This may be old news to some but I just ran across this on you tube and thought it was great!

YouTube - Stargate Studios Virtual Backlot Reel 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clnozSXyF4k)

I'd seen some of those clips before, but not most of them. Thanks for the link. That is some pretty amazing work. And considering the bulk of it is in weekly series programming where turnaround is fairly speedy, the results of their efforts are still very convincing.

-Jon

I read about this in Studio Daily last year. Inspirational, ain't it?!

simply amazing...I love greenscreening...

Its alloooot of work to get it right..but the pay off is worth it.

Man I wish my keys came out looking as good. What software do you think they use?

Cheers

I interviewed the principals of Stargate earlier this year for the final season of 24. Amazing work and what is really interesting is that they shoot all of the BG plates and footage on a suitcase full of 5D MKIIs that they drag to NYC. That is exactly how they shot the 24 episode that has scenes shot at the UN. Very convincing technique they use, very innovative and relatively low cost in comparison to hiring crews in NY and doing big location shoots.

This kind of stuff is the future of filmmaking, I truly think traditional location shoots with large union crews will eventually be replaced by green screen shoots indoors and out combined with virtual BGs and environments. Hollywood will always go for cheaper, if the results hold up and based upon Stargate's work, I think it can. Right now, it is a high end specialty, but eventually it will become much cheaper and easier to do the compositing convincingly.

Dan

Its almost ashame that new technology is replacing these old traditions.. Ten years from now film schools wont even teach what seamed like the necessities of film and set design.

I was surprised by how imperfect the the green backgrounds were. In many cases there were significant seams and uneven lighting. Anyone know what software they use?

Here's an article that mentions something about what they used in Helen of Troy:

helen of troy and usa network and stargate digital and helen of troy and special effects and maya and softimage and after effects and special effects and stargate digital (http://digitalcontentproducer.com/cg/video_virtual_helen/)

"We simultaneously started building new 3D elements [mainly in Maya and Softimage, later using After Effects for compositing, in conjunction with 2d3 Boujou motion tracking software]. "

Set design and cinematography skills still apply. The difference is that there are no tangible set pieces. The tough part is for the actors: fewer surrounding cues to provide a performance reference.

Everyone's probably seen this already, but this was with After Effects and Primatte:
Green screen opening shot for HGF-205 (http://hawaiigoesfishing.com/greenscreen_demo.html)

In this article, On the Virtual Backlot (http://digitalcontentproducer.com/dcc/revfeat/video_virtual_backlot/), Sam Nicholson of Stargate said, "The issue of what makes daylight look like daylight is a complicated one, but when you composite in the actor, you can tell instantly if you got it right or not. "

That applies to the simple shot I did above. It's not just matching the direction and quality of light. It's also a matter of matching what CG artists would call ambient light, or the color of light that fills in the shadows. In any situation, shadows are seldom neutral. They're always tinted by reflections from the sky, surrounding objects, etc.

These digital tools can serve a useful purpose. In our case it saves us from getting our host up at 5 am to catch the sun at 7 am, while risking bad weather, noise and other unknowns when shooting on location. It also allows us to use locations that could be hundreds of miles away, or hard to access, and still employ a teleprompter.

Hi Dean,

Nice key in the fishing seg. I noticed the talents shadow in the key and not on green screen, how did you achieve that?

Cheers

Hi Simon...

The shadow is a duplicate of Cindy's keyed image. It's darkened until it's completely black. Opacity is set to some low level, perhaps 30%. The keyed image is then distorted to the right proportion and position, and softened as needed.

Thanks Dean,

I thought you may have done something like that.

Cheers

Dean:
what type of lighting did you use to light the green screen? Whats your thoughts on using flourecent lighting for the screen?

Kevin...

There are two Lowel Tota lights on the green screen. They're set up the same way you would if you're doing document copy work. Each light is about 45 degrees off to one side to provide even lighting.

There's just one DP light on the talent, placed in a position to match the background lighting. For daylight simulation, the higher and/or farther you can place the light the better. Less falloff over a larger area.

Dean
Can you please link a site where you bought the large green screen? I normally see the small one only.

Bruce...

Check out EEFX.com. The one I got is 10x20 feet. There's a seam down the middle but it doesn't show up in the key at all.

Storing it is simple as it can be folded up or rolled. Wrinkles come out readily. It lights evenly.

Thanks Dean. I'll go check them out.

Dean, as far as the green screen is concerned, are you using a soft box or umbrella with the tota lights?

Kevin... I just use the lights on the green screen straight. No filtration, diffusion or bounce.

Dean:

Do you think there is a big difference in the quality of the key when using the foam materiel like you have as oposed to a 100% Cotton fabric?

Kevin... The EEFX.com screen flattens out nicely. Cotton retains wrinkles.

Anything that makes the green screen more consistent allows better control in the keying process. Especially if you're interested in being able to key stray hair, veils, translucent items, etc.

So in short, yes. It makes a difference.

Dean:

I know yu used totas for the green screen, but what did you use tolightthe subject. A:so, what frame rate did you shoot at?

Kevin... To simulate hard sunlight I often use a single DP light. A Tota light works for that, too.

Frame rate is 1080p30.

When lighting, take into consideration the color of the light filling the shadows. It might not seem like anything to even consider, but in real life shadows are seldom neutral. They're always tinted by ambient reflective materials, whether it be the sky, trees or nearby structures.

Dean,
thanks for the info. I have a shoot coming up which I will use green screen for. I have a tota light kit and wanted to getyour thoughts on lighting the sudject with a softbox attached to the tota as oposed to some other type of diffusion. It seems that alot of people use the softbox when lighting the subject for a green screen shoot. I am thinking about purchasing a softbox but wanted to get as much info on it first. Thanks.

Kevin... The light illuminating your talent has to match the light illuminating your background. If it's late evening in your background plate and you light up your talent with a softbox portrait-style, it's going to look all wrong.