@Karkes I've been using Chroma key in 2021 today, I've just tried all options & there's no prob i can see. I didn't have or know of a problem in 2020

Sometimes if a mask etc. doesn't go completely transparent it's because the colour isn't a true full colour, eg. black is a little grey or green is slightly off, not 00ff00 (0% red, 100% green and 0% blue), the slide controls in Chroma key can sometimes compensate for that but not always & completely, don't know if that's anything to do with your problem,. can you post a pic/screen grab ?

@Karkes

Hi

To add to @CubeAce and @Former user comments - see this comment and this comment.

John EB
Forum Moderator

Here you go with the difference...

In before versions, just 1 click was enough to get the green removed. In the 2020 version it is impossible. (As you can see in my pictures, it is the same file).

The Color buttom is just a" way out". It doesn´t work as good as later versions did. I know that many people have been struggling with this issue. I've checked all messages in this forum and I thought Magix had time enough to fix the bug.

I think Magix must fix this in order to have the same easiness than before. I think newer versions in any app must be for improvement... not to get worse. I didn`t know about this problem until I got the 2020 version. If I had know about it, I never had purchased it. In my case, I use chromakey as a main tool for my videos. It is essential for me.

Is it so hard for developers to fix this issue? Really?

Shouldn't an updating be sent to all customers in order to avoid this problem?

Thank you all guys for your answers.

Regards from Spain.

@Karkes

Ray.

As there is no word from the developers and we are only users on these forums it could be useful if you could provide a 10 second clip for us to see why you are having trouble.and maybe find a solution or setting for you that could work for the time being.

Apart from that I don't know how we can help.

Ray.

Many thanks CubeAce,

I thought Magix should be on alert to all customers comments in order to improve everything about its products. That's why I wrote it here.

Do you know any other way to contact them? I couldn't find any email address to do it

May be it is exists. I don't really know.

Thanks again for your time in answering. I really appreciate it.

Regards.

@Karkes

As you've already been told, this is a known problem in MEP 2020, seemingly now fixed for MEP 2021. It is highly unlikely, I think, that any update patch for the older version will be offered now; for what are, I hope, obvious commercial reasons, Magix hope that users will always use the latest version of their software!

If you wish to raise a support ticket, via this page, please do so. But I doubt very much whether you will actually be given any solution other than the advice to upgrade to the latest version.

Jeff
Forum Moderator

Thanks Jeff

@Karkes As Ray says I would be interested in you uploading an unedited 10 second clip to try in Magix Edit 2021 to see what happens, to see if the green goes away or is grey like yours? & i'm sure it would be useful to you to know if an upgrade to 2021 is a solution.

@Karkes, @Former user

Hi

The Chromakey green has not been fixed in MEP 2021 below is a screenshot from MEP 2021 showing the issue is still there

John EB

@johnebaker Hi, can you explain 'issue' to me, I've read the comments in the links you posted in the comment above 'experiment to see how red and blue colour contamination affect the green screen effect'

If the green is contaminated with red or blue as in your example, why is that an issue? surely the problem is with the colour being used not with MEP Chromakey green being at fault. or am i missing something?

@Former user

Hi

Professional green screens are a specific colour which equates approximately to a RGB Colour value of 0,177,64.

The range of green colour variation that the Chromakey effect will make transparent is restricted.

When there is sufficient contamination from red and/or blue, then the Chromakey Green effect will set what the allowed range specifies to be transparent, however there if there is some colour 'leftover' this is displayed as an approximate mid grey colour* with a slight tint depending on how much colour is 'leftover'.

In the image below you can see this in action - the image on track 2 is the 'standard' green screen colour, track 3 has a slightly exaggerated difference to highlight what is happening.

There is a slight yellow tint resulting from the slight excess of Red and Green colour compared to the blue - neutral grey would be where R = G = B - eg RGB using Blue as the reference 128,128,128.

*What the mathematical procedure is I do not know, however is it not a simple subtraction of what is expected from what is received.

HTH

John EB

@johnebaker

Hi John.

If one is using a physical green screen, in theory could it be altered by the temperature of the lighting?

I have only ever used backing rolls for an 'infinity' or 'light-box' look for larger objects for stills photography.

Ray.

