5a. 3D Viewer Tools

5a1. Minimize

5a2. Large Surface

5a3. Middle Surface

5a4. Small Surface

5a5. Opaque

5a6. Samples

5a7. Clear BG

5a8. Sliced

5a8a. Wireframe

6. More about the Primatte Polyhedral Slicing Algorithms

6a. Primatte Algorithm

6b. Primatte RT+ Algorithm

6c. Primatte RT

7. If you have trouble…

8. Request a NodeLock DS 7.61 License Request Form

Proprietary Notices:

Primatte is distributed and licensed by IMAGICA Corp. of America, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Primatte was developed by IMAGICA Corp., Tokyo, Japan

Primatte is a trademark of IMAGICA Corp., Tokyo, Japan

1. Installation Information:

The version of Primatte V4 for AVID|DS 7.6 uses the MacAddress method of licensing the product. To get and use a temporary license, you must have installed Primatte on your C:\ drive. You may have received Primatte for DS 7.6 in either of two formats; a CD or a downloaded .zip file.

If you received a CD...

- If you received a CD from IMAGICA, it should 'autorun' when the CD is inserted. If it doesn't, execute the Setup.exe file on the CD and follow the installation instructions. You may have to use the file browser to point Primatte to the correct DS plug-ins directory.

If you downloaded the file...

- If you downloaded the file, it will be in zip format. Unzip the file to a temporary folder and execute the Setup.exe program. Follow the onscreen instructions and Primatte for DS 7.x will be installed onto your system.

Getting the MacAddress...

- Once installation is complete, go to the Start\Program Files\PRIMATTE\Primatte for DS v7.6\License\ directory and execute the GetMac.exe program. This will open a window showing your machine's NIC or MacAddress (this has nothing to do with Apple Macintosh computers). A MacAddress looks like this 00:08:04:36:3a:6d and is a unique identifier of your system.

NOTE: Please confirm that you get the same MacAddress if you run the GetMac.exe program a second time.

NOTE: The above procedure must be executed on the same machine that you run Avid|DS on.

Request a license...

- Send your system's MacAddress to sgross@imagica-la.com and he will reply with a Primatte Registration License.

- A temporary Primatte Registration License will have 30 characters in it and look something like this 5874ae0b14029774|0760+20010418. The numbers to the right of the ’bar’ symbol indicates the version of Primatte the license will work on. The numbers on the far right indicate the expiration date of the temporary license key.

- A permanent Registration License will have 21 characters in it and look something like this 10a234547e007974|0760. Again, the numbers to the right of the ’bar’ symbol indicates the version of Primatte for which the license has been issued.

NOTE:The |0760 section of the license indicates the version of Primatte that the license is registered to. Make sure that it matches the version number on your Primatte CD or downloaded file.

Entering the license key...

- Once you have your license, go to the Start\Programs\PRIMATTE\Primatte for DS v7.6\License directory and execute the RegLic.exe program. Enter the Registration License that was e-mailed to you in the window area provided (it is usually easier to copy/paste the license from your e-mail to avoid transcription errors).

- Click on the Registration button and the RegLic.exe program will save the license as C:\Program Files\PRIMATTE\Primatte for DS v7.6\license\DsPrim.lic.

NOTE: Please do not change the name or location of the Primatte License File: field. The license will not be recognized if you do.

- Check the message at the bottom of the window. If you see Registration Complete there, Primatte for DS 7.6. is unlocked and activated. If you do not see Registration Complete, please e-mail sgross@imagica-la.com and tell Scott Gross the error message that appears.

- Exit the Reglic.exe application and launch Avid DS 7.6.

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Start up the DS application and load the clips you will want to use...

There are several methods that can be used to apply the Primatte keyer; we shall describe three of them below. The operation of the keyer is the same regardless of the method used to actually implement it in DS.

Method #1: Keying in the Compositor using the Layer method:

- Select the Compositing layout by pressing F6 or by clicking on the Compositing icon in the left hand margin.

- This operation will display the DS timeline in the lower right of the DS window and the Layer View on the left screen.

- Change the folder in the browser directory on the top left screen to find the clips you wish to use in the composite.

- Drag the background clip to the empty track on the timeline.

- Drag the foreground clip (the blue or greenscreen clip to be keyed) to the timeline ribbon to make a new track and layer.

- Align the playhead so that the vertical blue 'current time' line crosses over both a section of the foreground and background images as shown below.

- Looking at the layers view should show your two layers as below.

- Click on the button labeled as Key button in the Compositing area on the foreground image. It will show a checkmark next to it after you have selected it (as shown below).

- The default DS Blue-Green keyer window will be loaded, and its PPG will open up.

- Click on the Load Preset icon in the upper right corner of the Blue-Green keyer window.

- You will be presented with the Load Preset window (the actual folder you are presented with will depend on your last used directory)...

- Navigate to the Keyer folder in the factory DSPresets folder.

- Click in the picture of the Primatte keyer icon , or its name, if you do not have Thumbnails view selected, and select the OK button at the bottom of the Load Preset window. Primatte is now loaded as a layer keyer.

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Method #2: Keying in the Compositor using the Tree method:

- Select the Compositing layout by pressing F6 or by clicking on the Compositing icon in the left hand margin.

- This operation will display the DS timeline in the lower right of the DS window and the Layer View on the left screen.

- Use the Avid Explorer on the left screen to find the clips you wish to use in the composite.

- Drag the background clip to the empty track on the timeline.

- Right-click drag the foreground clip (the blue or greenscreen clip to be keyed) to the timeline ribbon to make a new track and no new layer. The initial track settings should now appear as shown below.

- Align the playhead so that the vertical blue line crosses over both a section of the foreground and background images as shown above.

- Using the Track Selector drag the Foreground image into the tree area at the bottom of the left screen.

- Load a Primatte node and, optionally, an Over node and a background image and configure as shown below:

- Primatte is now loaded as a keyer within a tree.

