Keying: Refinement Tools

One weak point in previous versions of Primatte was the lack of any way to attenuate and thicken the existing matte density. To address this issue Primatte now offers the Refinement Tools.

Spill Plus/Minus

The Spill Plus and Spill Minus modes enable you to gradually remove or recover the spill intensity on the foreground object by repeatedly sampling the referenced color region. Unlike the Spill Sponge tool, which removes the entire spill component in a single action and does not allow subsequent adjustment, Spill Plus and Minus allow you to sample the same pixel multiple times as needed; increasing the effect with each click of the mouse button. Even though just a small amount of spill needed to be removed, the Spill Sponge removed a preset amount without allowing any finer adjustment.

To use Spill Plus and Minus, zoom into an area of the foreground which has blue spill on the edges of the element, select either the Spill Plus (decrease the amount of spill removal) or Spill Minus (increase spill removal) button, and click on one of the pixels with some spill on it. The visible effects of these tools are extremely subtle, so multiple clicks will most likely be required. Repeated clicking will incrementally remove the spill from the foreground, so continue sampling until the desired result is achieved.

Matte Plus/Minus

The Matte Plus and Matte Minus tools are used to thicken or attenuate the matte information. If you want a thinner shadow on a foreground object, you can use the Matte Minus tool as many times as you like to make it more transparent. Conversely, use the Matte Plus tool to make the matte thicker in that color region.

To use Matte Plus and Minus, zoom into an area of the foreground that is more opaque or transparent than you would like it to be, select either the Matte Plus (decrease the transparency) or Matte Minus (increase the transparency) button, and click on one of the pixels that you want to modify. The visible effects of these tools are extremely subtle, so multiple clicks will most likely be required. Repeated clicking will incrementally adjust the transparency of the color region you are clicking on, so continue sampling until the desired result is achieved.

Detail Plus/Minus

The Detail Plus and Detail Minus modes are a refined version of Clean BG Noise and Restore Detail. When you see some noise in the semi-transparent areas of the foreground, try using the Detail Minus tool to suppress it. It will attenuate the noise gradually as multiple samples are made on the pixel. You should stop the sampling when important fine details start to disappear.

To use Detail Plus and Minus, zoom into an area of the foreground where some detail has been lost, select the Detail Plus button, and click on a region where the detail has been lost. The visible effects of these tools are extremely subtle, so multiple clicks will most likely be required. Repeated clicking will incrementally bring the lost detail back into view, so continue sampling until the desired result is achieved.