Thursday, July 23, 2009

Chroma Key Definitions

Quick Definition of Chroma Key

Chroma Key (also known as green screen or blue screen in film and video) is electronically inserting a background behind your foreground objects (usually people). In short, your foreground objects are placed in front of a single colored background, usually green or blue because these colors are very different from human skin tones. [Red would be a very poor choice when people are in the foreground.] The background color is then replaced with an image of choice.

Additional Definition of Chroma Key

“Keying” means to take a background color such as green and replace the color with a new background. It’s like “keying” a lock. Where the cuts on the key are set to match the tumblers in the lock, so too are the color or light frequencies set to match an electronic point where the color drops out and is replaced by any given photograph, moving video, or animation.

There are somewhere around 15 different types of keys (or mattes which resemble keys), each one better suited for a particular situation. Chroma keys are one of the most popular.
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Starting in 1979, I have 10 years of full-time professional lighting experience for film and television; the majority of the experience is mainly television. I’ve probably lighted every situation possible from commercials to promotionals, news stories, talk shows, and an assortment of other genres or story forms. Since 1990, I have kept my lighting skills sharp by lighting part-time on a freelance level. At the same time, I have also periodically lighted theatrical venues on a contractual basis. From 1979 and until early 2009, I was an I.A.T.S.E., Local 18 member.