- The other two inputs to the Primatte event are Input2 and Mask. The Mask input is the same as on almost all DS nodes and is used to preserve blue eyes against a blue background and similar applications. It is used to inhibit the operation of the node on areas of the image (white will force the original foreground and black will be be the composite). An example of using the Mask input is shown below:

- The results would look like this:

- The Input2 input is unique to Primatte and is primarily a garbage matte input (white in the alpha channel will force to the background and black in the alpha channel will be the composite). An example of using the Input2 input is shown below:

- Below is an example of the results with an Input2 input on the Primatte node.

Method #3: Keying on the Timeline using Video Tracks (Layering):

- With your background image loaded on a video or background track, drag your blue or greenscreen image to the timeline ribbon on the timeline to place the clip onto a new Video track.

- Select the foreground clip and apply a clip effect to it (the quickest way to apply a clip effect is by pressing the apostrophe key. Note: check your keyboard mapping).

- Navigate to the DSPresets\Keyer folder and select the Primatte Chromakey.

- Primatte is now loaded as an Video Track Clip Effect.

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3. Primatte Plug-in Operation...

This section is a tutorial that describes the operation of the Primatte plug-in. This tutorial is the same whether you are using Primatte as a 'keyer' or as a 'filter'. A more detailed explanation of how the Primatte algorithm works can be found in More about the Primatte Polyhedral Slicing Algorithm.

Step 1 - Select BG Color...

- The Primatte plug-in interface area will appear as shown below.

- The basic functionality for the Primatte plug-in interface is centered around the Operational Mode selector The top field in the Operational Mode Selector, indicated here by the Select BG Color option , is where the user selects which operational mode is to be used.

NOTE: A new function has been added to this version of Primatte for DS. It is the Auto-Compute button and provides an alternative to the next three steps of using Primatte. Click on it and it should remove the blue and set up the Primatte algorithm so that you only need to make some minor adjustments and then remove any spill.

NOTE: The Auto-Compute button has two sliders that modify its behavior; the Auto-Compute BG Factor and the Auto-Compute FG Factor sliders. These may be moved to get better results with the Auto-Compute button.

- There are four main steps to using the Primatte plug-in and Select BG Color is almost always the first step. This is presented as the default mode when the plug-in is first accessed.

- Press the Select Area button on the PPG and position the cursor in the bluescreen area (or whatever background color you are using), somewhere near the foreground object. Select a rectangular area or a single pixel to sample the targeted background color. Release the mouse button or the pen and Primatte will start the compositing process. If the foreground shot was done under ideal shooting conditions, Primatte will have done 90-95% of the composite in this one step.

Note: There are three methods of selecting pixels on the image in the main DS viewer window. If you click on the Pick selector you will be presented with the following options ; Bounding Box, Median Point and Point. For now, note that you can choose the Bounding Box which allows you make a rectangular selection by clicking on one corner and dragging to the opposite corner. All the pixels in the rectangle will be averaged to get your sample or you can use the Point option and make a 'snail trail'-like sample which will also be averaged. More on these options can be found later in the manual in the 4. Primatte Tool and Button Descriptions section.

TIP: If you made a large rectangle/bounding box in the blue area, Primatte averages the multi-pixel sample to get a single color to adjust to. Sometimes Primatte works best when only a single pixel is sampled instead of a range of pixels. The color selected at this point in the procedure is critical to the operation of the plug-in from this point forward. Should you have difficulties further along in the tutorial after doing a range of blue shades, try Select BG Color again with a single dark blue shade or single light blue shade.

TIP: If the foreground image has a shadow in it that you want to keep in the composite, do not select any of the dark blue pixels in the shadow and it will come along with the rest of the foreground image.

Step 2 - Clean BG Noise...

- The second and third steps in using Primatte require viewing the alpha channel or ’matte view’ of the image in the main DS viewer. Click on the View Mode selector and choose the Matte view . The display window will show a black and white view of the matte being created by Primatte.

TIP: If you are working on a Video track you will need to solo the track to see the alpha channel.

TIP: If you are working in a tree you will have to “View” the Primatte node to see the alpha channel.

- Change the Operational Mode from Select BG Color to Clean BG Noise . If there are any white regions in the dark, `bluescreen area', it is noise and should be removed. If it isn’t already selected, click on the Select Area button and then make rectangles in the whitish noise regions in the blue or green screen area of the image window. Each time you let up on the mouse button (or pen), Primatte will process the data and eliminate the noise. Repeat this as often as necessary to clear the noise from the background areas. Sometimes increasing the brightness of your monitor or the screen gamma allows you to see noise that would otherwise be invisible.

Before Background noise removal After Background noise removal

TIP: When clearing noise from around loose, flying hair or any transitional area, be careful not to select any of areas near the edge of the hair. Leave a little noise around the hair as this can be cleaned up later in the Fine Tuning (Sliders) procedure.

TIP: Most pixels displayed as a dark color close to black in a matte image will become transparent and virtually allow the background to be the final output in that area. Consequently, there is no need to eliminate all noise in the bluescreen portions of the image. In particular, if an attempt is made to meticulously remove noise around the foreground object, a smooth composite image is often difficult to generate.

Step 3 - Clean FG Noise...

- If there are dark regions in the middle of the mostly white foreground object, that is, if the key is not 100% in some portion of the targeted foreground, choose Clean FG Noise from the Operational Mode pop-up menu.

- Use the same techniques as for Clean BG Noise, but this time; sample the dark pixels in the foreground area until that area is as white as possible.

Before Foreground Noise Removal After Foreground Noise Removal

- These were the steps necessary to create a clean matte or key view of the image. With this key, the foreground can be composited onto any background image. However, if there is `spill' on the foreground object from light that was reflected off the background, a final operation is necessary to get a more natural looking composite.

Step 4 - Removing spill setup...

- For the fourth step in the Primatte operation return the display monitor to the Composite view by again clicking on the View Mode selector and change the view to Composite on Black or Processed Foreground (and deselecting the track solo/view node, if applicable). This will return the image in the main DS view window to a Composite view.

