Ipod commercial "Silhouette look"
 

I'm shooting a music video in a couple of weeks and had a quick question.

Im sure you're all familiar with the Ipod commercials.
YouTube - iPod Ad - Walkie Talkie Man

Is there any way to achieve Silhouette look without using green screen, which I'm assuming they do? I would assume use some type of solid white screen in front of the subject and use a back light and fill light behind the screen? Would I want a light pointed directly at the screen instead of a fill light?

I would shoot it silhouette on a white backdrop, then use After Effects or Motion to swap the black and white channels for whatever color you're looking for. In Motion, this is called "Colorize".

The technique is simpler than you're thinking.

ANY background that is DIFFERENT from the foreground dancers will work fine.

It's the difference that's critical.

A solid white background works because unless the dancers wear white - EVERYTHING about them is "darker" than the background. So a key using the LUMA values will "cut them out" of the picture.

A solid color also works (chroma keying) for the same reason.

Once the computer can figure out the DIFFERENCE between the dancers and the background - and you separate that difference into LAYERS using the keying software - you can apply any kind of color or pattern effect you like to the global "cut outs."

Good luck.

Light the background, don't light the foreground. Simple.

But selective parts of the foreground... ipod, cord, the star on the last dancer's shirt... are either brightly or dimly visible. I don't know that simply lighting the background is what the OP is looking for.

I assumed the iPod doesn't feature in the OP's music vid, he only asked how to create a silhouette. Just add fill if you want foreground detail.

There are tutorials all over the net for how to mimic the iPod commercials using displacement mattes and other techniques.