Oh no! I was afraid of that.....I guess it's After Effects.
mp

Duplicate the chroma keyed track. On the lower track set the key to Show Mask Only. Add a Sony Glow to this track and this should place a nice glow around your subjects. The trick is that the Glow FX is reacting to highlighted areas. Applying it to the white mask on a track below guarantees that you will get a consistent glow pattern.

~jr

JR, you seem like a good person to ask about this and this thread is an excellent place to do it...

As you know, I am learning Vegas myself. I don't have much experience with masks, luminance or chroma keys, and stuff like that. I have been watching Gary's videos and they are helpful--but I know you were involved in the making of the VASST series as well. So if you wouldn't mind, please share your recommendations regarding some references (book, videos, etc) on getting more information on these techniques. There must be some more basic reference material out there on these concepts--does the VASST course spend a lot of time on this material? If it does, then which Volumes are the best to check out? I don't think I am ready for the whole Vegas bundle just yet, though that will probably happen before too long.

But I'd appreciate your input in this regards. I would imagine you've gotten many questions about masking and keying--so I hope this question will help others that are maybe struggling with these concepts as well. I don't want to hijack the thread, but it just seemed to be an appropriate time to ask the question.

Thanks for the help.

TB

You can also get the exact effect you're used to in photoshop by simply outputting the frames as images and batch processing them in photoshop.

I had a similar experience to solve the problem do what Johnny says

But in the glow parameters make the glow frame exactly the same size as your clip frame
Then in pan and crop window pan in square to centre slightly to the thickness of the line you require
So now when you image moves the line thickness will be constant and not thickening left or right to centre

Your PAR must be square on both layers the distortion is coming from the Pixel Aspect Ratio it seems

To add I checked that project and the png sequence output was also square

Thanks! I thought I might try that. As I said I don't want a "glow" I want a sharp outline not a glow so maybe just the dup chroma track will work fine.
Thanks again.
mp

Are you sure you're not looking for one of these types of plugins:

http://www.vasst.com/product.aspx?id=cb115d9c-fef9-43ba-9a3c-64b4f1186f27

or

http://www.newbluefx.com/cartoonr

Thanks as well Laurence.
The VASST plugin looks promising. I tried some of the suggestions but really can't get the look I want. Duping the chroma keyed layer and then turning on the alpha only button really didn't help it still shifts as the object movers across the frame and requires so much key framing it just wasn't practical for me.
I could be missing something but I could get it to work like I needed.
Using the "layer/stroke effect" in After Effects seems the only way to do the effect...maybe the VASST plugin would work but it looks like it would act on the entire image not just the edges of the keyed object.
mp

Duping the chroma keyed layer and then turning on the alpha only button really didn't help it still shifts as the object movers across the frame and requires so much key framing it just wasn't practical for me. - Yup. When you asked and I knew what you were after, I thought about the parallax(?) issues - damn problem with perspective - huh!

If you wish, please send me a still of the CK you already have and I'll have a go. No promises - yeah? But I will have a go.

Grazie

"Using the "layer/stroke effect" in After Effects seems the only way to do the effect"

I'm not that deep into AE however as it can work with and create vectors (paths) it'd be the only way to get what you want I think. Once you've had it create the path it's then fairly easy to manipulate it.

No matter what you do in Vegas the FX is locked to the vision. You want to use the vision to create a new element which can be detached from the vision and be manipulated independantly of the vision. This would look like an artist had hand drawn the outlines rather than a simple FX was applied.

Bob.

Thanks for your interest Grazie!
I'm not too familiar with this board..how do I send you a still file or attach something to this post???

knock KNock . . "You have Mail"

G

Somebody STOP me!!

. .and breath out . . and relax . . .. .

I sent sample result,

Grazie

How about posting it?
Youtube?

Bob

YEah .. Let's see what SWS says first yeah?

Bob, wanna SKYPE me?

Grazie

Wow! I didn't think it was possible but Grazie did it! In his own words...

(In essence I needed to make a rendered out GARBAGE matte. This is an interim
mask that I could then do further work on.

I then Inverted this Garbage Mask to get Black on White and then Chroma key
this out AGAIN! So now I had a CK-ed BnW with, of course, a single layer
BOUNDARY. And this Boundary allows for the Captain to show through .. With
me still? OK . . . then using the FREE "NewBlue CartoonR" I adjusted like
hell the BOUNDARY to get an "edge" that was BIG, solid and white enough.
Now I then applied a very very small tad of Gaussian Blur - 0.008 - in both
vertical and horizontal planes to achieve a nice smooooth degranulated
white.

You will need to tidy-up a bit but the principle/theory is there.

To recap:

1] Make an interim GARBAGE Mask/Matte to allow a single layer edge to work
on.

2] Apply an edging s/w to BRING out and EMPHASISE the edge - here I used
the NewBlue thingy

3] Add a tad of Gaussian blur to smooth any pixies.

That's about it really. And do understand this is NOT a glow FX this is
creating a separate composited interim mask that is fully independent FROM
the original but should follow the action - now THAT'S what I want to see!
LOL!!!!

I enjoyed that one! Thanks . .

Grazie)

And there you have it. Now granted I got what I needed in After Effects with a couple of clicks....but it can be done with Vegas and a pro like Grazie. Maybe it is a simple effect after all when you know what you're doin'....Thanks!!!!!

I would post a still but I haven't figured that out on this forum. Maybe Grazie can post something from the stills and clip sent him.

Thanks all !!!


mp

> ...this is creating a separate composited interim mask that is fully independent FROM the original but should follow the action - now THAT'S what I want to see!

and... how is that different from my original suggestion to duplicate the chroma key track and set it to show mask only and then applying the FX to the mask? Isn't that the same thing?

~jr

and... how is that different from my original suggestion to duplicate the chroma key track and set it to show mask only and then applying the FX to the mask?

I didn't dupe the CK track. I made a Rendered out INVERT of the CK MASK only. It was THIS that I then worked on with CartoonR and the Gaussian and what else. This gave me - I believed - more control than adding an FX to the mask. But I do take your point John. I'll have a further go at it tomorrow.

Isn't that the same thing? As I said, having this interim garbage mask, not a duped CK item, gave me, I gauged and considered, a more controllable "finished" item to then go further on and then adjust. Maybe your approach would cut out the need to render an interim mask.

Grazie

. . and as promised . ..

JR, I followed your instructions and yes I DO get a nice GLOW around the talent. But it is a glow. And Glow FX isn't very controllable if you want a solid line. That's the very nature of Glow Fx.

I then tried the same using my Plugin Chain, not on the TRACK, but again on the Event . The result is I can't get the same CartoonR "control" applying to the duped track. I get more effective adjustment of the outline "line" on a rendered-out mask.

HTH?

Grazie

EDIT: I knew this!! (And, BTW, how DO we apply a home-grown FX chain to a Track? Have we been here before?) - done!