- The sample images below show both possible views. Both have gone through the first three steps of Primatte and have examples of spill. Notice the blue fringe to her hair and a blue tint on her right cheek, arm and chest.

Composite on Black

Processed Foreground

Note: If there is no background image loaded on the timeline, the Processed Foreground view may look like this:

Note: The Processed Foreground view is a composite as it is done in an alpha blender node when doing a DVE-type effect. The view shows the foreground against a black background usually with a lot of false coloring or noisy pixels around it. The noisy pixels are generated to maintain the fine hair or thin foreground detail. Because the matte around the noisy pixels are very small and will be multiplied against the noise, the end result will be highly desirable. The main purpose of outputting the processed foreground is for ’multi-layered compositing’. If the compositing artist uses the matte and foreground to make a composite, a bluish edge may appear in the resulting image. The artist should use the matte and processed (or blue-suppressed) foreground for the best results.

Note: All spill removal/replacement operations in Primatte can be modified using the Background Spill Replacement tools. Spill can be replaced with either the complement of the background color, a solid color selected by the user or by colors brought from a defocused copy of the background. Depending on the spill conditions, one of these options should provide the results you are looking for. See the information in 7. Spill Replacement Options for more details.

- Now that the Primatte plug-in is setup to remove spill, there are three different methods for removing the spill. Try all three out to get an idea how they differ and then you will be able to choose the one that works best for you when using Primatte on your own imagery.

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Spill Removal Method #1 - The Spill Sponge

- The simple method is to select the Spill Sponge mode from the Operational Mode selector and then sample the spill areas away. By just positioning the cursor over a bluish pixel and selecting it, the blue will disappear and be replaced by a more natural color. This can be done numerous times on the image to remove all traces of the background color.

Note: The advantage of the Spill Sponge is that it is a quick way to knock out spill for a quick comp. The disadvantage of the Spill Sponge is that it can only be used once on a particular color region and it is not adjustable for how much spill is removed. Sometimes it will remove too much spill, sometimes it will not remove enough spill and sometimes it will work perfectly. For more accurate spill removal, see the other two methods described below.

Note: If the spilled color was not been totally removed using the above procedure, a Fine Tuning or Spill (-) operation should follow for more subtle and sophisticated removal of the spilled background color. See the Primatte Tools and Buttons descriptions for more details on these tools.

Spill Removal Method #2 - Fine Tuning(Sliders) Method

- Select the Fine Tuning(Sliders) mode under the Operational Mode selector.

- Using the zoom and pan capabilities of the AVID|DS application, zoom into an area that has some blue edges.

- Using the cursor, sample a range of the blue pixels that you want to remove. When you let up on the pen or mouse button, Primatte will register the average of the colors selected in the Color Chip . For most images, the Fine Tuning(Sliders) slider is all that is required to remove any remaining spill. The more to the right the slider moves, the more background screen color will be removed from the sampled pixels. The more to the left the slider moves, the more the selected pixels will move toward the original foreground image's color. The Color Chip lets you monitor the amount of spill being removed from the sampled color but you would be better served to actually view the resultant changes on the image itself. As you move the slider to the right, the sampled color in this color chip changes in real time, accordingly. When you have the color you want in this chip, release the pen or mouse button. Primatte recalculates the adjustments and automatically updates the image on the monitor. Repeat this technique as necessary to eliminate all remaining bluescreen regions from the composited image.

TIP: It is better to make several small samples to the blue areas than a single major one.

- You can use the other two sliders in the same way for different key adjustments. The Small Poly. (Detail) slider controls the matte softness for the color which is closest to the background color. For example, you can recover lost, rarefied smoke or a wisp of hair in the foreground by selecting the area where the detail has been lost in the Fine Tuning(Sliders) operational mode and moving the Small Poly. (Detail) slider to the left. The Medium Poly. (Trans.) slider controls the matte softness for the color which is closest to the foreground color. For example, if you have thick and opaque smoke in the foreground, you can make it semi-transparent by selecting an area of it and moving the Medium Poly. (Trans.) slider to the right.

TIP: If the foreground image changed color dramatically during the fine tuning process, you can recover the original color by selecting an area of the off-color foreground image and moving the Large Poly. (Spill) slider slightly to the left.

- If these final operations have changed the final compositing results, and you can see some transparent areas in the Mask Out view, you can use the Matte Sponge option in the Operation Mode menu to clean up the mask. Select the Matte Sponge option and then click the left mouse button and make a rectangle around on the dark areas. These colors will be moved to 100% foreground, but will still retain the spill suppression settings you gave it.

- If these final 'spill suppression' operations have changed the final compositing results, you may have to return to earlier operations to clean up the matte. If the Composite View looks good, but a 100% foreground area has become slightly transparent, you can select that area in the Matte View and then using Fine Tuning(Sliders), move the Medium Poly. (Trans.) slider slightly to the left. This will move that color region from 0-99% foreground with spill suppression to 100% foreground with spill suppression and should solve the problem. See the section near the end of this manual for a description of how the Primatte algorithm works. See the Primatte Tools and Buttons descriptions for more details on these tools.

Spill Removal Method #3 - Incremental Adjustment Method of Spill Removal

- Select the Spill (-) mode under the Operational Mode selector.

- Using the zoom and pan capabilities of the AVID|DS application, zoom into an area that has some blue edges.

- Position the cursor over a color region with some spill and click on that area. A small amount of spill will be removed. Continue clicking and more and more spill will be removed. Continue sampling until the desired effect is achieved.

Note: If to much spill is removed and artifacting occurs, select the Spill (+) mode under the Operational Mode selector and click on the same region. The Spill (-) process will be reversed and the image color will return toward the original coloring.

Note: The Matte (+)/Matte (-) and Detail (+)/Detail(-) modes work in the same way as the Medium Poly. (Trans.) and Small Poly. (Detail) sliders discussed in the previous section. See the 4. Primatte Tool and Button Descriptions for more details on these tools.

