K1 v1.0 (Chromakey&Compose software) release instruction


K1 is modified and upgraded based on the  CAMTracker. It is designed as a specialized keying and compositing software. On the basis of the previous keying function of CAMTracker, I added the function of foreground and background input, including the functions of garbage mask (CAM Mat Input) and protection mask (Unmat Input).  

Interface introduction:

First, let’s introduce the features of K1:

1. There are two built-in keying modes, S KEY and M KEY.

    In S KEY mode, you can turn on Pick mode to select color in the green background of the main window, and then click the HSL Adj button of S KEY to open the parameter dialog box to adjust the corresponding parameters. In this mode, the sliders with black background cannot be used. only 2th Denoise  is available.

   M KEY is used in the case of serious spill, of course, it is also suitable for when S KEY cannot meet the requirements. You can have maximum freedom of adjustment. 

2. Five-channel camera inputs and 20 channel outputs and video recording, support multiple brands of capture cards and video equipment input, support multi-channel synchronous input and output. The output supports NDI and video cards, supports Genlock locked frame output through AJA or Deltacast brand video output cards, and supports viewing Genlock status. Each channel has two sets of outputs, namely the conventional keying image/original camera image (FinalKey/Origimg) and the mask image. Of course, the  outputs can also switch the background or background composite picture.

3. Video recording with LTC time code signal. The frame rate format can be selected via the FPS drop-down menu.

4. Support OCIO color space translation and color keying.

The layout of the software interface is similar to that of CAMTracker, and the basic operation logic is also the same.

    • At the top is the software title bar, and the Save Project button is used to save the project file. Resolution is used to set the final resolution of the output video. ColorGrading is used to adjust the color of keyed images. This function is also synchronously applicable to other camera images, which is a global setting. in the FPS section you can click the number to select the corresponding timecode frame rate format. This frame rate setting also changes the frame rate of the recording options. The Sync button is used to synchronize the CAM0 camera input timecode to the LTC output. Without synchronization by default, the software will automatically generate LTC timecode. Click this timecode will open the LTC output settings interface.

    • The left side of the main interface of the software is the video input source selection, and the local green screen video can also be directly dragged and dropped into the Source Input window in the upper left corner for playback. Clicking the CAM0-4 button will automatically switch the corresponding video source to the main screen in the middle of the software interface to facilitate keying operations. The CAM0-4 button above the main interface can open the corresponding parameter setting window.

    • The OCIO0-4 button is mainly used to transform the color space of the corresponding camera image, which is a professional photography-related technology. A simple understanding is to transform other color spaces into the Linear linear color space used by the computer 3D engine. Different brands of cameras can use different configuration files. Of course, you can also use the corresponding LUT for color correction. The specific function can be described in the parameter TD: https://docs.derivative.ca/OpenColorIO_TOP
    • The lower left part of BG Input is the background material input button, which supports NDI/video card/video material or picture input as background input. When you activate the corresponding background input, you can click the BG Input button in the Test BG on the right side of the main interface to view it, and activate the SKY/Compuser button in the right panel to output the composite image.
    • The Cam Unmat Input section is selected for the protection mask material. Only black and white image import is supported here to protect the non-keyed areas in the green screen image, such as green props. If it is not enabled by default, please select the Black picture that comes with the software catalog.