@CubeAce

Hi Ray

. . . . If one is using a physical green screen, in theory could it be altered by the temperature of the lighting? . . .

Yes if you have locked the white balance in camera prior to adjusting the backdrop illumination colour temperature.

One critical factor is the level of illumination of the green screen too dark and the colour can shift out of the range Chromakey green is expecting. Conversely too much illumination (overexposure) can cause issues with removing green tints from the likes of hair and some soft edges etc can exceed the limits of the Antispill adjustment.

I posted an example of the Antispill feature here and lower down a better example when it was introduced.

John EB

@johnebaker

Thanks John.

I thought that would be the case. So effectively you can't have too much variation of the green across the whole frame and avoid background shadows etc. I've seen outside film sets where even on bright sunny days they still have huge lighting rigs set up and switched on. I always wondered why.

Ray.

Ray, Gid, There you go with the unediting clip.

@Karkes

Hi

You need to upload the video file to a file sharing site such as Dropbox and post a link to it.

Uploading to the forum, Youtube, Vimeo etc re-encodes the file which then defeats the object of using the original.

Added:

A quick visual comparison to the standard green screen colour suggests there is too much blue contaminating the green screen, and the illumination is uneven dropping off dramatically at the bottom.

Is this a commercial green screen or backdrop?

What is the illumination source for the green screen - daylight, video lights (LED, Incandescent (Tungsten), halogen or CFL), fluorescent lights etc ?

John EB

@johnebaker @Karkes

Thanks John, i think i understand, i edit photos & put in 100% green where i want transparency but green screen backdrops don't appear 100% green whether that's down to lighting or the screen itself, I tried with a green bed sheet but the colour didn't work right, so i bought a green screen online, it wasn't much better, some cloths are more reflective than others & any ripple or bad lighting can make it hard to 'screen out' so i don't hardly use it.

@Karkes  I had a go in Magix 2021 with the mp4 you uploaded , you've got a little star in the making there but i got the grey background as you have mentioned, i had a go at correcting the colour & exported it (the bw lines don't appear on my screen, i think that is just because of the screen capture 😏) but although i tried several times i couldn't get a good result without the chromakey cutting into your little star, the colour of the green backdrop is a bit inconsistent as John says but the hardest bit was around her edges, her hair & jumper, I have a couple of friends in production & editing of TV programs & a pro photographer, i know they spend £1000s on the green screen setup & lighting, they use backlights as well as the front lights to help avoid overspill, the backlights counteract the front lights from bouncing off & washing out the green backdrop. there's a certain amount of science & artistry to this green screen stuff, Maybe also how much is expected from a fairly cheap program like Magix..

@Karkes Hi i had another go,

I turned the colour full up & exported it

I then imported it back in, put chroma key green on, that worked fine

but the colour was high because i increased it before exporting, so i reduced the colour & the green chromskey seems to still work as wanted.

Whatever i do there's some blurring around the hands as they move, the chromakey struggles with that. I think that is more to do with fps of the camera not being able to keep up with moving objects, it shows in your orig video

@Karkes

Thanks Gid, for your help and time.

I really appreciate t.

Regards.

@Karkes 👍 Maybe try a different light, colours are different colours because they absorb some colours (wavelengths) and reflected or transmit other colours, chlorophyll in plants is green because the molecules reflect the green, people growing plants with hydroponics under lights use Mercury vapour lamps during the start of the growing period cycle when the plant is growing green leaves because the wavelength emitted is bluer like the sky/sun/daylight is in the early part of the yr, in the flowering period of the plants cycle they use Sodium vapour lamps because the wavelength emitted is redder like the sky/sun/daylight is in the later part of the yr, Autumn/fruiting/flowering period etc, When buying fluorescent lights different ones are available like cool white, daylight white & cool white etc. maybe if you buy the right light, (fluorescent prob isn't a good choice, my phone camera flickers under fluorescents) your green screen (which is made of molecules just like chlorophyll) will emit more green & work better in Magix. Maybe.. I might have some of the sciencey facts off a bit but the theory is correct 🤷‍♂️🙄😏😁

@Karkes

Hi

To repeat my questions from above:

Is this a commercial green screen or backdrop?

What is the illumination source for the green screen - daylight, video lights (LED, Incandescent (Tungsten), halogen or CFL), fluorescent lights etc ?

John EB