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4. Primatte Tool and Button Descriptions

Prim Key Tab:

Operational Pop-up Menu

Select BG Color

When this operational mode is selected, the Primatte operation will be initially computed by having the user sample the target background color within the image window. For keying operations, this is the first step and should be followed by the steps described immediately below.

Clean BG Noise

When this operational mode is selected, the user samples pixels on the image window known to be 100% background. White noisy areas in the 100% background region will become black. This is usually the second step in using Primatte.

Clean FG Noise

When this operational mode is selected, the user samples pixels on the image window known to be 100% foreground. The color of the sampled pixels will be registered by sparkPrimatte to be the same color as in the original foreground image. This will make dark gray areas in the 100% foreground region become white. This is usually the third step in using Primatte.

Fine Tuning(Sliders)

When this operational mode is selected, the color of the sampled pixel within the image window is registered as a reference color for fine tuning. It is displayed in the Color Chip to the right of the Select Area button. To perform the tuning operation, sample a color region on the image, select a Fine Tuning slider and move the slider to achieve the desired effect. See more details on the actual sliders later in this section for more details on slider selection.

Spill Sponge

When this operational mode is selected, the background color component in the sampled pixels (or spill) within the image window is keyed out and removed for the color region selected. This operation can only be used once on a particular color and the amount of spill suppression applied is not adjustable. It is the fastest way to remove spill from a composite image. For more accurate spill suppression, a Fine Tuning(Sliders) or Spill (-) operation should follow or be used instead. This can usually be the fourth (and final) step in using Primatte unless additional adjustments are necessary.

Matte Sponge

When this operational mode is selected, the sampled color within the image window becomes 100% foreground. However, if the sampled color is already keyed out and removed, it leaves the current 'suppressed' color. It only affects the key or matte information. This tool is usually used to quickly remove stray transparent pixels that have appeared during the chromakeying procedure. It is a quick and easy way to make final adjustments to a composite.

Make FG Trans.

When this mode is selected, the opaque foreground color region sampled in the image window becomes slightly translucent. This operation is useful for the subtle tuning of foreground objects which are otherwise 100 percent covered with smoke or clouds. It can only be used one time on a particular color. For a more flexible way to thin out a color region and be able to make multiple samples, you should use the Matte (-) tool. It expands the medium polyhedron slightly.

Restore Detail

With this mode selected, the completely transparent background region sampled in the image window becomes translucent. This operation is useful for restoring lost hair details, thin wisps of smoke and the like. It shrinks the small polyhedron slightly.

Spill (-)

When this operational mode is selected, color spill will be removed from the sampled pixel color (and all colors like it) in the amount of one Primatte increment. If spill color remains, another click using this operational mode tool will remove more of the color spill. Continue using this tool until all color spill has been removed from the sampled color region. This tool expands the Primatte large polyhedron in the color region sampled.

Spill (+)

When this operational mode is selected, color spill will be returned to the sampled pixel color (and all colors like it) in the amount of one Primatte increment. This tool can be used to move the sampled color more in the direction of the color in the original foreground image. It can be used to nullify a Spill (-) step. This tool dents the Primatte large polyhedron in the color region sampled.

Matte (-)

When this operational mode is selected, the matte will be made more translucent for the sampled pixel color (and all colors like it) in the amount of one Primatte increment. If the matte is still too opaque, another click using this operational mode tool will make the sampled color region even more translucent. This can be used to thin out smoke or make a shadow thinner to match shadows in the background imagery. This tool expands the Primatte medium polyhedron in the color region sampled.

Matte (+)

When this operational mode is selected, the matte will be made more opaque for the sampled pixel color (and all colors like it) in the amount of one Primatte increment. If the matte is still too translucent or thin, another click using this operational mode tool will make the sampled color region even more opaque. This can be used to thicken smoke or make a shadow darker to match shadows in the background imagery. It can only make these adjustments to the density of the color region on the original foreground image. It can be used to nullify a Matte (-) step. This tool dents the Primatte medium polyhedron in the color region sampled.

Detail (-)

When this operational mode is selected, foreground detail will become more visible for the sampled pixel color (and all colors like it) in the amount of one Primatte increment. If detail is still missing, another click using this operational mode tool will make detail more visible. This can be used to restore lost smoke or wisps of hair. Sample where the smoke or hair just disappears and it will return to visibility. This is for restoring color regions that were moved into the 100% background region. It may start to bring in background noise if shooting conditions were not ideal on the foreground image. This tool dents the Primatte small polyhedron in the color region sampled.

Detail (+)

When this operational mode is selected, foreground detail will become less visible for the sampled pixel color (and all colors like it) in the amount of one Primatte increment. If there is still too much detail, another click using this operational mode tool will make more of it disappear. This can be used to remove smoke or wisps of hair from the composite. Sample where is visible and it will disappear. This is for moving color regions into the 100% background region. It can be used to nullify a Detail (-) step. This tool expands the Primatte small polyhedron in the color region sampled.

3D Sample

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View Mode Popup Menu

Processed Foreground

This button displays the Composite view in the main DS window. It only displays the output of the Primatte node and not the background image (if one is attached to the node). The view shows the foreground against a black background usually with a lot of false coloring or noisy pixels around it. The noisy pixels are generated to maintain the fine hair or thin foreground detail. Because the matte around the noisy pixels are very small and will be multiplied against the noise, the end result will be highly desirable. The main purpose of outputting the processed foreground is for 'multi-layered compositing'. If the compositing artist uses the matte and foreground to make a composite, a bluish edge may appear in the resulting image. The artist should use the matte and processed (or blue-suppressed) foreground for the best results.

Matte

This button changes the view in the viewport to a grayscale image representing the Matte (or Key) output of the Primatte node.

Composite on Black

This button displays the Composite view in the main DS window against a black background. It only displays the output of the Primatte node and not the background image (if one is attached to the node).

Foreground

This changes the view in the viewport to the original Foreground image.

