Abstract: The present invention converts an image into a transparency, or “foreground image layer”, on which the readability of text and other detail is preserved after compositing with a background, while maintaining color information of broad areas of the image. In an embodiment, a matte is determined for the background image to reduce transparencies in the foreground layer, so as to prevent irrelevant parts of the background image from showing through. This is in distinction to only using the original foreground image data (prior to its transformation to a layer) to compute a matte (or mask, or alpha channel) to form a foreground layer.

Abstract: The present invention converts an image into a transparency, or “foreground image layer”, on which the readability of text and other detail is preserved after compositing with a background, while maintaining color information of broad areas of the image. In an embodiment, a matte is determined for the background image to reduce transparencies in the foreground layer, so as to prevent irrelevant parts of the background image from showing through. This is in distinction to only using the original foreground image data (prior to its transformation to a layer) to compute a matte (or mask, or alpha channel) to form a foreground layer.

Abstract: The present invention converts an image into a transparency, or “foreground image”, on which the readability of text and other detail is preserved after compositing with a background, while maintaining color information of broad areas of the image.

Abstract: The present invention converts an image into a transparency, or “foreground image layer”, on which the readability of text and other detail is preserved after compositing with a background, while maintaining color information of broad areas of the image. In an embodiment, a matte is determined for the background image to reduce transparencies in the foreground layer, so as to prevent irrelevant parts of the background image from showing through. This is in distinction to only using the original foreground image data (prior to its transformation to a layer) to compute a matte (or mask, or alpha channel) to form a foreground layer.

Abstract: The present invention converts an image into a transparency, or “foreground image”, on which the readability of text and other detail is preserved after compositing with a background, while maintaining color information of broad areas of the image.

Abstract: A method and apparatus to cause a colored backing to be replaced by a background scene, such that the composite scene shows no loss of detail, no edge anomalies, no evidence of a colored backing having been present, and no evidence that the final scene is a composite, even when the foreground scene contains fine strands of hair, glassware, smoke, fog, or other semitransparent subjects. Control signals E.sub.b and E.sub.c are created to cause the foreground and background scenes to mutually interact in a natural manner, so that shadows on the colored backing appear as shadows on the background scene, and the luminance of the background selectively causes back and edge lighting of foreground subjects. The hue and luminance of the colored backing are continuously and automatically tracked and removed by a subtraction process. The background level is automatically held constant even though backing illumination changes.