Pure White Room technique at DVinfo.net

Vance Osborne · November 19th, 2004, 02:54 AM

Hello all,
I am curious...have you ever seen the commercials and in movies when they feature someone in a pure, white room..
You cannot distinguish from the walls, ceiling or floors...just pure white around the people.

What techniques do they use to do that?

Thanks..

Will Robertson · November 19th, 2004, 03:27 AM

use a white room and then just white out any lines or whatever using a garbage matte in post... atleast thats probably what id do... it may not be the best thing you could do but id work.

Tony Hall · November 19th, 2004, 08:39 AM

Another thing you can do is over expose the background by putting a lot of hard light on it.

Kevin Burnfield · November 20th, 2004, 12:25 PM

If you are looking for that 'bloom' effect that washes everything out I would be carefull with this and make sure you do a fair number of tests first.

You may find that you will want to shoot it and then add the bloom in post so you can control it better.

Scott Ellifritt · November 20th, 2004, 04:46 PM

Try going to http://dvcreators.net/lighting/
They have a DVD called Enlightenment and along with lighting techniques, they show how to create the white room your talking about as well as a black room.

Charles Papert · November 21st, 2004, 12:56 AM

The easiest way is to shoot at a studio with a hard cyc, i.e. a wall with a curve at the bottom. You can recreate this for a product shot or other small elements with a roll of white paper held on stands and pulled out to create that gentle curve.

Rob Lohman · November 22nd, 2004, 07:36 AM

Green/Blue screen? Then drop in a white background?

Jim Sowden · January 2nd, 2005, 12:26 PM

What they actually do is use the screen that most sound stages have in the background. It is completly white, painted a few times a year. It curves from horizontal to vert, so there is no line or crease. It has lights being shot at the wall to further the white effect, and of course this makes for a great color on the person infornt of it.

Mathieu Ghekiere · January 2nd, 2005, 12:49 PM

For The Matrix they said they just filmed people with a white background and removed shadows in postproduction...
Don't know if this helps.

Rob Lohman · January 3rd, 2005, 04:51 AM

If I'm not mistaken such a screen is known as a Cyclorama (ie, no
lines to see etc.)

Guy Cochran · January 12th, 2005, 04:24 PM

Go to this page http://www.dvcreators.net/products/sav.html

and click on Demos on the right side.

I lit that.

We rented a white paper seamless backdrop which goes all the way to the floor, under the talent and to the camera. Once we got the wide, full body shots, we cut a hole where the talent stands to avoid any paper rustle being picked up by the shotgun mic for the rest of the takes.

There are two 750W tota lights on each side, low on stands at a 45 degree angle off to the side and pointed slightly upwards. They are a couple of feet away to "blow out the background" with a low F-stop (use your cameras zebras at 90 to judge exposure and make sure it is evenly lit). Of course the talent is a few feet from the background and is lit with a separate softbox.

It's a cool look, easy to do. Even easier if you can shoot from the waist up, just use two tota's and a white wall in you or friend's living room.

Have fun!

November 19th, 2004, 02:54 AM	#1
Vance Osborne New Boot Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 19	Pure White Room technique Hello all, I am curious...have you ever seen the commercials and in movies when they feature someone in a pure, white room.. You cannot distinguish from the walls, ceiling or floors...just pure white around the people. What techniques do they use to do that? Thanks..

November 19th, 2004, 08:39 AM	#3
Tony Hall Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: springfield, OH Posts: 344	Another thing you can do is over expose the background by putting a lot of hard light on it. __________________ Tony "Good taste is the enemy of creativity" - Picasso Blog: http://www.tonyhall.name

November 21st, 2004, 12:56 AM	#6
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	The easiest way is to shoot at a studio with a hard cyc, i.e. a wall with a curve at the bottom. You can recreate this for a product shot or other small elements with a roll of white paper held on stands and pulled out to create that gentle curve. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

November 22nd, 2004, 07:36 AM	#7
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Green/Blue screen? Then drop in a white background? __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 3rd, 2005, 04:51 AM	#10
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	If I'm not mistaken such a screen is known as a Cyclorama (ie, no lines to see etc.) __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 19th, 2004, 03:27 AM	#2
Will Robertson New Boot Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Orem, UT. Posts: 24	use a white room and then just white out any lines or whatever using a garbage matte in post... atleast thats probably what id do... it may not be the best thing you could do but id work.

November 20th, 2004, 12:25 PM	#4
Kevin Burnfield Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 363	If you are looking for that 'bloom' effect that washes everything out I would be carefull with this and make sure you do a fair number of tests first. You may find that you will want to shoot it and then add the bloom in post so you can control it better.

November 20th, 2004, 04:46 PM	#5
Scott Ellifritt Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MS Gulf Coast Posts: 146	Try going to http://dvcreators.net/lighting/ They have a DVD called Enlightenment and along with lighting techniques, they show how to create the white room your talking about as well as a black room.

January 2nd, 2005, 12:26 PM	#8
Jim Sowden New Boot Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Doylestown, PA Posts: 6	What they actually do is use the screen that most sound stages have in the background. It is completly white, painted a few times a year. It curves from horizontal to vert, so there is no line or crease. It has lights being shot at the wall to further the white effect, and of course this makes for a great color on the person infornt of it.

January 2nd, 2005, 12:49 PM	#9
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	For The Matrix they said they just filmed people with a white background and removed shadows in postproduction... Don't know if this helps.

January 12th, 2005, 04:24 PM	#11
Guy Cochran DVCreators.Net Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 892	Go to this page http://www.dvcreators.net/products/sav.html and click on Demos on the right side. I lit that. We rented a white paper seamless backdrop which goes all the way to the floor, under the talent and to the camera. Once we got the wide, full body shots, we cut a hole where the talent stands to avoid any paper rustle being picked up by the shotgun mic for the rest of the takes. There are two 750W tota lights on each side, low on stands at a 45 degree angle off to the side and pointed slightly upwards. They are a couple of feet away to "blow out the background" with a low F-stop (use your cameras zebras at 90 to judge exposure and make sure it is evenly lit). Of course the talent is a few feet from the background and is lit with a separate softbox. It's a cool look, easy to do. Even easier if you can shoot from the waist up, just use two tota's and a white wall in you or friend's living room. Have fun! __________________ Guy Cochran DVinfo Sponsor, Cool Gear - DVeStore!