Green Screen Advice Needed at DVinfo.net

Lisa Bennett · September 22nd, 2007, 10:16 AM

I need to put together a mobile studio green screen set-up. I'll be shooting a full body shot of one person in front of the green screen.

At this point, I know it's best to light the screen first using diffused light, turn off the lights and then light the talent with a keylight, fill and maybe a hair light if necessary. Talent I believe should be 10-15 feet away from the green screen to keep down shadows. I've heard some people are using 600 w open faced to light the screen evenly and others 300 - 500 w. Also, I realize that the screen needs to be as free of wrinkles as possible.

I need to do this on a low budget. I have heard that some people are not buying the standard video green screen material but are buying a light green material from fabric shops. I need suggestions on what to get for the green screen and approximate cost as well as what dimensions it should be.

I have available 2 tall stands that have a cross piece making the stands about 12 feet apart. I'm thinking this would be good to use to clamp the screen on and hang it down to the ground and then out a few feet for the talent to stand on, since I need the full body shot.

I also need to get lights and accessories. At the location I may need to block out some windows so what do you use for this normally? Black out cloth?

What is possible on a low budget and about what ball park price range am I looking at? Open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Lisa

Gareth Watkins · September 22nd, 2007, 10:42 AM

Hi Lisa

I've been doing green screen with my Z1 for the last six months or so and it's not all that hard to get very good results.
My method is to use a roll of green screen paper... you can get these in pro photo suppliers, cheap and you get about 20m. I have a Lastolite photo backdrop stand kit for this as my mobile set up, but you just as easily gaffer tape a piece of the green paper to a wall.

I light the backdrop with two 800w Lowell Tota lights and brollies. One each side about 2-3ft away to get it nice and evenly lit. You can easily check how even your lighting is with the zebras on your camera... open up or push the gain until they cover the surface, by stopping down you'll see clearly how you are lit. The paper is pretty wrinkle free, but this is not as critical as I thought... shoot a good distance from the background and you'll not really see any problems..

I light the subject (usually me) with a Lowell interview kit of keylight usually a Rifa, and a V light as a fill with a Prolight as a kicker...

I set my camera up about 15 feet from the back drop and stand about half way myself.

As far as editing and keying goes, I took the advice of people like DSE on here and shot in HDV. I then import it to Première Pro 2.0... edit my sequences before outputting to After Effects as an uncompressed HD avi file. In AE I use the Foundary Keylight 2 plugin (you can down load off the net)... this is excellent and keys far better than PPro. (You might want to deinterlace too prior to applying the Keylight effect, I usually do this with Magic Bullet if I have the time..it's really, really slow... or Virtualdub for a quick deinterlace.. its not bad but nowhere near as good as MB.)
I then drop in what ever background I want ...easy!! I then scale this down to SD in After Effects and out put as an uncompressed SD avi. From here it can be compressed to put on to DVD, web etc

Hope this makes sense...

Cheers
Gareth

Jon Fairhurst · September 22nd, 2007, 04:07 PM

Gareth,

Have you tried Ultra as your keyer? It's included in CS3 Production Premium (but only on the PC).

Gareth Watkins · September 23rd, 2007, 04:41 AM

Hi Jon,

No I've not upgraded to CS3 yet, still using PPrp 2.0, which I got not long before the CS3 was announced... will no doubt upgrade at some point...

Gareth

Peter Ralph · September 25th, 2007, 07:51 AM

check out the foam backed fabric from eefx. Can't be beat if you need cheap and foldable.

Lisa Bennett · October 1st, 2007, 04:52 PM

Peter,

Thank you for the eefx info. It looks like a great product from what I saw on the site.

This fabric has been working out well for you? What are the dimensions of the one you are using?

Best,
Lisa

Rob Long · October 2nd, 2007, 12:47 AM

Lisa:

Might want to check out this tutorial -- some really good tips:

http://keywordmarketer.com/studio/

Posted this a couple days back -- not affiliated, just found some really good tips therein.

