Chromakey
The term Virtual Set has been blurred somewhat as time passes, originally meaning to train on a computer and a camera tracker to develop a background in realtime to chromakey talent into, Virtual Sets now encompass both live and post, tracking and trackless solutions, and it is even used to talk about simple blue/greenscreen work where talent is keyed in a studio. There are many different forms of virtual sets; I'll let you know that these are commonly used:
Virtual Set
Standard Definition, Hi-def, and 4K are used with Post Production programs like editors and compositors. They are available as layers allowing you to create the illusion that the talent is standing behind a desk which video is playing inside monitors.
NewTek's Tricaster SD and Tricaster XD versions run on their proprietary hardware, but make operating a live virtual set very easy, scaling the talent to the set, placing the B Source in to the screens and adding reflections. The visible difference between the two is resolution, the XD being able to produce in High-definition and that the XD can do virtual camera moves like zooms.
The 3D Studio MAX version is optimized for realtime rendering, it is a 3D version uniquely situated to use with realtime rendering platforms though it's lighting baked into the textures, it isn't very editable.
NewTek's Lightwave 3D version is among the most powerful and flexible, but the most technically demanding to make use of giving you full control of every aspect of the set as well as a true 3D environment for help tracking markers.
Virtual Set Production falls into two main categories, Live and Post. The first sort giving you feedback in realtime to what your greenscreen composite seems like, the later providing you with more flexibility and control to make decisions at your leisure. The other main difference being price, you will get into virtual set post production for 100's of dollars vs. thousands of dollars for live productions.
Live Production
Long the domain in the six figure budgets virtual sets took an unexpected turn in the late nineties with the release of Play’s Trinity. With a built in chroma keyer plus some unusual virtual set features it turned the industry’s notion of what a virtual set was on it’s ear. Years later NewTek released it’s Video Toaster system which in version 5 had similar functionality, permitting realtime keying, scaling, and reflections of talent as well as a B source. That technology followed onto their Tricaster line and matured using XD products; an HD switcher with virtual set abilities such as a trackless zoom. The Tricaster products are already very popular due to their comparatively low pricing, multiple functionalities, and unique virtual set abilities not present in other products at any price.
Post Production
Any program using a chroma keyer can create the illusion of an virtual set at a far lower cost than live production. These include a few better editors including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas, and other alike. These can be as simple as keying your talent over the background, or as complex as tracking markers and layering together an intricate scene with camera motion. www.videovirtualsets.com also offers virtual set design services to switch any of their existing library of virtual sets in order to create a virtual set custom over completely from scratch, examples and pricing are available on their website. Some productions require changes towards the set, or the client would rather have a unique identity, regardless of the need the ability to modify sets for your client’s designs is available.
With amazing network quality productions taken from garages and classrooms as a result of modern computing power, innovative software, and cheap virtual set backgrounds it’s difficult to imagine what will come next. Now in beta testing, intensiKey's post production virtual set software promises to offer the power of your true 3D program without the complexity.
Chromakey
Virtual Set
Standard Definition, Hi-def, and 4K are used with Post Production programs like editors and compositors. They are available as layers allowing you to create the illusion that the talent is standing behind a desk which video is playing inside monitors.
NewTek's Tricaster SD and Tricaster XD versions run on their proprietary hardware, but make operating a live virtual set very easy, scaling the talent to the set, placing the B Source in to the screens and adding reflections. The visible difference between the two is resolution, the XD being able to produce in High-definition and that the XD can do virtual camera moves like zooms.
The 3D Studio MAX version is optimized for realtime rendering, it is a 3D version uniquely situated to use with realtime rendering platforms though it's lighting baked into the textures, it isn't very editable.
NewTek's Lightwave 3D version is among the most powerful and flexible, but the most technically demanding to make use of giving you full control of every aspect of the set as well as a true 3D environment for help tracking markers.
Virtual Set Production falls into two main categories, Live and Post. The first sort giving you feedback in realtime to what your greenscreen composite seems like, the later providing you with more flexibility and control to make decisions at your leisure. The other main difference being price, you will get into virtual set post production for 100's of dollars vs. thousands of dollars for live productions.
Live Production
Long the domain in the six figure budgets virtual sets took an unexpected turn in the late nineties with the release of Play’s Trinity. With a built in chroma keyer plus some unusual virtual set features it turned the industry’s notion of what a virtual set was on it’s ear. Years later NewTek released it’s Video Toaster system which in version 5 had similar functionality, permitting realtime keying, scaling, and reflections of talent as well as a B source. That technology followed onto their Tricaster line and matured using XD products; an HD switcher with virtual set abilities such as a trackless zoom. The Tricaster products are already very popular due to their comparatively low pricing, multiple functionalities, and unique virtual set abilities not present in other products at any price.
Post Production
Any program using a chroma keyer can create the illusion of an virtual set at a far lower cost than live production. These include a few better editors including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas, and other alike. These can be as simple as keying your talent over the background, or as complex as tracking markers and layering together an intricate scene with camera motion. www.videovirtualsets.com also offers virtual set design services to switch any of their existing library of virtual sets in order to create a virtual set custom over completely from scratch, examples and pricing are available on their website. Some productions require changes towards the set, or the client would rather have a unique identity, regardless of the need the ability to modify sets for your client’s designs is available.
With amazing network quality productions taken from garages and classrooms as a result of modern computing power, innovative software, and cheap virtual set backgrounds it’s difficult to imagine what will come next. Now in beta testing, intensiKey's post production virtual set software promises to offer the power of your true 3D program without the complexity.
Chromakey