Chroma Key Suit under difficult conditions

S

Sherwin

Member
Hi,

I'm in pre-production on a project which makes heavy use of chroma key suits. The tough thing is that I'm shooting it outdoors in bright sunlight. After initial tests with industry standard lime green suits I discovered that they reflect too much light and the result is washed out and basically unkeyable (luma keying is messy too). Is anyone aware of chroma key suits in alternative, duller fabrics that do not reflect as much light?

Official chroma key suits seem to come only in shiny green, lime or blue so I had to think laterally. This COULD be an option:
http://www.milanoo.com/Fuchsia-Red-Unisex-Lace-Zentai-Suit-p16069.html

And yes, I am aware that it was built for something other than chroma keying!

Think it'll float? I'm opting for magenta because it clashes least with my background.

Anyway, if anyone has ever used a chroma key suit under bright sun, I'd love to hear from you!

Cheers,
Sherwin
 
You are absolutely correct that any overexposure will reduce the saturation, making it difficult or impossible to key.
Shadows are also a problem with suits. Try to shoot on an overcast day or with overhead diffusion.
If you still have too much glint, a polarizing filter can help.

For optimal keying use one of the primary colors (red, green, blue).

If your green suit is overexposed relative to the other objects in the shot, use blue.
It has only 20% of the luminance of green.

If the synthetic fabric is too shiny, try wearing the suit inside-out. The wrong side is often duller.

If the actor has light skin, you might try asking them to wear a black suit underneath the blue one.

I was all ready to buy one of those Zentai suits for a party, then I remembered I have a belly. :)
 
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David, when exposing the background correctly the suits read an IRE of close or equal to 100! Due to the challenges of the location and my preference for wide shots, I do not have the resources to diffuse the light falling on the actors. I am looking into having the suits custom made using 95% cotton 5% spandex fabric which should be much less reflective.

Les, I can't use blue because there is an underwater scene and the sky may also be an issue. I was interested in magenta because it's on the opposite end of the spectrum from green and gold (colours in my location). I appreciate that red is easier to key but might red also clash with gold (imagine the colour of a wheat field) ? I'm not sure which way to go but plan on doing some tests in the location with various coloured fabrics.

Thanks for your help. Any further advice welcome.
 
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