Improving Skies: Many Means to an End with in:sync Speed Razor 4.0

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Solution 4: Use the Matte effect with a matte and another image.

In most cases solution 3 is all you need. But in certain cases you may want a more precise composite. In which case you will need to create a matte for the skyline in a paint program.

Matte created from gradient effect

Export a single frame of your skyline shot to a bitmap your favorite paint program is capable of loading.

Paint the skyline black and the sky white.

Replace the grayscale gradient with this new matte and source V2 to it.

Now you have the final composite. If you want a softer edge matte, you can add the Fast Blur effect to the matte you painted and resource the matte effect to this Fast Blur effect.

There you have it! A great way to improve skyline shots by using simple yet powerful tools already included in Speed Razor. You can now use this approach for image enhancement and even take that a step further. If you are working on a tight-deadline in a more "offline mode" with a producer/director working with you, you may want to only do solution 1 or 2 and then go back later and finish the shot in "online mode" with solution 3 or 4. Better yet, combine multiple solutions to bring out the perfect shot: Use a gradient effect over real cloud imagery to bring out the realism of the clouds and the colors of the gradient.

About the Author:

William Davidson is vice-president of BrainBox Productions and heads up the post production division of the company. He is also a long time Speed Razor editor and trainer. Mickey McKane, who worked with Bill on the tutorial, is also vice-president of BrainBox - and heads up the development division. He is also a Speed Razor editor and trainer.