HMC150 > Cineform > PPro CS4 > AE CS4 for green screen?

[shawn.w]

Hey Everyone,

I just finished a week of shooting interviews in front of a green screen using my HMC150. Now the question becomes, what is the best way to integrate these green screen shots into my already large project?

I should say this is my first HD project so I'm probably unfamiliar with some of the tricks that would make this much easier on me, so please point them out!

I have probably 10 hours of green screen interview footage, and will end up with 10 hours of B-roll footage, covering classrooms, labs, etc, as this is a promo for a local college. So around 20 hours total footage. The college has many departments that each need a video, so this is why there is so much footage.

We will be doing a bit of color correction, and perhaps some added effects on the project, so I decided I will probably buy Cineform Neo as my master codec. That and after some tests it seems Cineform keys much better than AVCHD in AE CS4.


This is however my first time using PPro and AE CS4. Can someone suggest some good work flow options? I'm under the assumption that it will go something like this:

1. Import footage onto PC
(Vista 64bit, I7 720 processor, 12gigs ram, ATI radeon HD 4850, 2 TB storage)
2. Batch convert all AVCHD footage to Cineform
3. Import all Cineform footage into PPro CS4
4. Edit down to a final cut
5. Dynamic link PPro sequence to AE CS4, key out green screen w/ primatte, add in any additional effects or text.
6. Final export to DVD and web from PPro or AE?

The College wants the finished products for DVD and for their web pages, but I believe in SD for the web page as they want to ensure it will run smooth for everyone visiting.

I suppose I could try to keep everything in PPro CS4 if they make a good keying tool for it, but I've heard using primatte in AE is best.

I'm sure I'm overlooking a lot here or I'm mistaken about how I should go about transferring footage from PPro to AE, so let me know what recommendations you would make. And if you need any more info on my project or setup to make a recommendation please let me know. Thanks!

- Shawn

 

[igetcha]

hi mate,

im no expert but all my vids are greenscreen based and i use the same set up as yourself. what you said here is exactly what i do:-

1. Import footage onto PC
(Vista 64bit, I7 720 processor, 12gigs ram, ATI radeon HD 4850, 2 TB storage)
2. Batch convert all AVCHD footage to Cineform
3. Import all Cineform footage into PPro CS4
4. Edit down to a final cut
5. Dynamic link PPro sequence to AE CS4, key out green screen w/ primatte, add in any additional effects or text.
6. Final export to DVD and web from PPro or AE?


in after effects i use keylight which works extremely well in my opinion. you can see an example of one of my vids here:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmbjVdYDDUY

cheers,

scott

 

[shawn.w]

Ive been reading around and found some people saying dynamic link can lead to some problems if you're linking a lot of footage. Anyone had issues with that or have any advice on my assumed work flow?

 

[igetcha]

the only problem i have with dynamic link is that it slows down playback in ppro. so like i already mentioned, just leave the keying and effects till after you have cut down the footage and it will work a treat

 

[shawn.w]

Great Scott, thanks for the advice. Hopefully everything will go smoothly in practice. I checked out your you tube video, very nice. I had never heard of that type of smoking device before, interesting.

Anyone else have any tips or recommendations for me going into this project?

Thanks!