Virtual News Set
The virtual news set is fast becoming
a common means of television and film production. A virtual news
set uses green screen chromakeying to create a set or stage that
isn't real, and in some cases could not be. An actor or talent
stands in front of or on a green or blue stage and a piece of
hardware or software called a chromakeyer like an Ultimatte
removes the color and replaces it with an image generated by a
computer. This image is called a virtual
news set, which can be designed by an in house designer, or
a company that specializes in virtual news set design like Virtualsetworks.
A virtual news set is ideal for situations where a real set is too
expensive because of either space, location, or materials cost.
Building a football stadium would be very expensive. Building
a football stadium made of gold on the moon would be impossible,
but not with a virtual news set. A small stage covered with a green
screen or blue screen and adequate
lighting is all that's needed to put your talent anywhere your
imagination wants to put them.
Chromakey
Sometimes Chromakeying for a virtual news set is referred to as an
art, because getting a seamless composite is less like a science
and more like cooking; you need the right tools, the right ingredients,
some imagination, and a lot of elbow grease. Traditionally the
best way to chroma key for a virtual news set is to light the background
and the subject separately, this means that the backdrop gets
a relatively even coverage of lighting, usually fluorescent, because
most chromakeyers are susceptible to lighting variations and will
give an uneven key. The talent is then lit to try and simulate
the lighting environment of the virtual news set. This can be difficult
if the virtual news set is dim because of the immense amount of light
usually required to get an even key on the background and further
exacerbated by the fact that the more light you put on the background,
the more spill you get onto the talent's head and shoulders. An
Ultimatte will fix up the spill, but
not all keyers have this feature so special care must be taken
when doing traditional chroma key lighting for a virtual news set.
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