Building a small green screen room

L

LearningToFilm

New member
I work for a real estate firm that is building a new office and has tasked me with researching what it would take to create a green room out of one of the 10 foot x10 foot offices.

They want to film customer welcome videos, how-to's about the industry, basically training videos which will have 1-2 people standing or possibly sitting at a desk/chair.

I started doing some preliminary research but the amount of info out there is overwhelming. Regarding budget, I was told to keep it under $10k all in. I would appreciate any guidance with:
  • Are there specific consultants that could be hired to plan this out and setup the equipment? I don't even know what to search for.
  • How do you deal with people stepping on the green screen not making it dirty and/or accidently pulling the whole stand down?
  • I understand several zones of lighting required between the screen as well as the people. Are there any calculators or guidelines for how much and what type of light to get for each?
  • Does this setup differ if we're looking to do head shot pictures vs. shooting video?
  • Which camera/camcorder/lens would you recommend for this use case? Ideally 4k/60p, but the camera(s) will be fixed in this room and rarely leave
  • If someone is sitting on a chair, should the chair be green as well?
  • is a 10 foot x 10 foot room big enough? I understand that besides the width for the 2 people to stand, the lighting would need to be off to the sides.
  • Which green screen brands / materials are going to be the easiest to deal with? Ideally this won't be a high maintenance job to keep the room ready for a quick video to be shot.
Thanks in advance!
 
10x10 is small, but could be enough for tighter shots. I don't have any specific advice for building one, but just throwing it out there that you could also consider getting a foldable one that size (but keep it permanently unfolded) for around $150 or so.

I had to do pretty much exactly what you're describing but I went with black and white ones from B&H around 12x12 (or any other store you like).
 
On the road so cant asnwer properly.

Have a green wall

If you have to show the floor have an 8.4 board.
This is repainted regularly.

10.10 is small - so some experiments if you need green sides
 
I wouldn't paint the wall because it's more work and if your setup changes...

Next option is fabric which needs to stretched or hung so there are no wrinkles. You can do full body shots but that space is too small for that.

Final option is collapsible background. Easy to set up no wrinkles under $150. don't forget your lights
 
For sure painting the wall may not work.

A tight vynyl roll mounted one inch from the wall can do.

Just no space for stands, pop ups whatever I suggest.

==

Also one wants the minimum green as it 'pollutes' the subject.

--

Also I would be checking flexible led panels that can be 'taped' staight to walls/ceilings.
 
We're at the stage where I can propose a larger space, or maybe shaped differently. What size would be recommended for this scenario?

I'm not opposed to having the wall painted as this will be a new construction, so the cost will have not any impact.
 
One other note (forgot to add it above): you mention 60p and that maybe could work for you (especially in this new world and your/the company's content, particular direction), but traditionally 99% of that stuff has been filmed in 24p/25p.
 
One thing I would add is pay attention to audio. A small 10x10 office space can sound pretty boxy. But with some sound diffusion on the wall, and good mic technique, it can work if your needs aren't too fancy. (I say this as a location-audio guy; there's a lot to it but you probably want to keep it simple).

And while the advice here is all really good, you could consider a really simple approach, such as that used by Ryan George, the YouTube comedian with 1.75-million subscribers (and 1.27 million on another channel), most of whom I guess think his production quality is good enough since his content (ie- scripts) are funny. I'm a fan. Take a look at some of his videos to see if you can live with that visual (and audio) quality. Everything is on green screen : https://www.youtube.com/@RyanGeorge

Then check out this recent How I Shoot My Videos video to see what he does. He doesn't explain everything, and I wouldn't approach my work this way, but really the approach might work for you:


He also goes into how he works with green screen footage and basically edits his videos in this short video he posted yesterday:


You can use different tools for the shoot and the edit, but really I think George's two videos will help you start off in the right direction, encourage you to keep it simple, and emphasize that the content is really what matters.

Here's one of his videos. Lighting is pretty flat, skin tones aren't great. But those would both be fairly easy to improve.

 
Probably the easiest way to start would be get a collapsible background with stand. That can be moved location with no big setup. Then two diffused lights at 45 to evenly light the background and one soft key light for the subject. Back light to create separation is nice but could be added later.
 
LearningToFilm said:
I work for a real estate firm that is building a new office and has tasked me with researching what it would take to create a green room out of one of the 10 foot x10 foot offices.

They want to film customer welcome videos, how-to's about the industry, basically training videos which will have 1-2 people standing or possibly sitting at a desk/chair.

I started doing some preliminary research but the amount of info out there is overwhelming. Regarding budget, I was told to keep it under $10k all in. I would appreciate any guidance with:
  • Are there specific consultants that could be hired to plan this out and setup the equipment? I don't even know what to search for.
  • How do you deal with people stepping on the green screen not making it dirty and/or accidently pulling the whole stand down?
  • I understand several zones of lighting required between the screen as well as the people. Are there any calculators or guidelines for how much and what type of light to get for each?
  • Does this setup differ if we're looking to do head shot pictures vs. shooting video?
  • Which camera/camcorder/lens would you recommend for this use case? Ideally 4k/60p, but the camera(s) will be fixed in this room and rarely leave
  • If someone is sitting on a chair, should the chair be green as well?
  • is a 10 foot x 10 foot room big enough? I understand that besides the width for the 2 people to stand, the lighting would need to be off to the sides.
  • Which green screen brands / materials are going to be the easiest to deal with? Ideally this won't be a high maintenance job to keep the room ready for a quick video to be shot.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

