Constructing a green screen

[fonzybear]

Hey all, I was wondering if it's worth constructing a green screen yourself or just buy one? It's not really for professional use but if I can get away with just buying a green fabric and draping it over something for under 20 bucks, that would be fine. What is your experience with greenscreens guys?

Thanks in advance guys!

[sidd finch]

I have experimented with green screens and the do it your self route is a good cheap alternative. In my opinion the most important factor is how well you light the green screen. It really needs a lot of even light coverage. That helps the keying to filter out all the green. If you have creases or shadows the keying effect becomes more difficult because the filter see’s more than one shade of green. The Adobe software DV Rack does a great job of filtering once you capture the footage.

Sidd

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Have a look here for basic materials.

http://stores.ebay.com/TubeTape

[momoffduty]

Do you want the green screen for just one or two projects? If so, your local videographer may have a green screen for rent. I rented a green screen room for 1 hour for $25 and that included lights.

[cdeemer]

Rent -- what a great idea!

[Wheat King]

Depending on your size of the subject(s) you could always use you monitor or TV as a green screen. For instance if you were doing a stop motion with Legos or "dolls" ...Ed ... you could have your subjects "Act" in front of the monitor and key out the green in Post. to put whatever background you want.

Probably not what your are looking for in this case but thought I'd post this for anyone else reading this thread.

[momoffduty]

There is a ton of green screen how to's on YouTube. Here is one by a guy and he has several:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6brdwY-dvU


If you only need a small screen for objects, then I have used poster board. The main thing is lighting. Lights need to be between the subject and focused on the green poster board and also lights focused on the object. You do not want the object to cast a shadow. I have had some success and also some failures...it all came down to lighting. The videographer told me that hidef camcorders work better which I do not have. And he also said paper works better than cloth. He gave me a name of a supplier within driving distance, but you have to buy this massive roll that is very wide so you don't have seams and think it was about $150.

[munickster]

B&H has a huge variety of screens - paper, muslin, collapsible fabric, etc. The prices for the cheaper ones are pretty reasonable, such as $21.50 for a roll of 53" x 12 yds green or blue paper. Go to http://www.bhphotovideo.com and search for chroma-key. You can filter with the menu on the left. If you don't have any experience with B&H, they're one of the highest rated online photo dealers on the planet. They're my favorite online store. My wife wishes they didn't exist.

Dick

[Paul LS]

"My wife wishes they didn't exist"..... that is like my wife and Microdirect in the UK.

[sidd finch]

I got mine from

http://www.chroma-key.com

It is like a big green drape with a pocket for a rod and the material is machine washable.

Sidd