- Rob

P.S. -- he's also using eefx there

Peter Ralph · October 2nd, 2007, 11:46 AM

yes it works well as a greenscreen, if you light it evenly and have plenty of space - it is 10x12.

Lisa Bennett · October 2nd, 2007, 01:05 PM

Peter,

I think the 10 x 12 might work nicely. I need to shoot a full body shot.

Appreciate the much needed info.

Best,
Lisa

Christopher Snow · October 3rd, 2007, 12:54 AM

Hi Everyone,

Well Greenscreen. I've done red screen, green screen and blue screen. I did one bluescreen scene for someone elses film about two years ago, by buying the paint and painting a wall and then the floor. what a task. then last year, just 10 months ago, i started to make my feature film, and i used greenscreen and redscreen. i used the fabric (felt) from the fabric store. it was cheap, i got everything for under 90 dollars and i got a lot. i had to cover a small room. I ended up doing more than 37 screen shots for my film. Only one shot was bad, the lighting and distances where off and so i killed that shot, there where three other shots that did not work great, but with lots of time put in they are about 97% of what i wanted them to be. However, all the other shots are great, smooth and well lite. So i would go for the fabric, it's cheaper and easy to move around with and you can cut it, to fit. Hey, ILM uses it, and know that, i've been there.

Victor Jones · October 15th, 2007, 08:40 AM

Hi all,

This seems like an experienced group, so I wanted to ask a question about lighting for the green screen.

If I am doing a full body green screen shot, how should I light the floor area?
I have a green screen that is woven fabric and works great. I am getting better about lighting the green screen and subject independently and correctly.

I am just curious as to how to independently light the floor area of the green screen w/o using the same lighting that the subject uses?

Thanks for any advice.

September 22nd, 2007, 10:16 AM	#1
Lisa Bennett Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Central, FL Posts: 397	Green Screen Advice Needed I need to put together a mobile studio green screen set-up. I'll be shooting a full body shot of one person in front of the green screen. At this point, I know it's best to light the screen first using diffused light, turn off the lights and then light the talent with a keylight, fill and maybe a hair light if necessary. Talent I believe should be 10-15 feet away from the green screen to keep down shadows. I've heard some people are using 600 w open faced to light the screen evenly and others 300 - 500 w. Also, I realize that the screen needs to be as free of wrinkles as possible. I need to do this on a low budget. I have heard that some people are not buying the standard video green screen material but are buying a light green material from fabric shops. I need suggestions on what to get for the green screen and approximate cost as well as what dimensions it should be. I have available 2 tall stands that have a cross piece making the stands about 12 feet apart. I'm thinking this would be good to use to clamp the screen on and hang it down to the ground and then out a few feet for the talent to stand on, since I need the full body shot. I also need to get lights and accessories. At the location I may need to block out some windows so what do you use for this normally? Black out cloth? What is possible on a low budget and about what ball park price range am I looking at? Open to suggestions. Thanks in advance, Lisa

September 22nd, 2007, 04:07 PM	#3
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Gareth, Have you tried Ultra as your keyer? It's included in CS3 Production Premium (but only on the PC). __________________ Jon Fairhurst

October 2nd, 2007, 12:47 AM	#7
Rob Long Tourist Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 3	Good green screen tips here Lisa: Might want to check out this tutorial -- some really good tips: http://keywordmarketer.com/studio/ Posted this a couple days back -- not affiliated, just found some really good tips therein. - Rob P.S. -- he's also using eefx there

October 3rd, 2007, 12:54 AM	#10
Christopher Snow New Boot Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: California Posts: 7	I've done this Hi Everyone, Well Greenscreen. I've done red screen, green screen and blue screen. I did one bluescreen scene for someone elses film about two years ago, by buying the paint and painting a wall and then the floor. what a task. then last year, just 10 months ago, i started to make my feature film, and i used greenscreen and redscreen. i used the fabric (felt) from the fabric store. it was cheap, i got everything for under 90 dollars and i got a lot. i had to cover a small room. I ended up doing more than 37 screen shots for my film. Only one shot was bad, the lighting and distances where off and so i killed that shot, there where three other shots that did not work great, but with lots of time put in they are about 97% of what i wanted them to be. However, all the other shots are great, smooth and well lite. So i would go for the fabric, it's cheaper and easy to move around with and you can cut it, to fit. Hey, ILM uses it, and know that, i've been there.

