Greenscreen recommendations?

[Brian Duke]

Anyone can recommend a brand or product for greenscreen? I am referring to the actually mateiral. I am interested in buying maybe 20-30 ft wide and 12-16 ft tall, with stands. So I can create greenscreen circles and surrond the actors inside a greenscreen "room." Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks

[Robert Bale]

Hi,

I found mine at B&H

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

Botero Muslin Background - 10x24' - #026 Chroma-Key Green

[Brian Duke]

Originally Posted by Robert Bale

Hi,

I found mine at B&H

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

Botero Muslin Background - 10x24' - #026 Chroma-Key Green

Thanks Robert. What kind of stands do you use to hold up the material, and are you able to create a circle or angle with the greenscreen. Any feedback on yoru experienc,e or footage you have?

PS. I have had nothing but bad luck with B&H, so I will see if there is another place.

[Joel Aaron]

Originally Posted by Brian Duke

Thanks Robert. What kind of stands do you use to hold up the material, and are you able to create a circle or angle with the greenscreen. Any feedback on yoru experienc,e or footage you have?

eBay is loaded with greenscreen things. The foam backed ones are nice because they don't wrinkle. http://www.digitalgreenscreen.com/ is going to have the true movie quality stuff for more money. See if you can visit them in LA even if you don't buy. Perhaps you can rent.

An enclosed green room will be a nightmare to light and the spill would be much worse. Every wall is a big green light source. You'd have to flag everything that you're not using off.

Not sure how I'd tackle building your circle. If it was me I'd try to limit the number of shots that needed a big "circle around the actors move". Then I'd put the actors on a lazy susan type of thing and rotate them. Then match them to a camera move in post.

I really don't understand why you need a green room really. What effect are you looking for that requires that? (and can you just rent a cyc for an hour for that couple of shots?)

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Very few production build a full surround greescreen room.
Even if so, 30 ft wide is hardly enough. This would barely allow you a 3 "wall" 10 ft square, which leaves almost no room for lighting action or camera.

The "move the subject on a lazy susan" option is generally the most popular low budget approach for this ... though the trade - off is that you have either really compliacted lighting, or the lighting will look "off" (since it would have to spin just the same as the actor.)

Another approach is to move the camera AND have some crew moving a portable, flat greenscreen to keep in in view behind the actor. This works well for outdoor situations ... as long as there's not a lot of wind. :)

Cloth is OK for flat, quick up-and-down setups, but for something as large as you're describing, a ridged cyclorama structure tends to work better.

If you need this for just a few shots, finding a place to rent is usually the way to go.

[Adam Craig]

I just bought a big roll of paper at a photoshop that was very close to Key green and blue. That has worked wonders for me.

[Stephen L. Noe]

A MAJOR advancement in Chromakey can be found here (www.reflecmedia.com).

No more massive lighting! and it works...

[Daniel Patton]

Stephen has a very good point, one I would highly consider Brian.

Setting up a solid green room is a major pain in the @$$ unless you have a fairly large area and an even bigger budget for lighting (not only your talent but your screen as well), if you want a quality end result. Anyone can put together a simple green screen setup, but to get perfecting results can also take a lot of time and money. If I was not tied to the use of a teleprompter, I would have invested in the reflective technology Stephen has mentioned, and saved more than a few dollars. It's still a consideration since our Kino Flo lights (just for our screen) are an $1800 investment alone.

It's just an opinion, but let the big studios use the "tried and true" methods with all the cost that's involved. Look for smarter technology, unless of course you have some very deep pockets and money is not an issue. In that case for a 20-30 ft screen, start looking at a warehouse if you are serious about lighting that thing.

[Brian Luce]

Originally Posted by Stephen L. Noe

A MAJOR advancement in Chromakey can be found here (www.reflecmedia.com).

No more massive lighting! and it works...

I have not personally used this but have read conflicting reports regarding its efficacy. One of the well known and credible moderators in another forum felt it created as many issues as it solved. \

It ain't cheap either.

[Joel Aaron]

Originally Posted by Brian Luce

well known and credible

Well known and credible aren't always synonomous. ;-)

What problems did they say were created? Seems to me this product is great for run and gun greenscreen headshots, but I think if you're doing full body or moving camera stuff it wouldn't work well.

[Konstantin Serafimov]

well, as far as it all placed in hd100 directory, i have a question: how good is the jvc for greenscreen? Mostly considering CA issues. Do you use stock glass for greenscren shots?

[Joel Aaron]

Originally Posted by Konstantin Serafimov

well, as far as it all placed in hd100 directory, i have a question: how good is the jvc for greenscreen? Mostly considering CA issues. Do you use stock glass for greenscren shots?

Since you control the greenscreen environment you can easily avoid CA. Shoot at F4 and don't zoom into 88mm. Try to stay 55mm or wider.

[Dave C. Preston]

Originally Posted by Brian Duke

Anyone can recommend a brand or product for greenscreen? I am referring to the actually mateiral. I am interested in buying maybe 20-30 ft wide and 12-16 ft tall, with stands. So I can create greenscreen circles and surrond the actors inside a greenscreen "room." Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks

Cheaper still would be good old eBay.
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...le=greenscreen


But there's also this vendor
http://store.prostores.com/servlet/s...DS%3ACHROMAKEY

I have no personal experience with the above supplier, just found him through eBay.

[Brian Duke]

Originally Posted by Dave C. Preston

...and cheaper still, would be good old eBay.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...le=greenscreen

They seem a little sma.. I guess you can put them together, just not sure how that works.

[Brian Luce]

Originally Posted by Konstantin Serafimov

well, as far as it all placed in hd100 directory, i have a question: how good is the jvc for greenscreen? Mostly considering CA issues. Do you use stock glass for greenscren shots?

I believe Paolo has reported some stair stepping issues. Perhaps he can clarify...