Maya Projection & Keyer // Documentation

PROJECTION.KEYER  //  V2.0

Version 2.0  |  Advanced Node-Based Keyer & Frustum Projection

01  —  Annotated UI Overview Hover a callout number to highlight it. Image size: 528x844
Projection Keyer UI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
  • 1
    PROCESS ALL SELECTED CAMERAS (Quick Batch)

    Select any number of cameras and click this. The script will automatically generate frustum planes, assign projections, and build the full compositing node keyer networks for all of them instantly in one click.

  • 2
    PRESET: BLUE SCREEN

    Select the Keyer Controller (locator) and click this to instantly tune the node graph math for Blue Screen extraction. Changes the internal Screen Type and Screen Color targets to pure Blue (0, 0, 1).

  • 3
    PRESET: GREEN SCREEN

    Select the Keyer Controller and click this to optimize the math for Green Screen extraction. Changes the Screen Type and Screen Color to pure Green (0, 1, 0) and slightly lowers Screen Gain to compensate for digital green luminosity.

  • 4
    VIEW MODES (Result, Matte, Despill)

    Three buttons that instantly toggle the shader output in Maya's viewport without rebuilding the network.
    VIEW: RESULT - Shows the final despilled RGB plate multiplied by the extracted alpha.
    VIEW: MATTE - Displays the black-and-white alpha channel extraction.
    VIEW: DESPILL - Shows the raw RGB plate with green/blue spill suppressed but no transparency applied.

  • 5
    SCREEN COLOR PICKER

    If your physical green/blue screen is uneven, cyan-ish, or yellow-green, use this slider to pick the exact background color. The internal difference math scales against this custom color.

  • 6
    MANUAL STEPS

    Allows you to run the pipeline step-by-step instead of batching.
    Step 1: Create Frustum Plane - Builds a polyplane parented to the camera, scaling it perfectly to match the camera's film aperture and focal length.
    Step 2: Assign Projection - Wires the camera's image plane to a projection node and assigns it to the geometry.
    Step 3: Build Pro Keyer - Constructs the massive IBK-style compositing node network to replace the basic projection.

  • 7
    UTILITIES & CLEANUP

    SELECT KEYER CONTROLLER - If you have the geometry selected, click this to easily select the locator that contains all the advanced slider attributes.
    DELETE ALL PROJECTION SYSTEMS - Scans the scene and safely deletes all nodes, locators, and planes generated by the tool, returning your scene to a clean state.
    Close Tool - Closes the UI window.

02  —  Keyer Attributes (v2.0) Advanced parameters available on the locator
Keyer Attributes

Nuke-Style Compositing in Maya

Once built, a Keyer_CTRL locator is placed in the scene containing advanced color-difference attributes previously only found in compositing software like Nuke.


V2.0 EXCLUSIVES:
Hue Offset: Mathematically rotates the Hue of the plate through an HSV conversion matrix specifically for matte extraction. This allows you to pull keys on imperfect screens (e.g. Cyan/Yellow) without affecting the original RGB colors or despill.
Screen Tolerance: Expands or shrinks the hue acceptance range of the complement channel, functioning exactly like 'Screen Weight' in advanced compositors.
Expanded Ranges: Matte Erode/Softness and Luma controls now accept values far beyond 0-1, easily handling super-white HDR plates and aggressive edge shrinking.

03  —  Node Graph & Viewport Real-time extraction without UVs
Node Graph

Procedural Hypershade Network

The tool procedurally generates over 30 utility nodes (MultiplyDivide, PlusMinusAverage, BlendColors, RemapValue) and wires them together to recreate complex compositing math. All of this happens directly in Maya's Viewport 2.0, allowing you to preview final composites live in 3D space without needing to render or export to Nuke.