Chroma Key

Chroma Key is a technique used in film and TV production to combine multiple images or frames into a single composition. During the filming, the foreground object is placed in front of a monochromatic backdrop (usually green or blue). In the post production, the color background is removed and replaced with an alternative footage.

The Chroma Key mode in AKVIS SmartMask allows you to quickly and accurately remove a monochrome background.

Note: The feature is available only in Home Deluxe and Business licenses.

Removing Background

Attention! The chroma key should always be applied to the original image, so use this mode at the first processing stage. Otherwise, the previous changes will be lost.

To remove the background from an image, adjust the following parameters:

• Color. Using three color plates select the colors to remove. Click on a plate to activate the eyedropper tool and sample a color from the image. Double-click on a plate to call the color selection dialog. Right-click on a color plate to clear it.
• Background. Select a type of your image's background. Depending on the chosen option, the program will use different pixel removing methods. You can choose between three options:

  Uniform. The background pixels will be removed by the difference between their colors and luminance levels. Use this option for removing monochrome backgrounds as in blue screen or green screen images. Note that this method preserves more details than other methods.

  Non-Uniform. The background pixels will be removed only by the difference between their colors. Use this option for images with an uneven background.

  Gradient. This option uses a complex approach and is intended for removing gradient backgrounds.

  
  Uniform Background

  
  Non-Uniform Background

  
  Gradient Background
• Drop Colors/Keep Colors (0-100). The parameter determines the range of colors that should be deleted.

  The higher the Drop Colors value, the more shades of the specified color will be removed from the image. The higher the Keep Colors value, the more shades of the specified color remain in the image. The range between these two parameters determines the number of pixels that become translucent.

  
  Drop Colors = 5, Keep Colors = 20

  
  Drop Colors = 25, Keep Colors = 50
• Edges Recovery (0-100). The parameter replaces the colors of semi-transparent pixels on the fragment's edges with the colors of neighboring opaque pixels.
  
  Edges Recovery = 10

  
  Edges Recovery = 100
• Desaturation (0-100). The parameter reduces the color saturation of semi-transparent pixels on the edges of the cut-out fragment.
  
  Desaturation = 0

  
  Desaturation = 100
• Blur (0-100). The parameter blurs the fragment's edges.
  
  Blur = 1

  
  Blur = 5
• In the View Mode drop-down menu, you can select an option for displaying the cut-out object in the Image Window.

To accept the changes, press the OK button. To exit the mode without saving changes, click the Cancel button. To restore the default settings, click on Default.

To edit edges of the resulting fragment use the Refine Edges mode.

To replace the old background with a new one, use the Custom Background mode.

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