Defocus Foreground

This changes the view in the viewport to the defocused Foreground image used in the grain removal algorithm explained later in this manual.

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Select Area Tools

Select Area Button

This button must be selected prior to trying to select an area on the DS viewport image..

Tuning Color Display or Color Chip

Shows the color region of interest selected in Fine Tuning procedure.

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Algorithm Popup Menu

Primatte

The Primatte algorithm mode delivers the best results and supports both the Solid Color and the Complement Color spill suppression methods. It is the algorithm that uses three multi-facteted polyhedrons (as described further down in the this document) to separate the 3D RGB colorspace. It is also the default algorithm mode and, because it is computationally intensive, it may take the longest to render.

Primatte RT is the simplest algorithm and therefore, the fastest. It uses only a single planar surface to separate the 3D RGB colorspace (as described further down in the this document) and, as a result, does not have the ability to separate out the foreground from the backing screen as carefully as the above Primatte algorithm. Other disadvantages of the Primatte RT algorithm is that it does not work well with less saturated backing screen colors and it does not support the Complement Color spill suppression method.

Primatte RT+

Primatte RT+ is in between the above two options. It uses a six planar surface color separation algorithm (as described further down in the this document) and will deliver results in between the other two in both quality and performance. Other disadvantages of the Primatte RT+ algorithm is that it does not work well with less saturated backing screen colors and it does not support the Complement Color spill suppression method.

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When Bounding Box is selected, the user clicks and drags to create a rectangular selection area. When using the Select BG Color, Spill +/-, Detail +/-, Matte +/- tools, the selection is then created from the average of all the pixels in the rectangular area. The rest of the operations (e.g. Clean BG Noise, Clean FG Noise, etc.), take account of all the pixels in the rectangular region.

The Median Point selection mode is the same as Point selection except that each point is the result of taking a 3x3 region around the point the user clicked and then applying a median filter. This can potentially reduce any noisy pixels.

A Point selection is like a trail of pixels selected as the cursor moves over the image. Point selection is similar to Bounding Box, so it is either averages or uses all the pixel information of the trail dependent on the operation.

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This is the default spill replacement mode. This mode will maintain fine foreground detail and deliver the best quality results. If foreground spill is not a major problem, this mode is the one that should be used.

The Complemental Replacement mode is sensitive to foreground spill. If the spill intensity on the foreground image is rather significant, this mode may often introduce serious noise in the resultant composite. In the image series below, the complement of the blue backing color delivers an unrealistic result when used to replace the spill on the white clothing.

In the Solid Color Replacement mode, the spill component will be replaced by a 'user defined' palette color. While the Complemental Replacement mode uses only the backing color complement to remove small amounts of spill in the original foreground, the Solid Color Replacement mode tries to assuage the noise using the 'user defined' palette color. Changing the palette color for the solid replacement, the user can apply good spill replacement that matches the composite background. Its strength is that it works fine with even serious blue spill conditions. The image series below has had the spill replaced with a solid gray color giving a much more natural result.

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Spill Mode Sliders

This slider adjusts the amount of red in the spill replacement color.

This slider adjusts the amount of green in the spill replacement color.

This slider adjusts the amount of blue in the spill replacement color.

This color chip displays the color created as a result of moving the spill replacement color sliders. Gray is the default and is good for replacing spill on shite objects but any color may be selected.

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Large Poly. (Spill) Slider

When this mode is selected, the cursor motion in the Large Poly. (Spill) Slider performs a color adjustment of the sampled color against the background. After sampling a color region from the image, the more to the right the cursor moves, the less of the background color component (or spill) will be included in that color region. The more to the left the cursor moves, the closer the color component of the selected region will be to the original foreground image.

Medium Poly. (Trans.) Slider

The Medium Poly. (Trans.) Slider adjusts the transparency of the matte against the sampled color. After sampling a color region from the image, the more to the right the cursor is, the more transparent the matte becomes in that color region. Move it to the right to make a color region more transparent or to soften a color region.

Small Poly. (Detail) Slider

The Small Poly. (Detail) Slider determines the transparency of the sampled color, which is closer to the background color. The tune value slider in this mode is useful for restoring the color of pixels that are faded or have disappeared because of a similarity to the background color. Move it to the right (or into negative numbers) to restore lost detail.

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Reset Buttons

Soft Reset Button

Resets the key control data back to the state it was before spill suppression was applied. This would be after the Select BG Color, Clean BG Noise and Clean FG Noise operations, but before the Spill Sponge, Spill (-) or Fine Tuning (Sliders) operations.

Full Reset Button

Resets all of the key control data.

Undo/Redo Buttons

Undo

Cancels the previous operation. Up to 500 levels of Undo/Redo are supported.

Redo

Redoes the previous operation. Up to 500 levels of Undo/Redo are supported.

Auto-Compute Button

A new function has been added to this version of Primatte for DS. It is the Auto-Compute button and provides an alternative to the first three steps of using Primatte (Select BG Color, Clean BG Noise and Clean FG Noise). Click on it and it should remove the backing screen color and set up the Primatte algorithm so that you only need to make some minor adjustments and then remove any spill.

Auto-Compute FG Factor Slider

The effect that the Auto-Compute feature has on the foreground of the foreground clip can be modified in real-time with this slider.

Auto-Compute BG Factor Slider

The effect that the Auto-Compute feature has on the background of the foreground clip can be modified in real-time with this slider.

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Matte Dialog Box Tab:

Crop Sliders

These sliders control a rectangular 'garbage matte' feature that restricts the Primatte operation to a rectangular-shaped portion of the image.

Defocus Mask Slider

Determines the defocusing level being applied to the matte.

Note: With using this feature, foreground details and smoothness of motion blur may be adversely affected. Set it to 0 for optimum results.

Shrink Mask Slider

Determines the degree of background penetration into the foreground around the silhouette of the foreground object. This tool essentially ‘shrinks’ the matte in an inward direction and can be used to eliminate artifacting around the foreground object.

