Fixing blemishes in sky using AI or any other means

Len Kaufman wrote on 7/28/2024, 1:18 PM

Hi all,

I have a problem video clip that is important to a project I am working on. The sky in the clip has a "blemish" (see attached image) which is quite noxious. It's bad enough when the camera is still, It is really problematic when the camera moves, as it calls more attention to the blemish. I believe the blemish was caused by condensation on the lens. After all, it was shot in India, and temperature was over 100 F (real degrees, not the "feels like" temp). It is even more apparent, when I adjust the colors, sharpness, and saturation in the clip. But if I don't adjust those 3 factors, the clip is not work using. If I need to let the sky go to solid white, that wouldn't be terrible, but not best outcome.

I tried to use AI, as found in Vegas Pro 21, latest version, but the only thing the AI seems to find is the guy who is demonstrating how to wind a turban.

Is there a way to get the AI to "find" the sky, and work with that? Though I've been using Vegas Pro for many years, I'm quite new to AI. If AI is not the answer, any other means? Reducing the "confidence" slider finds lots of stuff, but not the sky.

Thank you.

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Comments

Len Kaufman wrote on 7/29/2024, 8:25 AM

I'm glad I posted my original query. I've learned a lot from the responses that I'm sure will be called into play in future projects, especially some studio product stuff I plan to do (removing wires, supports, etc.). Thank you all. I'll let you know how I finally solved the immediate issue.

I'm going to save (print--old school) this entire conversation for future reference. Lotsa' good info here.

Len Kaufman wrote on 8/1/2024, 3:58 PM

Hi All,

I spent an inordinate amount of time on this, but finally solved it. I said I'd report back on the solution that worked for me and it turns out, it was Chromakey. I have used Chromakey many times in the past, mainly for green screen stuff in the studio. But I've never had to fineness it as much as I did this time, so I learned quite a bit about the true capabilities of that plug-in.

I originally wanted to drop a sky in to the background, but the camera was moving around so much to follow the action, that any sky that I tried to put in made you dizzy, as it didn't track with the foreground movement. So I just put in a solid blue, which was really how the sky was in the original clip.

Thank you to all who chimed in.