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Green Screen Ceiling Color
My work place is making a green screen room for the first time. This is a new area for my boss so even though I myself never did major green screen work (just some keying for video clips) he is relying on me to direct him with the building of the room.
I have studied the subject for some time and I am aware of the basic things to make a good green screen which are even color via the paint and lighting and all the ways to light the wall and subject separately. Now that the builders are already at the painting stage (we are building a cyc) I wanted to ask a question or two for some additional direction. (p.s. the room is small; about the size of a home garage which only half is being made into a cyc and the other half for equipment)
1. I am not a contractor so I wasn’t with the workers through all the building but today I noticed that they also painted the ceiling green as well as the walls and floor. I told them that I don’t see a reason for that since the lighting will be on the ceiling but they did it because my boss got excited and told them to make everything green, even the ceiling. I have never seen a picture of a green ceiling in a green screen room, nor had I read about it anywhere. I was wondering if a green ceiling might make problems with spill. If it can, should it be painted white or black? (To reduce spill?)
2. I’m not sure that this forum is completely dedicated to green screen. Does anyone know of a good chroma-key\green screen forum I can sign up to that has discussions on the subject from pros?
Thanks.
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6 Replies
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Your hunch is correct: you do NOT want the ceiling painted green unless you plan to shoot up at it. One of the ways to reduce unwanted green bouncing onto the subject(s) is to block off all green except the area behind the subject. If the subject sits in a chair, then you can block off right up to the edge of his/her body even though you see the black in the frame. In post you fill in the unwanted black with green that matches the background. That’s called using a “garbage mat.”
If at all possible, I’d have the painters repaint the ceiling black. If you later want to bouncing light off the ceiling, you can fly a piece of white foamcore or some white muslin, etc. and bounce off that.
If you do not anticipate seeing the subject(s) from head to toe, paint black most of the floor, though not all the way to the cyc as you may end up seeing some of the floor there, depending on your angles.
To block off any of the un-needed green, you can either use black foamcore in 4’x8′ sheets, or else rig up duvetyne curtains you can pull into the scene as needed. The latter is a better long-term solution.
Rick Wise
director of photography
San Francisco Bay Area
and part-time instructor lighting and camera
grad school, SF Academy of Art University/Film and Video
https://www.RickWiseDP.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwise
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
Thank you so much for your reply. Black it is. I will tell my boss.
Tell me though, why would one want to shoot toward the ceiling?We need the floor green since we will be shooting full subjects as well.
Thanks again.
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You’d see the ceiling if the camera is low and you are shooting up to something or someone. Of course, to light correctly you’d want a cyc where the wall meets the ceiling as well as where the wall meets the floor.
Rick Wise
director of photography
San Francisco Bay Area
and part-time instructor lighting and camera
grad school, SF Academy of Art University/Film and Video
https://www.RickWiseDP.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwise
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
If you need to shoot a subject in an “up” profile, I guess I would have him lie on his back to get the same effect. The room is not tall enough for an “up” shot anyway, since we would get the ceiling lights in the shot I would think.
Yes, we build the cyc by rounding the connections of floors and walls.
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My boss just came in (it’s 10:45 AM here) and he’s on board with the black ceiling. The workers just went to buy black paint. Thanks.
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not always practical to lay someone down for a shot !!
I have just completed a series of videos showing Yo-Yo tricks. To make it more visually interesting we needed the camera very low, looking up at the guy doing the tricks, so we can see a dynamic close-up of the yo yo spinning but still see the guys face.
We weren’t shooting on green but a white paper cyc. The principle is the same – we had to carefully rig the cyc with enough height to totally surround the talent, and then in edit, i had to garbage matte out the lights and ceiling that did appear in the frame. and drop in a matching white background.
I’d suggest leaving the ceiling green, but attaching a black drape in such a way that its covered up unless needed.
Adam Taylor
Video Editor/Audio Mixer/ Compositor/Motion GFX/Barista
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UKhttp://www.sculptedbliss.co.uk
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