Note: With using this feature, foreground details and smoothness of motion blur may be adversely affected. Set it to 0 for optimum results.

Crop Blur Slider

This slider applies a blur which softens the edges of the crop borders (see images below).

Crop without Blur applied Crop with Blur applied

Grain Tools

The Grain Tools are used when a foreground image is highly compromised by film grain. As a result of the grain, when backing screen noise is completely removed, the edges of the foreground object often become harsh and jagged leading to a poor key. These tools were created to, hopefully, help when a compositing artist is faced with a grainy image.

Grain Size

The Grain Size selector gives the user a range of grain removal from Small to Large. The use of this tool is explained further along in this section.

When the Grain Size tool is selected, it brings up a pop-up menu that looks like this...

If the foreground image has a large amount of film grain induced pixel noise, you may loose a good edge to the foreground object when trying to clean all the grain noise with the Clean BG Noise Operation Mode. These tools allow the user t clean us the grain noise without affecting the quality of the key. A short tutorial explaining when and how to use these tools is at the end of this section. Click here to go to the tutorial.

None

When None is selected, the user gets the color of the exact pixel sampled.

Small

When Small is selected, the user gets the average color of a small region of the area around the sampled pixel. This should be used when the grain is very dense.

Medium

When Medium is selected, the user gets the average color of a medium-sized region of the area around the sampled pixel. This should be used when the grain is less dense.

Large

When Large is selected, the user gets the average color of a larger region of the area around the sampled pixel. This should be used when the grain is very loose.

Grain Tol.

This slider affects the result of the Clean BG Noise tool without changing the edge of the foreground object.

Grain Tools Tutorial

If you have a noisy image as in the example below...

...you will find that the matte is also noisy:

Currently you can use the Clean BG Noise Operation Mode to remove the noisy pixels, but this can also modify the edge of the foreground object in a negative manner.

Using the Grain Tools in the following way may help you clean up the image and still get a good edge on the matte:

1. Use the Clean BG Noise Operation Mode just a small mount to remove some of the white noise in the Matte View but do use it so much that you affect to the edge of the foreground object.

2. Then select the Grain Size tool and select Small as a first step to reduce the grain:

With the Grain Tol. slider initally set at 0, move it around some. This should increase the affect of the Clean BG Noise tool without changing the edge of the foreground object.

Sometimes this may not be enough to totally remove the grain so by adjusting the Grain Tol. slider, you can tell the Primatte algorithm what brightness of pixels you think is grain. You should try not to use too high of a value otherwise it will affect the overall matte. For an example of an 'over adjusted' image see below...

The Primatte grain algorithm uses a 'Defocused Foreground' image to compute the noise. You can see the results of the defocused foreground by changing the View Mode to Defocus FG :

NOTE: The Small, Medium and Large settings for the Grain Tool all produce defocused foregrounds that have larger blurs respectively.

NOTE: It is important to make sure that the crop settings are correctly applied otherwise when the defocus image is generated, if there is 'garbage' on the edges of the images, then that garbage will be blurred into the defocus foreground.

As a review:

1. Select the Select BG Color Operation Mode and click on a backing screen color.

2. Select the Clean BG Noise Operation Mode and use it sparingly so that it has minimum affect to the edge of the foreground object.

3. If there is still grain in the backing screen area, then use the Grain Size functionality starting at the Small setting to reduce the grain

4. If the grain is still present, then try increasing the Grain Tol. slider a little - not too much.

5. If grain is still a problem then try changing the Grain Size to Medium of Large and also changing the grain tolerance until the desired effect is achieved.

NOTE: The grain functionality does not always remove grain perfectly but is sometimes useful to minimize its effects.

Reset Crop and Blur Tools Button

This button resets all the Crop and Mask Blur sliders back to their default positions.

Color Correct Tab:

Color Correct Sliders

Primatte now allows you to adjust the color characteristics of the foreground image against the background image. These sliders allow the user to change characteristics of the foreground image such as gamma, HSV and to adjust the black and white values.

Color Correct Sliders Reset Button

This button resets any slider movement done with the Color Correction sliders.

Masking Tab:

Masking Tools

All of the DS-supported functions in the "Mask" and "Mix" areas of this tab are supported by the 'Mask' input on the Primatte node. See the DS Help files for more information about using these features.

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Options Tab:

Options

See the DS Help files for a description of these tools. Primatte offers support for 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit Floating Point precision.

Reference Tab:

Tuning Color Display or Color Chip

This tab appears when Primatte has been applied in the Layer mode. It offers the same functionality as the Input2 input on the Primatte node in the tree view. See the DS Help files for a description of these types of functionality.

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3D Viewer

This button opens a window that displays the Primatte algorithms and allows the user to see what is happening as he uses the various Primatte tools. It is a passive feature that has no adjustment capabilities, it may prove useful in evaluating an image as you operate on it.

When you select it, you are presented with a window that may look similar to one of these images (depending on which Primatte algorithm you have selected)...

The different algorithms are described in more detail in the next section of this manual. Here is a description of the tools and features of the 3D Viewer:

3D Viewer Tools

At the top of the 3D Viewer window are three areas that can be clicked on:

1. Clicking and dragging on the blue center area allows the user to move the window around on the screen.

2. Clicking and dragging on the triangular white region in the upper right corner allows the user to scale the 3D Viewer window.

3. Clicking on the square white region in the upper left of the window displays a pop-up menu that looks like this...

NOTE: A selected feature has a solid yellow square next to it. An Unselected feature has a hollow yellow square next to it.

Minimize

This feature, when selected, make the 3D Viewer window disappear. Only the Blue bar at the top of the window remains.

Large Surface

This feature, when selected, displays the large Primatte polyhedron in the viewer window.

Middle Surface

This feature, when selected, displays the medium Primatte polyhedron in the viewer window.

Small Surface

This feature, when selected, displays the small Primatte polyhedron in the viewer window.

