My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma key

M

markran

Active member
Here's a link to my latest video, shot entirely with the DVX100.

http://www.seriousmagic.com/MSL3-Demo-750k.wmv

At work we make chroma key / virtual set software and I get to make the demo videos. [COMMERCIAL WARNING]This video is a demonstration for a new virtual set pack that will be launched tomorrow at DV Expo in L.A. This video will be playing in the booth.[/WARNING]

After having tried chroma keying with several different DV cameras, I think that the DVX100 is one of the best, if not the best in the prosumer price range. You can pull remarkably clean keys with it and the wide angle lens is really handy for getting a head-to-toe shot in tight spaces.

This video is encoded at 750kbps, so if you have a slow connection, right-click the link and select "Save Target As..."

--- Mark
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Mark,

Did you use DVRack while shooting the footage to ensure the green screen was properly lit or does Ultra do that automaticly? I only have DVRack and don't know alot about Ultra although that footage looks amazing.

Thanks,
Chris
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Bitchin. That is some serious magic.
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

This is a great concept and the keying is very good but, I'm sorry, IMHO these sets look way too 'virtual'.
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Virtual or not, the ideas are running in my head like CUH-RAZY. Good work...what's the price tag? Anyone esle seeing the experimental/dramatic/narative applications this thing could do?
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

[quote author=hillcity link=board=Clips;num=1102500630;start=0#4 date=12/08/04 at 08:25:56]Virtual or not, the ideas are running in my head like CUH-RAZY. Good work...what's the price tag?[/quote]

$795.00, but $545.00 (After Mail-In Rebate)

A piddling amount...which I do not have at the moment. :(

Dan
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

I agree with Soliton. To virtual or cgi for my tastes.
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

I'm not sure if the sets are supposed to look real... I think that's the *look* they want.  :-/  If it's supposed to look real, it doesn't.

IMO - Kinda cool looking 8)

As for the choppiness, my internet PC is kinda slow so I transferred it to my editing PC and it was smooth.
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

better texturing and lighting some of them couldlook real.
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

I have a question though. How does the zooming and panning of the static object effect the resolution?
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Thanks for the comments.

Chris,

We did use DV Rack when shooting (of course!). It's not mandatory but it is a nice assist in determining if you've gotten the green screen saturated and even. ULTRA doesn't have a vectorscope but it does have a real-time preview mode. You can boot it up on your laptop, connect your DVX and see the key *and* the virtual set (including motion) in real-time or very close to real-time. You still need to do the "final" key in post but this lets you tweak as you're shooting to get better results. Even if you don't preview with it, ULTRA does a lot of unique "magic" (called Vector Keying) to eliminate wrinkles and uneven lighting.

Regarding the sets,

They aren't supposed to be photo-real. This is for the very same reason that no CGI feature (Nemo, Shrek, The Incredibles), tries to look like a filmed movie. They are their own look.

If you need photo-real, the ULTRA software takes any video clip as a background and up to four layers of video clips with alpha as foregrounds. There is also an easy way to position a B Source plane (the virtual 'monitor' in many of the scenes) into a photographed environment.

--- Mark
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

These sets reminf me of video games clips...
I've played around with these software and it's the best way I've seen so far for green screen, I didn't play too much with the virtual sets, doens't look like I'll be needing that anytime soon.
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Wow...The bar has been raised. good to know about the DVX being good at key work as I'm just about to do some tests and now I know how good it can look I know what to aim for.
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Damn it MINO! Set the width of your SIG to 600!

:D ;D (I say that respectfully)
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Copy that John...Is it spillin all over your floor?

I ask that respectfully ;D
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

comin back at cha at 600 John. Might take me a day or two to pull it off. The sig at 800 stuff was to see if you had one of those plastic see through rulers : ;)
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Dakota,

Somehow I missed your question earlier. Sorry about that.

The resolution is fine because when shooting green screen for ULTRA, we suggest that users shoot to three standardized framings called "Tight" (head and shoulders), "Medium" (waist) and "Wide", (head to toe). All the virtual sets contain different shots to match these framings for each of three "virtual" camera positions (camera 1, 2 and 3). The software automatically shrinks and positions the keyed subject in the scene (although the user can override this).

The nice thing about this approach is that you are always using the maximum resolution of your camera by filling the frame of the source key shot with only the parts of the 'talent' that will be visible on camera. The idea is that even if the talent is only going to be, say, 300 pixels across in the final shot, it's better to use as many of the 720 pixels in your DV frame as you can when shooting the source green screen shot. Then scale those 720 pixels down to 300 pixels. This gives much better DV keys than only using 300 pixels to start with. It also lets us do a fair amount of panning and zooming before we exceed 100% of the resolution of the source shot.

The other nice thing about shooting to standardized framing is that you can switch to using another of the virtual sets in post, even if you didn't plan to when you were shooting. For example, in the demo video, you'll notice that I used the exact same source shots of the girl over and over again.

--- Mark
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

I didn't much care if the sets were supposed to be real or not. I LIKED the look regardless. Well done Mark, thanks for sharing! :)
 
Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

Re: My new DVX100 vid: All virtual set / chroma ke

The keying is very clean and your program I think will sell well in the corporate media arena and broadcast news.
 
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