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Green screen lighting questions
I want to light myself so I can be placed against animated backgrounds. However, there will be times when I will need to pick-up items and demonstrate them, such as, iPods, laptops, etc. How can I light the set for those items also so they do not reflect green onto them or me?
Thanks in advance.
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28 Replies
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Doing so can be difficult. It will help if you can see a monitor that shows the shot. You will need to tilt these highly reflective items so that they do not pick up the green. A soft slightly warm backlight may help. An alternative is to set a screen slightly to the side that neither you nor the products crosses. In post you can drop anything you want in that sections of non-green screen.
Rick Wise
director of photography
Oakland, CA
http://www.RickWiseDP.com
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
Thank you for your response. If you do not mind, I am going to ask a couple of follow-up questions for clarification:
1. Why will tilting the item help them not pick up green?
2. How will a “soft slightly warm backlight” help? -
1) Any reflective surface is like a mirror. Flat surfaces are relatively easy to tilt so that they are not reflecting any green. Rounded surfaces are a bear as some part of them seems to be always reflecting the green. If the object is small enough, you can hold it in front of your body to reduce the chance of reflection. You need green ONLY behind you. You can black off the rest, then fill in the black in post with green — that helps to reduce reflections.
2) Never backlight subjects in front of green screens with hard, bright lights of any color. However, a light, soft, warm backlight helps reduce green spill by neutralizing the green spilling on you/the objects, a bit.
Rick Wise
director of photography
Oakland, CA
http://www.RickWiseDP.com
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
You mentioned:
“You need green ONLY behind you. You can black off the rest, then fill in the black in post with green — that helps to reduce reflections.”
1. What do you mean by “black off the rest?” What is being “black” off and with what?
2. I want to later place different animated backgrounds that will change behind me. What style of lighting should I light myself? I have an Arri lighting kit with a 1000, 650, 300 and a 150 and a relatively small working space.
Thank you.
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1) Hang black devetine (cloth) over the green screen that is NOT behind you.
2) A small working place is going to give you lots of grief, because to keep the green off of you, you want to be as far as possible from it. Ten to fifteen feet separation is sort of a minimum. You also want to light the green screen with one set of lights, and you with another. For now, “style” is too grand a word to use. Your problem is to get a clean key.
The first rule of green screen is it must be lit evenly. That means placing at least two lights, one to the left, one to the right, at about 45º to the screen. Since you have only 4 lights, and each one of different intensity, your job is more difficult.
Do you understand 3-point lighting?
Do you have scrims to reduce the intensity of each of the units (a complete kit will have them — round gizmos with wire across them, usually a green rim (1/2 stop or a “single”) and red rim (1 full stop, or a “double.”)
Rick Wise
director of photography
Oakland, CA
http://www.RickWiseDP.com
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
I was planning to be around 5-7 ft away from the green screen based on my limited working space. Should I abandon this location all together or can it be made workable? I really do not have another working space, so I would like to do whatever possible to make this work. My alternative is to do this project without the green screen portion.
I understand the basics of 3-point lighting. I was thinking of using one light on either side at a 45 degree angle and one light in front of me that would have a reflector that would bounce the light onto me.
I have scrims though I am not sure which of my lights I would use them based on my situation.I am also not opposed to buying additional lights if it will help. Can I do what I need with my current lights, if not, can you recommend lights, whether Arri or some other manufacturer that will make this project work?
Thanks for all of your assistance!!!!
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What are the dimensions of the room?
Rick Wise
director of photography
Oakland, CA
http://www.RickWiseDP.com
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
There are two ways I could set the room up. I thought it might be easier to take some pictures of the room and show the measurements this way. Thanks for your help!
Room Setup #1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12384299@N02/2728504159/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12384299@N02/2729328866/Room Setup #2
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12384299@N02/2729335578/ -
The more distance you have, the easier it will be for you to control green kick back. However, I see almost no room left-to-right to place your lighting units. Perhaps going at a diagonal would be your best bet.
Rick Wise
director of photography
Oakland, CA
http://www.RickWiseDP.com
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com -
1.) What additional lights or accessories, if any, could you recommend for my setup? I want to be able to do this green/blue screen work and simple interviews also.
2.) I came across this company https://www.reflecmedia.com/video/products/chromatte/index.htm
they claim this product will allow you to work with a blue/green screen with a single light attached to the camera. Do you know anything about it?
Thanks.
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