Green screening...

M

MachinePhilby

Member
Hi everyone!

Like countless other people, I'm keen on buying either the DVX or LX2. At some stage I would like to use the camera for green screening purposes, can anyone suggest, or bring up reasons as to why one is better than the other?

My argument would be (if this makes any sense) that the XL2 would have better results if you could get as far away from the screen as possible because of it's better depth of field results. Is this true?

I know the end result really depends on the user and how it was shot. But for arguments sake, if everything was setup properly, how would the two fair?

Before anyone else mentions it, I know the FX1 could come in handy because of it's bigger resolution. You could scale down the image hence making the keying result better, but I'm not interest in the camera for that sole reason.

Anyone?
 
Re: Green screening...

I guess technically if you wanted to shoot from 50 feet away, you could get a shallower depth of field from the XL2, but all other things would be about the same with either camera. However, you have to remember that if you want thing to look real, you need to shoot your background scene in the same manner. If you shoot your subject at full telephoto you need to shoot your background the same way. So you have to ask yourself, is this really going to be a factor? are you really going to be shooting your greenscreen @ 50 feet?
 
Re: Green screening...

And if you light your screen correctly and this shouldn't be a factor anyway. But again, either camera will key about the same. There may be some advantages to the different cinema tones to either one or the other camera, but this has yet to be tested.
 
Re: Green screening...

Between the XL2 and the DVX, I don't think either would have much of an advantage over the other.

If you want a *major* advantage, keep your eyes peeled to the new Panasonic camera. It shoots both HD and SD with 4:2:2 color sampling, which could be much superior for chroma keying. I mean, if all other things are equal, just having 4:2:2 will make your keying much, much better.
 
Re: Green screening...

You can cheat with the lighting if you use a REALLY good fx plug-in like zMatte or even DV Matte Pro 1.5.
Both give amazing results, even when not shooting under the best of conditions...
 
Re: Green screening...

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=XL2;num=1108273523;start=0#3 date=02/13/05 at 00:44:21]keep your eyes peeled to the new Panasonic camera.  It shoots both HD and SD with 4:2:2 color sampling[/quote]

What's the latest news on this camera?

This is going to make the decision on buying a new camera difficult... I can tell already! :)
 
Re: Green screening...

No one can really say what it will compose of ... but we can safely assume that shooting in DVCPROHD with it will allow for a 4:2:2 colorspace workflow as that is a spec of DVCPROHD. And even if you want to keep it in the SD realm, I believe Jan stated that it will also shoot DVCPRO50. You really can't lose with this cam for green screening ...

As for the DVX and XL2, Barry is right in that their should really be no discernable difference between the two in this regard. It is possible ... I have done it before with the DVX with pretty good results. The key is to light your green screen evenly and well. Also, seperate your subject with appropriate lighting too. Though I never tried it, using Nattress's G-Nicer filter before applying the keying may help too (if your in Final CUt Pro land).

Another thing to keep in mind is the 4:4:4 mod that Reel-Stream is creating. Though nothing is concrete with it yet, we are suppose to see more by NAB. Could be an excellent solution for your DVX for green screening ...

Hope this helps,
 
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