Opaque

This feature, when selected, makes the selected polyhedrons opaque. De-selecting it makes them semi-transparent.

Samples

This feature, when selected, allows the user to sample color regions on the image window using the 3D Sample Operation Mode and see where those regions are in relation to the polyhedron and the algorithm. The colors will be displayed as a spray of pixels in the color selected. This button only allows the user to see or clear the sampled colors.

NOTE: The 3D Sample Operation Mode must be selected for this feature to operate.

Clear BG

This feature changes the background color of the 3D Viewer window from black (when unselected) to transparent (when selected).

Sliced

This feature, when selected, slices open the large and medium polyhedrons so that the inner polys can be seen. When unselected, the largest polyhedron selected becomes a completely closed polyhedron and you cannot see the inner polyhedrons (unless the Opaque feature is deselected).

Wireframe

This feature, when selected, changes the polyhedrons from shaded-surface objects to wireframe objects.

There are three Primatte algorithms. Here is a chart that shows the main differences between them...

- For a description of the Primatte RT algoritm, please click on this link: Primatte RT

- For a description of the Primatte RT+ algoritm, please click on this link: Primatte RT+

- Explanation of how Primatte works...

The Primatte chromakey algorithm is a sophisticated method of color space segmentation that can be easily explained to help a user achieve maximum effectiveness with the tool. Basically Primatte segments all the colors in the foreground image into one of four separate categories. The result is a 'spill suppressed' foreground image and a matte which is used to apply the modified foreground to a suitable background.

Primatte works in 3D RGB color space. By operating the Primatte interface, the user essentially creates three concentric, multi-faceted polyhedrons. These can be pictured as three globes (or polyhedrons or polys), one within the other, which share a common center point. The creation of these polyhedrons separates all possible foreground colors into one of four regions; inside the small polyhedron (1), between the small and medium polyhedrons (2), between the medium and the large polyhedrons (3) and outside the large polyhedron (4).

The four regions created are described as follows:

Region 1 (inside the small polyhedron) - This region contains all of the foreground image colors that are considered 100% background. These are the green or blue or whatever colors that were used as the backing color of the foreground image.

Region 2 (between the small and medium polyhedrons) - This region contains all the foreground colors that are at the edges of the foreground object(s), in glass, glass reflections, shadows, sheets of water and other transparent and semi-transparent color regions. These color regions also have spill suppression applied to them to remove color spill from the backing screen.

Region 3 (between the medium and large polyhedrons) - This region contains all the foreground image colors that are 100% foreground but have spill suppression applied to them to remove color spill from the backing screen. Otherwise they are 100% solid foreground colors.

Region 4 (outside the large polyhedron) - This region contains all the 100% foreground image colors that are not modified from the original foreground image. There is no spill suppression applied to these colors.

In the first step in using Primatte (Select BG Color), the user is asked to indicate the backing color on the original foreground image. The sample should usually be taken from a 'medium shaded' area near the foreground object. By 'medium shaded' area, it is meant that if green is the backing color and the green area of the foreground image has many shades of green ranging from very pale green to almost black, a shade of green in-between these extreme ranges should be chosen. If good results are not obtained using this sample, Primatte should be reset and another sample taken using a slightly darker or lighter shade of green. The first sample of Primatte often determines the final result as the center point of all three polyhedrons is created based on this first sample.

A single pixel may be selected or a range of pixels (snail trail or rectangular sample). If a range of pixels is taken, the sample will be averaged to get a single color sample. This single pixel or averaged color sample then becomes the center of the small polyhedron. A few other shades around that color are included in the original small polyhedron.

NOTE: It is recommended that a single pixel be selected as the first sample as you then have some idea where the center point of the polyhedrons is located. If a box sample or a long snail trail sample is made. You can only guess at the average color that ends up being the center point. You can get an idea how this sample affects the algorithm by resetting the Primatte plug-in, going to the Matte View and clicking around on the green or blue screen area while in the Select BG Color Operational Mode. You can immediately see the results of the initial settings of the polyhedrons in this way.

After making a sample of the backing screen color in the first step, the result is a small golf ball-shaped poly as shown in the following image.

The second step in using Primatte is to clean up the backing color area by adding additional shades of green or blue to the small poly. This second step (Clean BG Noise) is usually executed while viewing the black and white Matte View.

Before BG Noise Removal After BG Noise Removal

While in the Clean BG Noise sampling mode, the user samples the white milky regions as shown in the left-hand image above. As the user samples these regions, they turn to black as shown in the right-hand image above.

What is happening in the Primatte algorithm is that these new shades of green (the white milky areas) are added to the small poly where all the shades of green or blue are moved. The next two images show the new pixels sampled (white dots) in relation to the small poly and the image next to it shows how the small poly extends outward to encompass the newly sampled colors into the small poly.

The advantage of this technique is that the polyhedron distorts to enclose only the shades of green that are in the backing screen. Other shades of green around these colors are left undisturbed in the foreground. Other chromakeyers expand from a golf ball-sized shape to a baseball to a basketball to a beach ball. Since it expands in all directions, many shades of green are relegated to 100% background making it hard to get good edges around the foreground objects.

Now that the user has created a small polyhedron, he must shape the medium and large polys. A default medium and large poly are both automatically created and are then modified based on the next couple of Primatte operations. The third Primatte operational step (Clean FG Noise) is to sample and eliminate gray areas in the 100% foreground area of the image.

Before FG Noise Removal After FG Noise Removal

Again, the user makes several samples on the dark, grayish areas on the foreground object until it is solid white in color. Primatte is shaping the large polyhedron with each color region that is sampled. Care should be taken in both this and the previous steps to not sample too close to the edges of the foreground object. Getting too close to the foreground object's edges will result in hard edges around the foreground object. Primatte uses these samples to modify and shape the medium and large polys to the desired shape. At this point, the matte or key has been created and would allow the foreground objects to be composited into a new background image.