    • The Cam Mat Input section is the garbage mask material selection. Only black and white mask images are also supported here to remove unwanted items in the camera image, such as ceiling lamps.
    • FG Input is the foreground material input, which supports NDI/video card/file input. The input here will be applied to all five of the video composites. If you don’t want to enable it, you can switch to the NDI or video card options.
    • Next is the main interface part, the top left is the OCIO-related settings for each camera input parameter setting option. The middle S KEY button can switch between different keying modes. LEVEL is to adjust the parameters of the corresponding camera screen. Further down there is a small KeySlider slider, you can drag this red slider directly to see the comparison of the keying effect. Of course, you can also drag with the left mouse button in the main window below to achieve the same effect when PICK MODE is not enabled.
    • The top right side of the main interface is the output setting options of the CAM0 . These options in Test BG can switch between different backgrounds to check the keying effect during keying. Of course, the final effect of the keying screen has a lot to do with the actual scene lighting conditions. The scene lighting must be as close as possible to restore the lighting conditions of background material. This allows for better integration. In addition, only the BG Input will affect the final output.
    • Under the main screen are the adjustment bars for hue, saturation and value  in M KEY mode. Normally, when you switch to M KEY, the adjustment lines here will change to the corresponding red, green, and blue colors. When you activate Pick Mode, you can click and drag in the green background of the main screen to select the color range to be removed, and the adjustment lines here are usually set automatically. Of course, you can also fine-tune it later. In order to preserve as much information as possible in the original picture, adjustments are usually made as smooth as possible.
    • Further down is the main adjustment area for keying . In S KEY mode, only PICK MODE, S KEY, Despill, 2thDenoise can be used. In M KEY mode, only the options in S KEY do not work.
    • PICK MODE can switch the background color selection  switch of the main monitor screen. When closed, you can use the mouse to adjust the slider between the original image and the keyed image in the monitoring image. Both the main monitor screen and the source input selection pane in the upper left corner are zoomable by scrolling the mouse wheel. Press the H key to restore the original size display.
    • The HSL Adj button of the S KEY will open the corresponding parameter adjustment window. The first item is the background color you selected in the main monitor screen. Color Tolerance is a color tolerance adjustment, which is equivalent to a hard cut adjustment, and Color Softness is a gradient adjustment. Usually, make flexible adjustments as much as possible and check the keying effect in real time to ensure that the most information of the original picture is not cut out. When this value is 0, the following Saturation Multiplier option will be automatically set to 1, then you can use the Despill option to adjust the overflow. When you adjust this parameter upwards, the Saturation option is automatically set to 0. Hue Offset is an adjustment for the keying hue, which can be adjusted in conjunction with Saturation Multiplier. Value Multiplier is the adjustment of light and dark values, and Dry/Wet Mix is the mixing adjustment of the original picture and the keyed picture. These two items depend on the specific situation. Sometimes you need to adjust to 0.5 if you want to get a finer effect, and usually keep it at 1. Then adjust the options after the second denoise processing. If you are not satisfied with the 2th Denoise adjustment, you can use the following options to get a clean background and keying screen.
    • The first item Threshold is the threshold adjustment, which is usually set to about 0.5. Of course, this adjustment is to preserve the details of the picture as much as possible, regardless of the cleanliness of the actual background. The second Soften also adjusts the degree of excess of the FG and BG images (black and white masks). Usually the value is 1. Finally, the MinVal item is equivalent to doing a low-cut process to the picture to get a clean background.
    • These Despill options are similar to the HSL Adj adjustment options in the S KEY. There is only one more Skin Color adjustment, this one is specially set for adjusting the conversion tone of the spill color of the keying edge. When the value is 0, the following options can be used. The closer it is to 1, the less impact these options below have on the picture. When the value is 1, the overflow will be adjusted to be close to light yellow, and the maximum value is 2, which will increase the saturation of the color towards darker tones. This also affects the skin tone of the person. Of course, you can also adjust the hue and saturation of the spill color through Hue Offset and Saturation Multiplier sliders.
    • 1thDenoise is the first noise reduction, used in M KEY mode to remove background noise. 2thDenoise is common to both keying modes.
    • Curvature is the curvature setting of the keying curve, which is set according to the situation.
    • SmoothEdge is the blur adjustment of the keyed edge. Of course, it is best not to set this option, because it will definitely lose the details of the original picture.
    • Trim Start/Trim End is the low-cut and high-cut processing of the picture. The default remains 0.
    • En Contrast is an option to enhance the contrast between the FG and the BG of the key, and you can adjust the contrast of the edges through the Constrast slider. Edge Alpha adjusts the degree of blurring of edge transparency. These options are mainly used to deal with white borders.
    • Fill Mode is used for remediation in the case of severe spillcolor. When this item is enabled, the mask window on the right will display the adjustment results of related options. You can adjust the threshold to include the areas that are keyed, and Edge Blur is used to blur the edges for better results.
    • The bottom is the history of the adjustment of the intermediate parameters, you can click the Undo button to undo the adjustment of the parameters.
    • On the right side of the main pane are the key output monitoring and recording options. The first line is the recording option of CAM0. You can switch between recording OrigImg (original green screen image) and FinalKey (keying image). On the right is the green record button.
    • The following are the options for overlaying the background after the main monitor screen is keyed. The default is Black. The options here will affect the final output. Sky/Compuser is the output of the composite screen.
    • The following two panes are the two modes of the main monitor screen: final output and MASK view. Click the button in the upper left corner to open the corresponding recording options. The content recorded by the first item RecOpt1 depends on the selection mode of the CAM0 recording picture above (original picture or keying picture). The default recorded video files are all with LTC timecode. The second RecOpt2 recording is this MASK view content, also with LTC timecode. By default, all the purple content in the second item follows the settings in the first item. When you click the green circular record button, the two images will be recorded at the same time. For the specific name, you can click the File in the image below. Gray button for manual settings, or you can click the green button to keep the default command rules. Of course, you can also cancel the simultaneous recording of this MASK content. Click the gray button in the red box of the Record item to cancel the association with the first recording option. For the parameter description of this recording window, please refer to the official TD documentation: https://docs.derivative.ca/Movie_File_Out_TOP.
    • A dark red G on the right side of the RecOpt option indicates the Gen-Lock output state currently switched to the main monitoring window screen. Dark red means not enabled, green means active state, you can switch different camera images to the main monitoring window to check the Gen-Lock status output by the video card of the corresponding camera image. To enable the Genlock function, you need to use an AJA or Deltacast branded video output card and select the reference source in Reference Source. The First Field option has been bound to the parity field setting of the capture card input, so the corresponding options are not shown here. For related options, please refer to the TD documentation: https://docs.derivative.ca/Video_Device_Out_TOP 
    • The pane below is for monitoring the output images of the four fixed cameras. The buttons with green borders on the left are similar to the recording options of CAM0. A button OImag expresses the recording and output of the original picture, if you want to record the corresponding camera picture at the same time when you click the record button, you can switch the X button to √. The purple content of the settings in these two REC recording options also follows the settings in RecOpt1 of CAM0. 
    • The buttons with blue borders are the settings of the video card and NDI output. The NDI output settings here follow the NDI1 setting options of CAM0. The video card output can activate the corresponding Sync outputs . For the output settings of the video card, please refer to the TD documentation: https://docs.derivative.ca/Video_Device_Out_TOP  

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