Pull Keys and Create Mattes

The procedures and tools used to pull a key depend on the source material you are working with, as well as the complexity of the task. For example, sources shot under ideal lighting conditions with good contrast between the key-in and key-out content can be done very quickly. On the other hand, sources with varying lighting conditions, fine detail at the edges of the key, dramatic camera movement, and other problem areas can take much longer to produce a clean result.

Make sure you understand what keying task, or keying tasks, need to be performed so you can select the keying tools and the order of the keying tasks that will produce the best result. For more information on keying, see Keying and Keyer Super Tool.

When you key an image or an image sequence, you can use a keyer or a collection of keying tools to generate a matte or remove color spill from a shot. You may also need to generate more than one key to achieve the desired result.

To add a keyer tool to your composition:

1. Press the tilde key (~) or middle-click to display the Gate UI.
2. Swipe through the east gate to display the Tools tab.
   
3. Expand the Keying tool folder to access the Keying tools.

   The Keying tools include Color Curves, Diamond Keyer, the Difference tool, and Luma Keyer.

4. From the Tools tab, drag a keying tool to the process tree in Schematic.
5. Drag the Keying tool over the output of a node that you wish to key. When the connection is highlighted, release the mouse.

   The keyer tool is added to the process tree.

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