Keying software Ultra 2

[m***@adobeforums.com]

Hello,

I am thinking about buying the keying program Ultra 2. I have looked at their demo and it looks easy and straight forward. I think it will work for the middle school I work at. We have some lighting equipment, a green screen, a blue screen and a Canon GL2 in our studio. For those that have used Ultra would you like to share your opinion?

Thanks,
Mike

[P***@adobeforums.com]

Ultra is a good keyer, but overpriced in my estimation. Its pre and post colour correction tools are particularly good. The 3D backgrounds are fun at first, but not very customizable and get old quickly. To use the shadow and reflection settings, you need a very modern video card. My main complaint with it (and the reason I seldom use it) is that it is standalone. The garbage matte (really a painted area) can't be keyframed, unlike those in AE. One can't add other effects from AE plugins. So I use DvMatte Pro or Keylight a lot more. If you had the option, an upgrade to AE Pro would be better use of money. Also, don't expect miracles unless you have great lighting of your subject and background.

[m***@adobeforums.com]

Hey Mike, it's a great program but it does have limitations, if you have two or more people in one of the virtual sets, it becomes difficult to get a clean key on the second person. I have all of serious magic products except the blog, and I just purchased ovasion. The company does provide updates which have fixed some of the problems, like the one I'm talking about. They also have a great forum, which you can find a wealth of information. All-in-all it's a great program and plenty of schools us it. Ultra 2 is pretty simple to use and it doesn't require a lot of time to reading manuals. Just import your clip key out the green screen, and choose a set or a background. I hope this helps you mike. I use the 3 point lighting set up, a seem to get a good clean key using this set up.

[c***@adobeforums.com]

Go with ULTRA II.

I have used both AE PRO/Keylight and ULTRA and ULTRA is many times easier to learn and significantly faster than keying in AE. AE/Keylight render times are extreemly slow and rather challanging to learn to use properly. You could have students actually use Ultra, but I doubt you could get them to use AE.

Curt Wrigley

[m***@adobeforums.com]

Thank you for your advice. It certainly has helped me in making a choice of software for keying. I think many of the sets that be can purchased, through Serious Magic, are usable for the kind of projects the students will be doing. Is there another place sets can be purchases at? I know students can make their own set but time is a factor. Also Marcel what is 3 point lighting?

Mike

[P***@adobeforums.com]

The academic pricing of sets through Serious Magic is a bargain. FWIW, I taught one of my sons a fair amount of AE when he was in middle school. Yes, Keylight is more difficult to master, but for me it gives better results.