Greenscreen chroma keying software question

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of using this type of software, and any recommendations. I'm not looking to spend a huge amount of money at this stage, but I want something that will work smoothly on windows 8.
Alternatively, I could run something under XP on my old machine.

Any other advice or comments about greenscreens and the surrounding technology would be welcome. This is something new to me, in which I am just getting interested.

 

I would say the most important thing in greenscreen production is the lighting.

Rule 1: Never light the subject and the greenscreen with the same light (unless using sunlight). If the lights give good coverage of the subject, then they will also reflect green light from the screen onto the subject. This gives the subject a green "halo". The screen lighting should be from the sides shining across the screen.

Rule 2: Use as much distance between the subject and the screen as practical ~ at least 5 feet, 15 feet being much better.

Rule 3: Use a keylight on subject in addition to good front lighting. This light shines down from directly over the subject, and "cleans" green light reflected from the screen.

As to the software, it really depends on what video edit software is used. The expensive software will work better if the raw video is not perfect. High-end software helps fix problems, but bad lighting will ruin any chromakey production.

 

Agree. It needs to be lit and shot right. If you can shoot in HD and 4.2.2 color space.

After Effects has a great keyer and if that's not enough Phyx makes a great plugin.

On the free side you have Lightworks and Davinci Resolve Lite.