignore

2. Manage Edges and Spill

• Managing edges and spill: Introduction
• Choose a keying background for contrast
• Eliminate spill automatically with Advanced Spill Suppressor
• Refine Advanced Spill Suppressor settings
• Use the Adobe workflow: Keylight, Key Cleaner, and Advanced Spill Suppressor
• Evaluate and adjust Key Cleaner results

3. Divide a Matte for Best Results When Keying

• Dividing the matte: Introduction
• Recognize when and how to divide a matte for keying
• Start with an animated and articulated g-matte
• Add a holdout matte
• Solve overlapping mattes with Alpha Add
• Track a c-matte to fill holes

4. Solve Problematic Edges

• Solving problematic edges: Introduction
• Create an animated g-matte selection without roto or keyframes
• Complete a three-pass key with core and edge mattes
• Solve matte lines with Refine Hard Matte

5. Complex Color Keys and Primatte

• Advanced keying and Primatte: Introduction
• Break down a complex color key
• Think beyond keying: Solve a shot with keying and roto
• Get started with Primatte Keyer
• Understand Primatte as a Keylight alternative

6. High-Contrast Mattes (When There Is No Green Screen)

• High-contrast mattes: Introduction
• Create a luma key with Extract
• Set up a simple sky replacement in 32 bits per channel
• Improve detailed edges with Refine Soft Matte
• Feather edges with Channel Blur
• Conceal matte lines with an edge matte
• Expand and contract a luma matte with Minimax

7. Prep for Success When Color Keying

• Prep for keying success: Introduction
• Know reasons green screen is not always the answer
• Avoid compression: The enemy of mattes
• Prep a shot for keying