About YY_MagicKey

YY_MagicKey is a keying plugin for After Effects, created by Andrew Yang, that removes a chosen background color without a complex parameter panel. Users set the Background Color to be keyed out and then adjust a few controls: Crush Transparent and Crush Opaque control how much of the image is removed and how opaque the remaining pixels appear; Despell Amount removes cast color, and Despell Size defines the border area for despilling. The plugin offers four visual output modes – Source, Alpha Matte, Despill Matte, and Final Output – to help evaluate the key at each stage. Compatibility spans After Effects CS4 through the 2024 release, and version 1.2 adds native Apple M1 support. The plugin is listed as free, though licensing should be verified on the developer’s site.

Features

• Background Color control that sets the color to be keyed out
• Crush Transparent: the bigger the value, the more of the image is keyed out
• Crush Opaque: the bigger the value, the more opaque the keyed image becomes
• Despill Amount that removes cast color from the background
• Despill Size sets the border around the image to despill, from none (0) to the whole image (1)
• Output views for the unmodified Source, Alpha Matte, Despill Matte and Final Output

Best for

Removing a background color and despilling footage in After Effects when you need a keyer with a minimal set of controls.