October 15th, 2007, 08:40 AM	#11
Victor Jones Tourist Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 1	full body lighting Hi all, This seems like an experienced group, so I wanted to ask a question about lighting for the green screen. If I am doing a full body green screen shot, how should I light the floor area? I have a green screen that is woven fabric and works great. I am getting better about lighting the green screen and subject independently and correctly. I am just curious as to how to independently light the floor area of the green screen w/o using the same lighting that the subject uses? Thanks for any advice.

September 22nd, 2007, 10:42 AM	#2
Gareth Watkins Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: France Posts: 578	Hi Lisa I've been doing green screen with my Z1 for the last six months or so and it's not all that hard to get very good results. My method is to use a roll of green screen paper... you can get these in pro photo suppliers, cheap and you get about 20m. I have a Lastolite photo backdrop stand kit for this as my mobile set up, but you just as easily gaffer tape a piece of the green paper to a wall. I light the backdrop with two 800w Lowell Tota lights and brollies. One each side about 2-3ft away to get it nice and evenly lit. You can easily check how even your lighting is with the zebras on your camera... open up or push the gain until they cover the surface, by stopping down you'll see clearly how you are lit. The paper is pretty wrinkle free, but this is not as critical as I thought... shoot a good distance from the background and you'll not really see any problems.. I light the subject (usually me) with a Lowell interview kit of keylight usually a Rifa, and a V light as a fill with a Prolight as a kicker... I set my camera up about 15 feet from the back drop and stand about half way myself. As far as editing and keying goes, I took the advice of people like DSE on here and shot in HDV. I then import it to Première Pro 2.0... edit my sequences before outputting to After Effects as an uncompressed HD avi file. In AE I use the Foundary Keylight 2 plugin (you can down load off the net)... this is excellent and keys far better than PPro. (You might want to deinterlace too prior to applying the Keylight effect, I usually do this with Magic Bullet if I have the time..it's really, really slow... or Virtualdub for a quick deinterlace.. its not bad but nowhere near as good as MB.) I then drop in what ever background I want ...easy!! I then scale this down to SD in After Effects and out put as an uncompressed SD avi. From here it can be compressed to put on to DVD, web etc Hope this makes sense... Cheers Gareth

September 23rd, 2007, 04:41 AM	#4
Gareth Watkins Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: France Posts: 578	Hi Jon, No I've not upgraded to CS3 yet, still using PPrp 2.0, which I got not long before the CS3 was announced... will no doubt upgrade at some point... Gareth

September 25th, 2007, 07:51 AM	#5
Peter Ralph Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Denver/Vail Colorado Posts: 254	check out the foam backed fabric from eefx. Can't be beat if you need cheap and foldable.

October 1st, 2007, 04:52 PM	#6
Lisa Bennett Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Central, FL Posts: 397	Peter, Thank you for the eefx info. It looks like a great product from what I saw on the site. This fabric has been working out well for you? What are the dimensions of the one you are using? Best, Lisa

October 2nd, 2007, 11:46 AM	#8
Peter Ralph Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Denver/Vail Colorado Posts: 254	yes it works well as a greenscreen, if you light it evenly and have plenty of space - it is 10x12.

October 2nd, 2007, 01:05 PM	#9
Lisa Bennett Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Central, FL Posts: 397	Peter, I think the 10 x 12 might work nicely. I need to shoot a full body shot. Appreciate the much needed info. Best, Lisa