Green Screen software

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for Green Screen / Chroma Key software. I'm looking for something at a hobbyist price point, something I could play with - I'm not planning on using it for professional work.

Ideally a Photoshop plugin, but anything considered.

Oh, this would be to run on Windows

Many thanks,
/alan

Right now I'm doing a lot of this, and I"m just using Photoshop. It's probably not as easy as other options but it's one I already know. So I recorded 3 actions.

1:
Select>Color Range (I think the fuzziness that worked best for me is 27) - This grabs the bulk of the green.
Turn on Quick mask

At this point I grab a brush and go down to the feet/legs where there are green reflections and adjust selections.

2:
Turn off Quick Mask
Layer>Layer Mask>Hide Selection
Filter>Other>Minimum set two 1 pixel

At this point I double check sometimes brush a bit here or there if something odd happened.

3:
Gaussian blur 1.2 pixels. - At this point I'm still selected on the layer mask so it smooths any edges that were jagged.

Sometimes at this point I'll grab a lasso circle the shoes, Layer adjustment to desaturate the greens. But only if the shoes are attention grabbing and reflecting a bunch of green.

Hi Alan, what kind of photography are you intending to do with the green screen, exactly?

Green Screen Product Photography?

Green Screen Software??

Easy Green Screen - Photoshop Plugin
http://www.photoshopgr​eenscreen.com/

The Easy Green Screen plugin filter makes green and blue screen photography simple. This powerful program quickly extracts images and removes color spill from your chroma key photos.
Current version: 5.0 - Compatible with Photoshop CS3 and higher
Pro Version Comparison $199

Russell Brown Tips & Techniques: Advanced Masking
Look for the "Advanced Masking" ones.

How To Replace The Sky In A Photo With Photoshop

Thank you all.

I am really only looking to experiment, to play around with the technology and see what I can do with it. Which is why I was looking to spend in the low tens of pounds, not into the hundreds!

I'll have a look at the links you've posted, thank you

Not exactly what you asked, but:

Chromakey is great for video because you always have software that does all the work, and since the image is rapidly changing, precision on each image isn't necessary. (but the cheap software still kinda makes crap results).

For still photography, my opinion is that an unlit white paper or light gray paper is superior to a chromakey. Green screen for photos is good for when you need to churn out a bunch of ok-quality photos with a very fast turnaround - for example, an event photobooth. But if you have high standards, the software to do it isn't going to be cheap.

With a green or blue screen, you have to be very careful with your lighting, and you have to have plenty of distance between the subject and the backdrop, in order to avoid a color cast from the lights bouncing off the backdrop onto the subject.

With a non-blown-out white or light-gray backdrop, you don't have to worry about such a color cast, AND, you might not even have to be super precise with your selections - just use a blend mode that works well around the hair and edges of your subject.

nathancarter wrote in post #18207169
...for example, an event photobooth.

Where you hope that nobody shows up wearing green! ; D

nathancarter wrote in post #18207169
Not exactly what you asked, but:

Chromakey is great for video because you always have software that does all the work, and since the image is rapidly changing, precision on each image isn't necessary. (but the cheap software still kinda makes crap results).

For still photography, my opinion is that an unlit white paper or light gray paper is superior to a chromakey. Green screen for photos is good for when you need to churn out a bunch of ok-quality photos with a very fast turnaround - for example, an event photobooth. But if you have high standards, the software to do it isn't going to be cheap.

With a green or blue screen, you have to be very careful with your lighting, and you have to have plenty of distance between the subject and the backdrop, in order to avoid a color cast from the lights bouncing off the backdrop onto the subject.

With a non-blown-out white or light-gray backdrop, you don't have to worry about such a color cast, AND, you might not even have to be super precise with your selections - just use a blend mode that works well around the hair and edges of your subject.

Yeah I'm starting to get on board with this. I think I'll run through some tests and see which is easier.

Further to Nathan's excellent post.

I agree with Nathan, I have found that a light gray BG produces superior results. As he stated, it's generally easier to blend the subject into the new BG when you have a light gray/white as opposed to a green or blue. When using green or blue, any imperfection in selection can really stand out (especially in the hair areas) not to mention color spill onto the subject that can result from the light reflecting off of the BG.