Green screen with green objects

If you're using FCP tools only, you can duplicate your clip(s) so that you have two copies, one directly over the other. Use a Shape Mask or Draw Mask to isolate the portions of the scene you do not want keyed. On the bottom clip apply the Keyer as usual. The top clip probably doesn't require a tight fitting mask - just enough to keep from crossing into the keyed areas. Should require a minimum of keyframing if any.

The problem with the Keyer is that it's "too smart" — it subverts attempts to work around it — it has no access to Effects Masks — and there's too much accessory baggage built into it (suppression, matte tools, etc...), things that should have been separate and applicable only if necessary.

I was going to attempt to explain another method... but that would result in a tutorial explaining an entirely different approach (and third party tools with basically a user guide on how to use those tools) and the method I outlined above is easy enough to deal with...

I know that you said you didn't want to spend any more money on a blue screen but you can get them quite cheaply.

This one would be around $30 on eBay.

They are excellent and have green on one side, blue on the other and fold up to almost nothing.

They are more than big enough for your needs as they do not have to cover the entire frame of the video . . . you simply mask out the edges.

Use a Shape Mask or Draw Mask to isolate the portions of the scene you do not want keyed.

I also use the same method as fox_m. I kept the green color of the man's clothes as is, and only deleted the green color of the tree behind him.

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1. Place the same clip at the top and center, and the background at the bottom. *Correct: Mask, Wrong: Musk

2. Apply a drawing mask to the top.

3. Apply a green screen keyer to the center.

4. Red background at the bottom.

Should require a minimum of keyframing if any.

Hooked4lifeca should be trying to apply the keyer to videos instead of still images. I have no idea how big the green object is or how much it moves on the screen. Mask processing is not that difficult, but making the mask follow intense movements becomes more difficult. I guess fox_m was worried about the same thing.

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To Hooked4lifeca:

Green screen keyers also remove the green color contained in people's skin, so your face may appear pink, so be careful. Please refer to the link for the solution.

⚫︎Green screen keyer changes my color in Final Cut Pro(Spanish)

I tried fly fishing once, in the Winooski River, when I was a kid... I don't really have the patience for it. Anyway...

If you know you can keep the product in front of you w/r/t the camera, then your draw mask should look something like:

that way you can lift the product up to face level without cutting out. Draw Masks can be animated (for "rotoscoping") if necessary. [If you right click on the Draw Mask lines, you can Add Points where necessary — you shouldn't have to start over... If you need help with rotoscoping, let us know!]

There's a technique you could try along the same lines. It **does not require** a separate clip.

First, apply a Hue/Saturation effect to the clip. Use an Effects Mask > Color Mask and select the green colors in the "product" you want to protect from being keyed out. Change the Hue to 180. Add an Effects Mask > Shape Mask to create a boundary for the effect like this:

(Keyer with Hue/Saturation effects workaround)

You can add another shape mask to cover your face (but not "bleed" into the green screen area) if necessary. Shape Masks are *easily* animated if you need to do some minor tracking for your movements.

Apply the Keyer.

Apply *another* Hue/Saturation effect with an Effects Mask > Color Mask and select the altered color and "reset" the Hue by 180. (Adjust the Value if necessary). It should not require any extra shape masks at this point.

Keying can be simple, but sometimes it's an outright "art form"!

As I said, I don't use the Keyer for myself. I have tools I built (which are "commercial" so I can't discuss/hawk them here.) My keyer has access (relies on, actually) to the built in Effects Masks so I can do something like:

(Custom keyer with applied Effects Masks > Shape Masks)

where the keyer can have portions of the image Added (the edge "bars") and/or Subtracted (the area in front of you) from the Key without any additional effects* or duplicating the clip and using a draw mask or shape masks to isolate parts of the image.

*Other parts of my keying process which are built into Keyer are in separate effects in my "system" of keying, so any spill suppression is added separately as well as matte "adjustments"... The order of the application of effects has proven important on many occasions! Since every separate effect is *minimal*, adding the extra effects separately has no noticeable "hit" on the performance of the clip. Spill suppression/Matte tools are only added IF they're necessary.

I'll leave it at that for now...

Have you tried the Scene Removal Mask?

It is darn near perfect and incredibly simple to use . . . it works with no screen at all so it should be flawless with a green screen.

1. Camera on tripod.
2. Shoot at least a second of video showing the background before you move into the shot.
3. In FCP X drop the Scene Removal Mask on the clip . . . that's it. Job done!

Move the talent away from the screen further, use a key light or two to light from behind the talent, which creates a white halo round them from the rear, and kills off the green bouncing off the screen back onto the talent. Done.

Don't use Green Screen . . . use Blue Screen! Other colours are available.

Better still, don't use a chroma keyer at all . . . simply use the Scene Removal Mask which I am sure could be used in conjunction with your existing green screen.

The procedure would be to shoot yourself in front of your green screen and then apply the Scene Removal Mask which would get rid of the background regardless of its colour.

Here's the Scene Removal Mask used with a fussy background.

I found this old clip that was shot for something else but had a second or so of background before the talent moved in.

It took seconds to drop it into the timeline and add the SRM.

Not quite perfect but with a simpler background or green screen it would be perfect.

BEFORE:-

AFTER:-

I ask because I would like to try something out. For example, here is a TERRIBLE greenscreen:

The green color spills all over the place — on the corner of the table, on the base of the monitor, on the coffee cup, etc... This clip is also only 1280x720 upscaled to 1080. It's somewhat low contrast. It is typical of what you would find in FREE stockfootage.

Here is how I keyed it (and I also added a drop shadow — it emphasizes the edges):

I will say up front: I have a lot of practice...

I did not use the Keyer... I've built *alternative* keying "tools".

I'd like to take a crack at the issues you're having (it's good for practice if nothing else ;))

Here's the problem solved by draw mask on duplicate clip https://youtu.be/3-BKyln03gs

When applying 'Scene Removal Mask' on MacBookPro2020 (Intel Mac) + FCP10.6.10, there was a bug that caused it to appear black, so it could not be used. I layered two of the same clips and applied 'mask drawing' to the top.

1. Draw a mask.

2. Apply green screen keyer.

3. Enlarge the clip a little → create a dark outline.

4. Match the background color and contrast to the person.