  • There's certainly many who could do what you're asking. You could start with asking a local production company to come in and spec out the space. It's always better to have someone in the actual physical location to scout.
  • If you have a need to key out an entire body, including lower body and feet, then things get much, much harder. For what you're describing you should be fine with waist up though, I would think. So you could just do a floor to ceiling green screen. No need to have it on the floor.
  • Yes, you need a good amount of room to do this properly, or to at least make it easier on whoever is doing post-production. 10x10 is incredibly small for working space for a good green screen studio. 20x20 would be better. But I suppose you have to work with what you have. As someone mentioned earlier, you need a good amount of room to light your green screen and then you'll want to move your subject away from the screen in order to minimize any reflected green light spilling onto your subject.
  • You could certainly do stills and video in the same space, and use video lights to do both if you needed to, to save on budget. That being said, strobes are always preferable for stills.
  • Whatever you can get for cheap that hits your aforementioned specs is probably the camera to get. It sounds like you have to spec out lights, camera, lenses, grip, etc., and all for just $10k. It's doable, but would require some push and pull across all of those areas to make it happen. I would say to start by buying used gear from reputable online dealers. Check the used sections of BHphoto, Adorama, KEH, and Lensrentals to start. Don't buy anything brand new with a $10k budget, you'll run out of money fast.
  • In a word, no. 10x10 space will make your life very difficult to do what you're asking. That's an incredibly small room. But if you don't have to do the post-production, sure. Throw your editor to the wolves. lol. But seriously, more room is better here.
  • Matthews makes a nice blue/green backdrop for a decent price. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...319161_Reversible_Blue_Green_MATT_Screen.html I like a matte fabric for being a little less reflective than a painted wall and for portability, but if you do go for paint, get a legit green screen paint. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/90460-REG/Rosco_150057110128_Chroma_Key_Paint_Green.html
 
As others have said here 10x10 is too tight, you need at least 15' ideally 20' to keep the subject about 7' from the green and the camera about 7 feet from subject to ensure a flattering shot. 10'-15' for width of the room might work (doesn't need to be a square room) but do ask for as long room as you can get. For better audio go to a moving supply company and buy 2-3 moving blankets, (called sound blankets in the video business) and try to cover the walls behind the camera with these to reduce bounce, if you have an option choose a room with carpeting not hard wood floors. Try to film as tight a shot as possible, a little more then head and shoulders, keep in mind you only need green behind the person you're keying not your entire frame, so use as small as possible piece of green and the editor can make a garbage matte for the rest of the BG in post. Make sure your camera captures in 4:2:2 not 4:1:1 for better key. And of course do tests before the actual filming with the understanding you may need a larger room.
 
I can pitch another possibility--I few years back I got to work with some amazing tech that I'd seen at NAB years before. It's called Reflecmedia, and it involves a piece of fabric with a zillion highly reflective and directional microbeads. You use a color ring light on the camera, and get a perfectly illuminated green screen, and you don't need any distance between the subject and the screen. So it is fantastic for tight spaces like a 10' studio. Other bonus is that you can instantly switch it to blue screen if preferred due to clothing choices (I've even had issues with light irises keying out on a closeup). The downsides are that the fabric is very expensive and pretty delicate--you would not want to cove it and step on it, it will crush. And when the subject is right at the screen, you'll see a kind of color halo around them on camera. However in my experience this halo keys out easily. Because the screen is so light sensitive, the amount of level required from the ring light to work is extremely little and generally doesn't infect the subject, unless you are shooting something extremely moody.
It's not for everyone and every purpose, but it is really a great magic trick in many ways.

Here's a video showing the tech:
 
There's a lot of good comments here. I really like the microbead idea. When in doubt, run a test. Pin up a canvas green screen on the wall if you can borrow one (or get some green poster board) and set up a typical client shot and see if you can accomplish what you need in the 10x10 space. Heck, it doesn't have to be green for the test. You can key any color.
 
That green screen was an interesting tech. Over priced and a bit gimmicky but glad you shared it. I was interested how it worked. I understand the background reflects the green ring light but how does that light not give the person skin tone a green cast? I feel like there were other lights on the subject to give it nicer look but he doesn't mention it. I'm not a big fan of ring lights because they make a unnatural reflection in the eye. Its less noticeable when subject is farther back.
 
Peter C. said:
That green screen was an interesting tech. Over priced and a bit gimmicky but glad you shared it. I was interested how it worked. I understand the background reflects the green ring light but how does that light not give the person skin tone a green cast? I feel like there were other lights on the subject to give it nicer look but he doesn't mention it.
Click to expand...
The level of the ring light is incredibly low, it's a function of how reflective that screen is. We used it quite a bit on Crank Yankers in the final season (including on puppeteer sleeves that were in the shot) and we never had an issue of seeing the color cast except for shiny elements in the shot like jewelry. It's quite remarkable really. As I mentioned above, for use in a scenario that isn't as filled as most interviews (like an element that is supposed to be inserted into a dark night exterior), I'd be more concerned. But it really does a great job under most circumstances, and it is entirely counterintuitive how close you can have the subject to the backing--think about not having to light the green screen separately from the subject!

The fabric is without a doubt expensive. We ended up building our own RGB ring light to keep weight down on our setup for Crank Yankers, attached to a simple clamp-on plate to the camera (like a backplate for a mattebox without the mattebox.
 
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