GreenScreen Lighting

[PadawanGeek]

Hey Guys,

I got a 8' x 9.5' greenscreen for christmas, so I need to know the best way to light it on a low budget.

Thanks and merry Christmas (there are still 12 days, right?)!

[derekleffew]

I wondered when/if this would come up, once I saw you got that for Christmas, but no mention of lighting. Here's what I've been told works, though I haven't seen it myself. Buy inexpensive 4' dual tube florescent fixtures with "flicker free" ballasts, two top and two bottom, to light your green cyc. Buy the best 5600K tubes (8+1 spare) you can afford. Light your subject(s) with 5600K light (incandescent corrected with Apollo Full CTB #AP2000 is fine, remember you'll lose intensity), but don't spill onto the cyc. Using 3200K on the subject and 5600K on the drop will be hideous. Be sure to set your video camera to 5600K also, of course. Try to duplicate the lighting on your subject to match the lighting in the, eventual, background. Done wrong, this can make "green screen" output look horrible-a dead give-away. Hope this helps.

[PadawanGeek]

Thanks Derek,

A couple things:

The greenscreen is in my bedroom , so there is 7in non green space on the left side, 0 in on the right side, and 2.5 ft between the top of the greenscreen and my bedroom ceiling. Keep in mind that the screen extends about 2.5 feet out from the wall onto the floor so that we can stand on it. What your saying doesn't really sound like it would work for that. I would like to have something celling mounted so that it doesn't TOTALLY turn my room into a video studio.

Thanks and merry Christmas!

[derekleffew]

Duh, yes, I forgot about the screen extending onto the floor. Perhaps mount only two floro fixtures for the top and Try to keep your frontlights, typically Fresnels, off the backdrop as much as possible so talent doesn't throw shadows on to it.

Hopefully you'll get some better ideas from some of the vidiots who lurk here. *cough*kwotipka*cough*

[jonhirsh]

The key to good green screen lighting is separation.

With out separation of the subject from the green screen you're kinda lost.

To achieve this you not only need to light the subject and the green screen you need to put a kicker (back light) on the shoulders and head of the subject to give them some dimension.

With out this back light on the subject you will have a hard time making your animations look realistic and not flat.

The evenness with witch you light the green screen are key as well. I would suggest borrowing some cyc units or maybe some fresnels.

JH

[PadawanGeek]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

I wondered when/if this would come up, once I saw you got that for Christmas, but no mention of lighting. Here's what I've been told works, though I haven't seen it myself. Buy inexpensive 4' dual tube florescent fixtures with "flicker free" ballasts, two top and two bottom, to light your green cyc. Buy the best 5600K tubes (8+1 spare) you can afford. Light your subject(s) with 5600K light (incandescent corrected with Apollo Full CTB #AP2000 is fine, remember you'll lose intensity), but don't spill onto the cyc.

So where can I get those fixtures, im kindof a noob so I dont know what those are

[derekleffew]

Are you near a Lowe's? Here's an 8' dual tube fixture for $33, and two pack of tubes for $9.98, so that seems reasonable. The tubes are 4100K, so you'd use 1/4 or 1/8 CTB on your 3200K incandescent lights, but your camera may like that better anyway. I've been told, but cannot verify, that 8' tubes last longer than 4' tubes.

The "industry standard" for professional film/video fluorescent applications is a company called Kino Flo, check them out for more information on lighting blue/green screen. Very expensive!

Or call your favorite local TV Weatherperson and ask him/her for a tour of the set. Once there, see how they do it!

[PadawanGeek]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

Are you near a Lowe's? Here's an 8' dual tube fixture for $33, and two pack of tubes for $9.98, so that seems reasonable. The tubes are 4100K, so you'd use 1/4 or 1/8 CTB on your 3200K incandescent lights, but your camera may like that better anyway. I've been told, but cannot verify, that 8' tubes last longer than 4' tubes.

The "industry standard" for professional film/video fluorescent applications is a company called Kino Flo, check them out for more information on lighting blue/green screen. Very expensive!

Or call your favorite local TV Weatherperson and ask him/her for a tour of the set. Once there, see how they do it!

Thanks! I'm gonna see if someone will take me to lowe's now....

[derekleffew]

Wait!Stop!Before spending any money, get a second opinion. Don't trust me-- as I said, I've only heard about this second hand. Also, the mounting of any lighting equipment to your bedroom ceiling requires adult supervision. And ALL theatrical lighting fixtures say "Not for Domestic Use."

[PadawanGeek]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

Wait!Stop!Before spending any money, get a second opinion. Don't trust me-- as I said, I've only heard about this second hand. Also, the mounting of any lighting equipment to your bedroom ceiling requires adult supervision. And ALL theatrical lighting fixtures say "Not for Domestic Use."

AHH!!

Ok, it's gonna be a while before I get the fixtures up anyway (have to get my dad to go up into attic and give some power and a new switch on my wall.