If the user changes the display mode from the black and white Matte View to the color Composite View, there is usually 'color spill' on the edges (and sometimes the center) of the foreground objects. When on the edges of the foreground object, this spill comes from where the edges of the foreground object blended into the backing color. If it is on the center of the foreground object, it usually results from reflected color from the backing screen. The next Primatte step, either Spill Sponge, Fine Tuning or Spill (-), can now be used to eliminate this spill color.

Let's take a look at what is happening in the Primatte algorithm while this next step is performed. Here is what the various tools in Primatte do to the Polyhedrons when they are used:

As you can see above, the Spill Sponge bulges the large polyhedron in the color region specified. A color region is specified by clicking on the image in a particular area with spill present. For example, if the user clicks on some spill on the cheek of a foreground person, Primatte goes to the section of the large polyhedron closest to that particular flesh tone and bulges the polyhedron there. As a result, the flesh tones move from outside the large poly to in-between the medium and large polys. This is Region 3 and, if you remember, is 100% foreground with spill suppression. As a result of the suppression, the spill is removed from that cheek color and all other shades of that color on the foreground. The user would then continue to sample areas of the image where spill exists and each sample would remove spill from another color region.

When all spill has been removed, the user should have a final composite. As a last step, he should go back to the Matte View and make sure that gray, transparent areas have not appeared in the foreground area. If there are any, the Matte Sponge Operational Mode should be selected and those gray pixels are sampled until they have all turned white again.

The Matte Sponge and Spill Sponge tools bulge or dent the polyhedrons a pre-selected amount. If the desired results are not achieved or the results are too extreme for the image, a manual method can be applied. The user should choose the Fine Tuning sliders, select a color region of interest and then move the appropriate slider to get the desired results.

For example, to remove spill, select a region of the composite image with spill on it. Move the spill or large poly slider to the right a little bit, the large poly will bulge and the spill should disappear. Move it a little more, if necessary. Moving this slider to the right removes spill (moves the colors from outside the large poly to between the medium and large polyhedrons) and moving it to the left, dents the large poly and moves that color region to outside the large poly.

If the user samples a foreground object shadow and then moves the Matte or medium poly slider to the right, the shadow will become more transparent. This is useful for matching composited shadows to shadows on the plate photography. It can also be used to make clouds or smoke more transparent.

If some foreground detail disappears during the composite, the user can select where the detail should be and then move the detail or small poly slider to the left. This dents the small poly in that color region and releases the detail pixels from the small poly into the visible region between the small and medium polyhedrons.

The Spill Sponge and Matte Sponge tools are 'shortcut tools' that automatically move the sliders a pre-selected amount as a timesaving step for the user. Other 'shortcut tools' include the Make FG Trans. tool and the Restore Detail tool.

These 'shortcut tools' are one-step operations where the user clicks on a color region of interest and Primatte performs a pre-calculated operation. Hopefully, most operations using Primatte would only require these tools, but the manual operation of the sliders is always an option.

The Spill (-) tool bulges the large poly a small amount incrementally in the color region that is clicked on and the Spill (+) tool dents it a small amount with each click. The Matte (-) and Matte (+) tools do the same to the medium poly and the Detail (-) and Detail (+) do it to the small poly.

6b. Explanation of how Primatte RT+ works...

The Primatte RT+ algorithm differs from the Primatte algorithm in that it has a six surface color separator instead of the 127-faceted polyhedrons. This makes the Primatte RT+ algorithm much simpler and, therefore, faster to calculate. The results and performance of Primatte RT+ falls in between the Primatte and Primatte RT options. Where the Primatte RT+ algorithm might not work well is with less saturated backing screen colors and it also does not support the Complement Color spill suppression method (which is the spill suppression method that delivers the best detail). For a well-lit and photographed image or clip, this algorithm will produce good results and render quickly.

Here is what a visual representation of the Primatte RT algorithm looks like after an image has been processed...

6c. Explanation of how Primatte RT works...

Primatte RT is the simplest algorithm and, therefore, the fastest. It uses only a single planar surface to separate the 3D RGB colorspace and, as a result, does not have the ability to separate out the foreground from the backing screen as carefully as the above Primatte algorithm. Like the Primatte RT+ algorithm, Primatte RT might not work well with less saturated backing screen colors and it too does not support the Complement Color spill suppression method (which is the spill suppression method that delivers the best detail).. For a well-lit and photographed image or clip, this algorithm will produce good results and render very quickly.

Here is what a visual representation of the Primatte RT algorithm looks like after an image has been processed...

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Please contact your local Primatte reseller or the IMAGICA technical support person (below):

IMAGICA Technical Support:

Scott Gross

Phone: 1-530-677-9980

FAX: 1-530-677-9981

Cell: 1-530-613-3212

E-mail: sgross@imagica-la.com

Note: Standard support times are between the hours of 7AM and 6PM (Pacific/California Time), but he will try to help you anytime, if possible. Leave a message or a return phone number at the phone number of 1-530-677-9980 and he will get back to you as soon as possible.

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8. Request a Primatte License Key Application Form

License request for the Softimage DS Product

Click on this e-mail link to popen an e-mail message and then please include the following information:

* = required information

Company Name*:____________________________________________________

Company Address:__________________________________________________

City:________________________________________

State/Prov.:__________________ Zip Code:__________ Country:_____________

Contact Name(s)*:_____________________________________________

Contact Phone Number:________________________________________

Contact FAX Number:__________________________________________

Contact E-mail Address*:________________________________________

MacAddress*: ______________________________ (See 1. Installation Information above)

DS Version Number*: _______

Desired format when requesting the plug-in: _____CD-ROM _____I'll get it from the web site

Then post this information using the e-mail link above or send it to sgross@imagica-la.com or FAX it to Scott at 1-530-677-9981.

We will e-mail or FAX your license key back to you. Thank you.

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Primatte

Primatte RT

Primatte RT+

Bounding Box

Median Point

Point

Complement

Solid

Red Spill Slider

Green Spill Slider

Blue Spill Slider

Spill Replacement Color Color Chip