Green or blue. Personally I think green is the best.

--QD Jones

Someone who does a fair amout of blue/green screen work once said they use blue for blondes and green for everyone else, because it makes seperating their hair from the background easier... haven't tried it myself, but it kind of makes sense (the yellower the hair, the more green it will have it its color).

Good call, good call. Blue seems to be more common so using green for everyone else would be a good idea.

--QD Jones

Hmmm, interesting concept, ok, I will purchase a green one.

Gina

as far as i know, the blue screen has kind of gone the way of the dinosaurs. green is the typical use because depending on the lighting it will never affect the inserted background because of shadows. shadows cast on blue screens tend to disrupt the image you have put in, since it is no longer the "correct" blue. some programs are really picky about that kind of stuff. green, no matter how bright or dark usually tends to display the image alot better without any "glitches" such as the background covering up the actors body.

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This film cost $31 million. With that kind of money I could have invaded some country.
? Clint Eastwood

You still need to worry about lighting, even on a green screen. Bad lighting can create a "white-noise" look around the edges of the actors.

--QD Jones

Plus if something in your shot HAS to be green your obviously going to need to use a blue screen. I've visited a few news studios and they all seem to use blue screens, why I don't know.

--QD Jones

I believe blue is used when there are alot of flesh tones in the shot and green for everything else. Or the other way around.

Only do this if the subject is WELL lit.
I needed a green screen for an interview I was shooting so I used a digital projector hooked up to my powerbook and made a giant canvas in photoshop. Then I paintbucketed the canvas green and played with it until it was just the right color. The reason the subject must be well lit is that the green screen is its own light source (projector) and tends to bounce onto the subject. Even with bad lighting (my backlight burned out so I had to use a dim stage light taped to a C-stand) the resulting key worked out fine. Using this method you dont have to buy just one color, and when your done you can use the projector to screen your movie!
Good luck.
-Mariposa

quote:

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Originally posted by Mariposa

I believe blue is used when there are alot of flesh tones in the shot and green for everything else. Or the other way around.

Only do this if the subject is WELL lit.
I needed a green screen for an interview I was shooting so I used a digital projector hooked up to my powerbook and made a giant canvas in photoshop. Then I paintbucketed the canvas green and played with it until it was just the right color. The reason the subject must be well lit is that the green screen is its own light source (projector) and tends to bounce onto the subject. Even with bad lighting (my backlight burned out so I had to use a dim stage light taped to a C-stand) the resulting key worked out fine. Using this method you dont have to buy just one color, and when your done you can use the projector to screen your movie!
Good luck.
-Mariposa

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I don't have any real experience with anything like this yet, and maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I think your saying that you made a canvas in photoshop, painted it green in MS paint, projected it onto a screen and had the actors act in front of it. If I'm not completely wrong (I'm sure I am) how is this done without having the green screen be projected onto the actors?????

Well you could always rear project the greenscreen or hit the wall from the side. Its not as if the distortion of the image is a problem when we're talking about solid blue.

The other option is to buy some electric lime paint at Walmart and paint a wall. Even better paint a large chunk of plywood or two that you buy from Home Depot. That way you can moved around or even taken on location with you. Just prop them up, light them, and you've got a greenscreen. MIght take a couple of coats to ensure the wood doesn't show through, and you've got to make the pieces the right size to transport but it shouldn't cost more than $10 or so.

For bonus points mount soundproof phone on the back side of the playwood and you can put them up against the walls of your room when it comes time to do quick ADR or something. Heck you could even do ADR on location if the pieces fit into your production van and you can run the days footage through a laptop.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

My these are some awesome tips to use. The paint from Wal-Mart fits the budget more, I just may try that out first.

Gina

rj,
You mentioned using soundproof foam, where do you purchase that?

Gina

Do a google search for Sound Proof Foam, there is a lot of options out there. Basically the same foam used in a hardcase for camera equipment is the same stuff used beneath a mattress for added softness. It probably has dozens of uses. You might even use the extra pieces from a camera hardcase or two (or a dozen) for the same effect.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

oh I meant to ask what is "ADR"?

Gina