Primatte Keyer 3 (16-bit processing) - $699
I really like the control Primatte gives you, although I didn't find it as intuitive as programs like dvMatte or Keylight. Its precision DV, HDV, and HD conversion is very good and the ability to tweak your inclusion and exclusion matte is very detailed. Additionally, it’s got an excellent lightwrap feature (although like the other keyers with lightwrap, it doesn’t allow you to customize it so that you can only have part of the edge lightwrapped) and a really user-friendly method for matching your foreground to your background color scheme, with a simple slider that allows you to control the amount your foreground matches your background.
While many of the basic features (and some of the not-so basic features like lightwrap and background matching) are pretty easy to use (once you go through a tutorial or two), the more advanced features can get a bit overwhelming. Additionally, a few of the features that should be fairly basic are made more complicated than they need to be. For example, while it has a pretty easy to use spill killer, I had a lot of difficulty with the minute spill remover for getting rid of edge wrap and the like, a feature that was seamlessly simple in Keylight.
Overall, I think that experienced chroma-key users will enjoy the level of control in Primatte, but new users could find it a bit overwhelming and difficult to fine tune certain features. This is definitely one you should download the demo for and see whether it suits you ahead of time.
(Primatte Keyer 4 will be released at the end of the year. The press information for it states that it will boast an auto-setup
feature that will allow you to key 99% of the subject with just one click. If this is the case, then this should definitely improve its ease of use for people new to chromakeying.)
Final Breakdown: Platforms: Win/Mac Program Type: After Effects plugin (16-bit); Shake Plugin (32-bit) Pros: Lots of customizability, nice DV/HDV presets, superior matte sharpness, nice background blending and lightwrap options, selective transparency allows you to adjust for translucent things like blonde hair Cons: Hard to remove different varieties of spill, medium to high learning curve for more advanced features, pricey, slower rendering and processing speeds Demo Download:Click Here
Ultimatte AdvantEdge (16-bit processing) - $1299
This is the most expensive program we tested and is sworn by many documentary filmmakers and television content creators. Its basic keying setup works quite easily and really has a lot of power. However, when you need to tweak things for more problematic keys, the learning curve goes way up. Obviously, if you understand all the terminology and are quite familiar with keying, then the learning curve won’t phase you. However, if you’re new to compositing, then you may find the options a bit overwhelming and confusing.
Additionally it has a some interface and performance issues, as well. For example, even though it’s a plugin for a number of different programs, it uses a standalone workspace that won’t let you to see your background plate unless it’s exactly the same size as your greenscreen footage. And, from a performance perspective, it was the slowest program we tested in regards to rendering speed and it did have the single greatest likelihood of all the plugins we used of crashing After Effects 7. Hopefully these are things that can be improved in future installments.
Final Breakdown: Platforms: Win/Mac Program Type: Plugin for Avid AVX, After Effects, FCP, Premiere Pro, Shake, Combustion, Fusion, Photoshop Pros: Presets are very powerful, low to medium learning curve for basic features, extended customizability, available for more products than any other that we tested, selective transparency allows you to adjust for translucent things like blonde hair Cons: Slow rendering speed, expensive, high learning curve for more advanced features, no lightwrap Demo Download:Click Here
