Blue Screen, how to make?

H

hyphenex

New member
I'm interested in making a Blue screen for some amature filming. Any tips on how to make one as cheap as possible would be nice? Is it as easy as just slapping some paint on fabric or something?
 
If you search the forum under "chroma" and "green screen" you will find tons of various info. from screens to software. You will have to weed through them, but there is tons of info.
 
Yes there is loads on info on this. The good news is that yes it can be as easy as a bit of fabric or paint.. but you can also mess it up almost as easy.
The basic idea: get a single solid color that is a different as possible to anything in your scene. a nice deep blue or green cloth or painted flat wall that is well lit is about all you really need.
However read around, you can find all the details in the forum :)

- Mikko
 
Yeah - I just asked a few questions about this - particularly what color of paint to use - it should be just a few threads below....
John
 
Quick Question: I've never shot on green screen before, but I'm sure many of you have..aren't there problems with the shadows from the actors? wouldn't that darken parts of the backdrop? or do you have to light the backdrop and then have the actors farther in front of the backdrop lights? and then relight?

confused....


c.r.
 
You do need to light screen separately from actors if you can. Shadows are definitely bad. If you have room, have the actors a fair ways away from screen and light independently.
 
i made a green screen with 9 neon green poster boards and i taped them together on the backside of the 'screen'. it worked better than i ever thought it would.
 
hyphenex, you can do this really inexpensively, if you've got the time to work with it as well as clean it up in post if it needs it.

Check out my short film, DEATHMARCH (link is above my banner below) ... the opening newscast was simply shot in my office ... I think I've got a still of the behind the scenes in there as well. Total cost was about $40 ... about $30 in workclamp lights from Home Depot and $10 in blue felt fabric from Walmart.
 
Justin_Kirch said:
i made a green screen with 9 neon green poster boards and i taped them together on the backside of the 'screen'. it worked better than i ever thought it would.
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Now that's a DYI idea! Gotta try it - Can you post something you shot doing it this way? thanks 4 sharing....
John
 
Matulis said:
I used a roll of $40 green paper from FilmTools, taped it to a wall, and came up with this (after a LOT of clean-up!): iPod spoof
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Okay, that was just a flat out cool little video ... really enjoyed it & made me laugh ... my only critique would be to make the character darker so as not to see the details as much, but perhaps that was on purpose.

Also love your signature/quote ... amazing how messed up people use your/you're, their/they're/there, etc.
 
Shaw said:
by clean up do you mean filling holes in the matte?
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Mostly cleaning up the edges on the guy because I didn't light him as well as I should have. The green was great. We had enough to roll it down the wall and over the floor so we didn't have to move it for the high and low shots.

Envision said:
Okay, that was just a flat out cool little video ... really enjoyed it & made me laugh ... my only critique would be to make the character darker so as not to see the details as much, but perhaps that was on purpose.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I lobbied hard to keep the guy way more silhouette-ish than he was in a lot of those shots, but the boss wanted to see what was going into his pockets. Ah well. It was a good learning experience, as that was my first time shooting with the DVX. (Bought my own a few weeks ago! Woo-hoo!)
 
Great video! Hilarious!
My only complaint is the toy sound in the beginning. I have to hear that hammer and ball toy about 30 times a day. When I visit dvxuser, I am trying to get away, just for a few moments. You had to use that toy? :)
 
From this forum:

store bought greenscreen paint?



Mixed by Lowe's Hardware, it is a very close match to the original chroma green and about half the price. Lowes will mix it if you give them the following numbers: 103-4Y 113-1Y 1145Y32
And I guess HOme Depot too............


I would imagine there's a blue mixture as well.
 
Nice tip, Shawn, thanks. I'd assume you'd also want to make sure that it's a MATT paint, or at the MOST semi-gloss (easier to clean & wipe down if needed). Also want to be careful to make sure the surface you paint is free of sever scratches or ANYTHING that could cast shadows (texture, etc.).
 
elmills said:
Great video! Hilarious!
My only complaint is the toy sound in the beginning. I have to hear that hammer and ball toy about 30 times a day. When I visit dvxuser, I am trying to get away, just for a few moments. You had to use that toy? :)
Click to expand...

Thanks thanks! Toy sound? What toy sound? There was one recognizable sound effect from the Pink Panther cartoons I wanted to use when the guy gets tangled and hits the deck. Very cool, oft-used *ka-fuud* sound, but I couldn't find it.

Shawn Murphy said:
Mixed by Lowe's Hardware, it is a very close match to the original chroma green....
Click to expand...

Nice! Great info.
 
I apologize Matulis,

The toy sound was from an equally hilarious video I had just viewed...Deathmarch by Envision. I just started posting today and already screwing up:thumbsup:

Did you have a green screen on a large area of the floor to get that "looking down" view of the actor?
 
:) If you're referring to when the camera crashes, it was just several crashing sounds that I threw together in Vegas ... but you're right ... I think I know about what toy you're talking about ... you can only listen to that noise so many times before it makes you want to shove sharpened pencils into your ears to stop it!
 
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