Project image behind interview subjects in Post

Hello to all,

I have some interview footage. The backdrop is black with 2 subjects on camera. I want to give the appearance of images being projected behind the interview subjects. I've put the images "behind" the subjects by using an 8-point garbage matte and the image seems too flat.
Any suggestions?

As always, thanks in advance!
Lisha
FCP 5.0.4
Motion 2
Photoshop 7.0
After Effects 5.5

Perhaps this might go better in Motion? In Motion you can move layers around and send them forward or backwards. As far as "flat"?; projecting on a screen is a flat surface!

If you put the projected image out of focus it will give it depth.

You could key out the black, as long as it didn't interfere with anything the subjects are wearing or their hair colour or something. Just select the clip, then go to effects > Video Filters > Key > Chroma Key. Then use the dropper to select the colour to remove, and adjust the edges with the sliders. Then bump the footage up to V2, and put your 'projected' footage underneath this on V1 so that it can be seen through the holes you made.

The reason this is generally done using a bright green screen is that bright green doesn't normally match anything on the human body, so it doesn't accidentally get keyed out.

What exactly do you mean by flat? Tim has a good suggestion if it is composition? Also think about color. Use Color Corrector 3-way to 'cool' the tone of the background. Conversely, 'warm' the subject using the same method. Cool colors tend to be pushed back in space by your eye, and warm ones are brought closer.

Michael Gossen
Helium Digital Media
Pixel Dust Digital

There are two issues here, creating the matte either by using a garbage (rotoscope) matte or a luma or chroma key, then addressing the flat look of the projected image.

How flat it appears depends on what surface your trying to project on. If the wall has some texture or shape then the type of blend mode you use will determine how much of an image will be mapped onto that surface.

Someone posted a good tutorial on the creative cow website for mapping video onto a sheet or flag that you might want to check out.