What paint to use for Green Screen Studio

[Zane Townsend]

Hey Nick,

Here’s what I use and it works great. Never had a problem keying it yet.

Go to Sherwin-Williams and buy Interior Latex Flat paint and have them tint it Neon Green (2032-10) that is the code.

[Nick Fullturn]

Sounds great. Thanks Zane!

How about Flat Black? Any recommended brands?

[Zane Townsend]

We did the same thing at our studio, the paint we used for that was Glidden Interior Base 3 Flat Black (9013) paint code.

You can see what we did at https://www.greenslatestudios.com, on one half we have the flat black where nothing gets shot. On the other half is our tan-cream color for the custom build set.

[Mark Suszko]

The secret to painting a good green or blue wall is not to skimp on the flat white primer undercoat. If you don’t prime the surface first, your expensive green or blue will not cover as economically, and it will turn out blotchy and patchy, making it harder to light and correct keys later. You can do it right, or you can do it over.

My suggestion for the base coat is KILZ brand latex primer. Then a latex flat that’s been matched to a color chip. Be sure to get about a quart extra and store it away to use for touch-ups or to paint a matching color on a few simple props like a cube, some dowel rods, and a pillar or door. Later, these will help you make more-convincing virtual sets that require less time-consuming roto work and masking in post.

[Jonathan Ziegler]

For our setup which was almost all daylight balanced 48″ fluorescent bulbs (this was a very DIY setup in a 2-car garage), we used the Disney Gamma Sector Green from Home Depot. We also were using the Canon 7D and T2i for shooting as well as Nikon glass and we used the Panasonic GH1/GH2 a bit. We shot about 75% of the film in this tiny garage.

Best test is to grab color swatches and bring them to where you will be shooting, using the same type of lighting (whether CFL, tungsten, fluorescent, etc.) and see which ones give you the best green saturation with the lowest possible red and blue. For us, it was the Gamma green above. We painted everything with it and then put little blue, green, yellow, and other colored triangle markers on the wall to give depth so FX guy can add a 3D environment. Also, shoot some test shots with the same camera(s) you will use. If you can narrow it to 2-3 candidates, get a pint of each, paint on a board or foam core and do some test shots in the right lighting. Pull video to photoshop and your NLE to analyze footage. Remember you are trying to get the least red and blue and the most green without going over (like Price is Right… 😉

Some things to remember – get lots of light, the more the merrier. It won’t help if you have to keep the shutter and iris way open and adjust the ISO so high you get noise – we used fluorescent because we are in Arizona and would rather not boil. Video is around a 320 ISO and some DSLRs do lower with minimal noise, but you will need light to get a good DOF, contrast, and a balance of motion, etc. Don’t forget tests in ALL of your software so you can get a complete picture – no surprises is best.

The production to which I refer above is “Holodad” which is in post right now. This is an uber-low-budget/no-budget family feature and a labor of love by its creator.

Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293

[Damon Bell]

I just ran across this posting. I have a lot of insight in green screen paint so I thought I’d reply.

I’ve been shooting green screen professionally for about 8 years. Here is the paint that I use from Home Depot. It’s a lot less expensive than “chroma key” paint. See this posting for the exact paint mix and a sample image.

https://www.photoshopgreenscreen.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17

Also, I worked as an engineer for 17 years where we measured very thin films (in the nanometer range for thickness) by using the light reflective and refractive properties for the films. From this experience, I know a lot about how light works. I honestly believe the “engineered” green screen paints are largely a gimmick. Any flat latex in the same color will provide the same chroma key results as the more expensive “engineered” paint.

Damon Bell

[Todd Terry]

Useful info (and I’ll tend to agree that “real” chroma key pain is just plain paint)…

This original post though is well over a year old, so you post will only likely be seen by people who get specific email notifications for this forum.

You might start a brand-new thread and post your link so it will be at the top of the list and likely seen by many more people.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Thomas Alexander]

Just make sure you don’t choose a glossy black. Go preferably for the mat black and the darkest you can find.

Thomas Alexander | Independent Cinematographer
Soulman Films | Nicosia Cyprus | +357-97697640

[Paul Levin]

13 years later this post is still helping folks out. Thanks again!