CompuServe Messages

Mike, I have another thought, while we're talking about 3.X things. One thing that's often done in high-end productions is the making of something called a "matte reel." It's used particularly with complex 3D animations that must be keyed over live video. It works like this: you get the animation on two reels. The main reel contains the 3D logo, or flying bird, or spaceship, or whatever. Parts of it may be dark, and so wouldn't key very well if the keying was done as a luminance key using the object itself. The second reel is the matte reel. It's a black background with a white object the same shape as the 3D object on the main reel. The thing is that it's not just black and white; there are some grey pixels on curves and other areas that require antialiasing. Basically what I'm describing is the output of an alpha channel, recorded on tape. During editing, the matte reel is used to create the key signal and the main reel is used to produce the "fill" video. I'd love the ability to put both the "real" animation and a matte on the PAR for output to tape. Can you see a way to do this in the future, based on where you see Imagine 3.X going? Pete