Which HD Format is better for greenscreen?

[Noah Kadner]

what about 1080/24 or 720/24. 1080/24p is what the ‘big boys’ typically use. Interlacing is a complete pain in the a$$ for compositors and why give them 30p = 20% more rendering required when 24p is the right standard.

Noah

Check out my book: RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera!
Unlock the secrets of 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio with Call Box Training. Featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook, Panasonic HVX200, Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon 7D.
Watch Formosa- My indie movie shot with the SDX900 and finished with Final Cut Studio.

[Dale West]

I agree with Noah for the most part. But in the end is it your call or the clients? What will it be when it grows up? I’m not an editor by a long shot but I shoot a lot of green screen and have had to do it in a lot of different formats to satisfy my clients’ whims. For TNT Sports I shoot NBA in 1080 60i for their broadcasts. For others it has been 720 24p and recently for God only knows what reason a client
requested 480 (betacam sp) If we could only get a format like that again. It seems it will never die. But I digress……. For all of it the way to keep the post room happy is to give them a nice EVEN background without a bunch of green “splash” on the talent. Spend you time doing a good job with the lighting and they will love you. I try to get a minimum 8-10 feet from screen to talent if I can. I’ll take more if I can get it. I use minus green on my backlights. Depending on how it looks I may use 1/2 instead of full to keep from giving them a too magenta backlight. Use your waveform monitor to be sure the light is even. Some guys I know light the subject then the BG others do the BG then the subject. Just use good lighting techniques and more than half the battle is won. Getting back to the light level on the screen. Flip your camera to bars. Note where the green level is on the WFM and try to hit that level on the screen. With my VariCam I have used the Y get to see the change as I pan from side to side. A % or 2 is good.

Dale West Video
North Miami, FL
305-892-1201

[John Schaub]

I also suggest turning on(up) the shutter to reduce the motion blur.

[Christopher Targia]

how high should I turn it up to? I currently shoot 30fps with 1/60.0 shutter speed

[Christopher Targia]

The video I shoot is for our website and some dvd release. The main reason I need HD at all is for better keying. I figured using 30fps would be better then 24fps on motion blur, since are more frames per second to draw out accurate pixels, obviously 60fps would be better on that thought process but it did not seem worth the extra file size.

Is this thinking correct?

[Noah Kadner]

30p vs. 24p has little to do with the motion blue effect as you’re thinking of it. Also for web video 24p is better because again 24p = 20% less data=less server space, faster downloads.

Try 24p at 1/60 or higher for sharp motion. But don’t go too much higher or things will look staccato. But you can also clearly see the effect on stage. The ‘key’ to good green screen work is lighting. Nail that properly and keying in post should be a piece of cake. If it’s hard, you need to work more on getting an evenly lit and bright green screen, and minimizing spill and contamination. also- what software are you using to key with- also makes a big difference. Though I’ve keyed shots with the FCP built-in keyer when the lighting was ideal.

Noah

Check out my book: RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera!
Unlock the secrets of 24p, HD and Final Cut Studio with Call Box Training. Featuring the Sony EX1 Guidebook, Panasonic HVX200, Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon 7D.
Watch Formosa- My indie movie shot with the SDX900 and finished with Final Cut Studio.

[Christopher Targia]

Although when recording to p2 cards isn’t the data storage the same unless you use 30pN or 24pN frame rates?

Also I use the FCP built in keyer with mixed results depending on frizzy the persons hair is. I have been looking to getting my company to purchase dvMatte Pro Studio 3, it looks like it would work great, but does it? What do you guys use to key?

[Jason Jenkins]

[Christopher Targia] “Also I use the FCP built in keyer with mixed results depending on frizzy the persons hair is. I have been looking to getting my company to purchase dvMatte Pro Studio 3, it looks like it would work great, but does it? What do you guys use to key?”

Keylight in After Effects works very well.

Jason Jenkins
Flowmotion Media
Video production… with style!

[Shawn Miller]

“What do you guys use to key?”

I’ve used DV Matte Pro and I think it’s good for some jobs… but for the bulk of my work, I use Keylight in AE or Conduit. Honestly though (great lighting aside) the best thing you can do to improve your keys is to learn more about the art of keying. Mark Christiansen and Steve Wright have both written very good books on the subject. There’s a lot of good information on compositing and color theory in general here, I highly recommend both.

https://www.amazon.com/Effects-Visual-Compositing-Studio-Techniques/dp/0321592018/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273684387&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Compositing-Visual-Effects-Essentials-Aspiring/dp/0240809637/ref=pd_sim_b_15

Thanks,

Shawn

[Christopher Targia]

thanks for those links I will look into those books, although I do not have after effects and I don’t think my company will be buying me after effects any time soon, it will be hard enough getting them to spend money and any chroma key software, when they thin what I do now is good enough.(that’s the problem not working for a real production company)