Reflecmedia: Chromatte

[thisiswells]

Is this a re-branded version of the Play Holoset from circa late 1990's?
Even so, has anyone used this new version to comment on the capabilities?

Thanks.

[steadicamsteel]

Used the reflect media green screen LED system last year. IT sucks and blows at the same time. We were shooting DigiBeta and streaming SDi directly into F.C.P. The CG guy had a real hard time pulling a proper key. I know it definitely wasn't my lighting that was the problem. The only workaround to grab a decent key was to have the Talent literally touching their back to the fabric, which meant we could'nt backlight correctly.

Would'nt use it if you gave it free.

[thisiswells]

As suspected. Thank you, steadicamsteel.

[Barry_Green]

I used it quite extensively for a "Wizard of Oz" corporate video. Of course, we didn't bother to read the directions or consult with anyone, we just shot based on what we'd seen at the various NAB demos.

The results were mixed. Since then I've found that the ReflecMedia people have been very willing to help us get the best results possible, and I plan on talking about the concerns with them at NAB. Perhaps it's capable of much more than what we got from it. However, even with the mixed experience, the final project turned out well.

[DVXDaddyO]

Barry, any sense of a definitive, cost-effective green screen approach?

[mjfvsm]

Just used the Chromatte setup for a shoot last week. It performed better than I expected. It definitely takes some getting used to. Highly recommend testing it before using in the field (unless you are a guru like BG). on the shoot, I was glad to have it because we were in an office location with less than ideal room for a traditional setup. We used two DIVAs for key and fill and had two 150s for backlight (i know it's probably overkill, but I wanted to make sure we had enough seperatiion)

FOR MY TEST RUNS PRIOR TO GIG
My first mistake - talent too far away....leaving that pesky halo/shadow around the edge. Took a look at the directions and they recommend the talent be no more than 3 feet away from the fabric.

In another test, we shot a girl in workout clothes - lots of skin. She was light skinned and blonde, so we had to backlight alot in order to reduce spill. She was also wearing black boxing gloves which refliected the green LED source - that was problematic. Her hair was a problem too - being blonde.

Yet another test with shiny jewelry. Again, since green source is coming from front, gotta be careful about that reflection. During the shoot, we actually used scotch tape on a couple of sport coat buttons - worked very well.

The first tests on the DVX pulled an ok key. Then I got the HVX. WOW. What a difference. Love DVCPRO50 for keying too.