Linear Color Key

Linear Color Key

The Linear Color Key offers direct selection of a key color
using an eyedropper tool. The default 10% Matching

Softness setting is arbitrary and defi nes a rather loose
range. I often end up with settings closer to 1%.
Note that there are, in fact, three eyedropper tools in the
Linear Color Key effect. The top one defi nes Key Color,
and the other two add and subtract Matching Tolerance. I
tend not to use these because they don’t work in the Comp
viewer; the main Key Color eyedropper and the Matching
sliders work for me .

There’s a hidden trick to getting better results with Linear
Color Key. Because it is linear, it will pick up hues that
seem unrelated. To reduce the effect of these, you can
add a second instance of Linear Color Key. Under Key

Operation, changing the default Key Colors setting to
Keep Colors does nothing if it’s the fi rst instance except
annul the effect. On the second instance, Keep Colors is
unaffected by the fi rst instance and can bring back hues
that were already keyed. The one-two punch will often
deliver the best result