Green Screen lighting for a house.

[Paulo Teixeira]

Since it's a house, I'm aware that the lighting solutions wont be that broad. 2 circuits could be available for this. The Green screen material is about 12ft wide, 7.5 ft high and I believe it can stretch to around 8ft on the ground.

The budget could probably be around $400 total more or less. Maybe I can be shown options of lighting that cost a bit under $400 and lighting that cost a bit over $400. In other words perhaps a range of around $200 to $600.

For general every day usage that can get decent results and is easy to set up, is their any recommendations people have in mind? I'm asking for direct links as well.

Basically I need lighting for the screen and as for the lighting for the subjects, perhaps something good with soft-boxes. That would be 4 lights. Also what would be recommended as a hair light for a total of 5 lights?

[Robert Turchick]

Tons of options, I built the main lights for my green screen which can be seen on my website (4- 220watt kino-bulbed fluorescents) My screen is about the same size, 12x9x9floor
Since you don't describe a floor, two 220 watt fixtures would be plenty for the screen. I use a 256 bulb LED fixture for backlight and for the talent two 36" softboxes fed with 600 watts of CFL. By keeping away from hot lights, the talent and my electric bill are much happier. I chose all daylight bulbs and run minus green filters on the talent lights. I get perfect keys (part of it is the camera XF300) but the lighting is very even and easy to deal with.

Lots of companies are making 220 watt fixtures in the $350-$400 range and for the bigger lights a 440watt fluorescent can be had for not much more. Check Coollights.biz for some options.

[Paulo Teixeira]

Lighting that's good for the floor is also a huge plus. LED's is something I'm thinking of as well and I'm glad you mentioned it. I'll check out that site and the numbers I quoted is total.

[Robert Turchick]

Oh! Didn't quite catch your total budget being $400.
I must say I think that's unrealistic for 5 fixtures unless you go really low end and visit Home Depot.
Might want to check stevekaeser.com as they have kits but nothing quite as low as you are hoping to get away with.
Let us all know what you come up with for that budget.

[Paulo Teixeira]

I fully understand the confusion and I wasn't that clear anyway. I've seen a lot of green screen kits for under $400 but it's very hard to choose between low cost lighting. I do see a lot of people making DIY lighting although I was thinking a little more professional. Still, I'm basically trying to see what's in the low budget bracket but I wouldn't say the budget is set in stone so to speak although making sure the lighting isn't too powerful for the house is. At least the lighting for the main subjects can be used for things other than the green screen.

[Paulo Teixeira]

That new site does have some interesting stuff.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

If the setup isn't done proper you won't be able to easily key it. You could start at the bottom and gradually increase your budget until you get something that is workable. Generally speaking its going to cost more money than you listed. Its a specialized skill that is harder than it appears.

[Paulo Teixeira]

I'm actually well aware that the budget I quoted was very low but it doesn't hurt to research on low budget options. The budget could still be adjusted.

For sure if this was for a studio, things would be different in that case.

[Paulo Teixeira]

Currently I'm thinking about about getting the 3 light kid for $390 and perhaps the 2 light kit for $210 for a total of 5 lights. Results for Lighting:Cool Fluorescent Kits:EZ Softbox Kits

Still, I'm wondering if it would be much better to get a 4 florescent bold light such as this as a key light: Cool Flo - 1200 Watt 4 Bank Single Light Kit by TubeTape
And then use a 1 bulb light as a fill light instead of having a key light and a fill light with 1 bulb each.

[Paulo Teixeira]

I'm all settled now with what I need since everything has been ordered.

[Tom Morrow]

A tutorial video on cheap CFL lighting that might work for the OP if he hadn't already settled:
Infinite White with Cheap 5 Bulbs CFL Lighting CheesyCam

[Paulo Teixeira]

Sorry I haven't updated this right away. I'm currently producing a music video and over 90% will have green work and although the lighting didn't cost a fortune and the green material was extremely cheap, keying a lot of the scenes went well even though the hair light wasn't in the best location because of the short ceiling. The biggest issue I had was trying to key the drums since the cymbals reflect the green.

I know it sounds weird producing a music video in that kind of way but you could say it was also experimenting what you can do without spending a lot.

[Shaun Roemich]

A good buddy of mine does the music videos for Canadian Punk Rock Pioneers D.O.A.

This is an example of what he did with the band in his condo/loft with the band in front of a green screen.

The video may not be your "cup of tea" but I've seen the setup and the end result. Hope this helps.

WARNING: VIDEO MAY NOT BE SAFE FOR WORK and/or may offend, depending on your views.

D.O.A. ; Police Brutality - YouTube

Hope this helps.

[Robert Turchick]

Must be the season for music video! Just started into one. Saturday we had four girls on the greenscreen playing violin and cello. And the main artist did his greenscreen work right after. Yesterday we did the rest of the shooting which was all location work with the artist and an actress. It's a cover of a 60's tune and will be on the psychedelic side for backgrounds. Just now taking a break from finishing the intro which was straight video. Next up the 7 different camera angles we shot of the artist on the greenscreen! Then on to building the orchestra out of the 2o takes we had the girls do. Still amazed at the amount of work a 4:30 music video takes!

[Paulo Teixeira]

Originally Posted by Shaun Roemich

A good buddy of mine does the music videos for Canadian Punk Rock Pioneers D.O.A.

This is an example of what he did with the band in his condo/loft with the band in front of a green screen.

The video may not be your "cup of tea" but I've seen the setup and the end result. Hope this helps.

WARNING: VIDEO MAY NOT BE SAFE FOR WORK and/or may offend, depending on your views.

D.O.A. ; Police Brutality - YouTube

Hope this helps.

I can see the cymbals weren't keyed out perfectly but still looks good. Do you know how he dealt with it?