Lighting Greenscreen & Subject - Own a few LEDs ... add more? Or get something else

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colabean

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Lighting Greenscreen & Subject - Own a few LEDs ... add more? Or get something else

Hi guys,

I currently own a Cool Lights LED600 5600k spot (with softbox) and LED256 spot (with softbox).

I chose these because I need the option of battery power for location shots.

For shooting indoors with one subject on a green screen, what are suggestions for efficiently (ie, money and versatility) expanding what I have?
Can I add another LED600 or two (maybe "flood" versions?) to get the greenscreen evenly lit..

Or should I be investing in something like Arri 650w fresnels? Or...

I'm on a budget just like everyone, but at the same time, I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by being cheap. I'd hope my gear will remain versatile and helpful for a long time to come.

One reason I'm hoping that getting another LED would be okay, is then I can use it for location stuff along with my other two (as you know, two lights isn't really enough often.. 3 or more is very helpful).

What do you think about combining the LED and other lights in one scene (particularly the green screen scenario)

The intended use is music videos. Fast movement at time (dancing etc)

Green screen (actually probably use the blue side often) is 12x12 .. shot width can vary from very close up, narrow to full width of screen (12')
 
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Well, you need to light your greenscreen and your subject separately, so you're going to need considerably more lights.

You also need to light your greenscreen evenly, so spots aren't appropriate for that. You want something wide and even. Banks of fluos are more often used for this.
 
I've built a DIY rig using PVC pipe and household fluro's that seem to work pretty well - it's a matter of evenly lighting the background, making sure that light isn't on the subject and then lighting the subject separately (complimentary to the scene behind).
 
For getting great, even lighting on the 12x12 green screen (actually, it will often be BLUE screen, since the subjects will have a lot of green on them) are there any specific products you recommend? And what size/how many I should expect to want for ideal functionality on a 12x12 bluescreen?

While I don't want to be frivelous, I also don't want to buy something that later as I learn more makes me say "fackk, I wish I'd just stepped it up a bit in the first place for the few extra bucks". I want something I can grow with for years to come.

Thanks for the direction guys, the green screen thing is an area that's hard to research on the web -- because it's such a popular subject amongst YouTuber etc, everything I come up on is "How To Make a Green Screen Kit for $50" hmmmm... And it looks like $50 too :/


@Jackson Miller -- is this specifically the product you refer to? http://www.lincostore.com/product/Linco-PE9030-3350.html
How many do you suggest is ideal?
 
Re the lincos, watch this review, it will give you a really good idea if it is what you are looking for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4s2rM6TLhU

Get the package that includes the bulbs like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2040W-STUDI...303?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f07cbcc6f
or a 3 light kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PHOTO-LIGHT...540?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f054c61f4

There's also a new red and black version with a remote control.


The plus is that they give out a TON of light compared to other options and are REALLY cheap considering how bright they are and that they are a step above the other cheap cfl fixtures. If I needed to light a big green screen I would consider two or three of them.


BUT, there are also fluoro bank type lights such as these:
http://www.coollights.biz/softlight....html?osCsid=ec7e61add47c64f815fc53643cc2f984

They are a bit more professional and much faster to set up (just unfold the barn doors). The floras have quick setup soft boxes but it can't match a fixture that doesn't need one. You will have to pay more for the same output though. So it comes down to budget, as always.
 
for general, knees-up (12x12) greenscreening. i usually use 2 kino 4' 4 banks one left and one right to light the screen. then light the subject as normal (except adding a bit more punch on the hair light
 
wgzn said:
for general, knees-up (12x12) greenscreening. i usually use 2 kino 4' 4 banks one left and one right to light the screen. then light the subject as normal (except adding a bit more punch on the hair light
Click to expand...

Same. I always use 2 4X4 for the screen and 2 2X4 or 2 4X4 for the talent and a 200 watt HMI for a hair light. This is for a talent that is basically not moving more than three feet or so.
 
"Re the lincos, watch this review, it will give you a really good idea if it is what you are looking for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4s2rM6TLhU "

They person measuring the output of the lights mentions only the asa or iso speed on his lightmeter along with an aperture or F stop reading. Readings without a shutter speed are meaningless as to determine the brightness/lumen output/ foot candles/intensity of the light. I wish he would have mentioned the shutter speed at those apertures as well. If he was only trying to get a difference in comparison to both lights' output, then a difference in aperture readings at the same distance would suffice. Otherwise there is no way of knowing how bright those lights really are, short of looking up the spec sheets.
How about 2 Lowel Tota lights, why arent those popular for green screen ? I used those for wedding venues years ago and they are super wide and bright,
 
If you're on a budget, several of the two-bank biax flos work very well, either Kino's or the scores of Chinese units out there. You can get duals for under $200.

The video below was all green screen, every shot. Our screen was about 18' wide by 9' tall; we lit it with 1 dual biax on each side, and two of the big 85 watt flo bulbs overhead, in DIY fixtures:

diy-flo.jpg

We lit the talent with a variety of stuff - 4 bank flos, gelled fresnels, used some big diffusion frames, often with mesh vs. solids. Lots of little 100-300 watt fresnels for hair, etc.

2.jpg1.jpg

For keying, daylight balance is pretty critical for most cameras, as sensors are daylight and when you set for tungsten they add gain (and thus noise) to the blue channel - not the best situation for pulling a key.

This was a monumental project across a couple days' shooting - with more time, money and lights (and a better camera!) it could have been much cleaner. But all things considered, not bad for the resources we had. But flos for your screen are the way to go. They're already pretty soft, and you can diffuse them more if needed (just tape the tissue that comes with lighting gels over the barn doors if you are totally broke!)

 
The op didn't mention what cam he is using, but if available, a wfm makes the whole green screen setup like cake.

Grant
 
Martin Oller said:
Links? Been browsing ebay for about a month... only found 1 kino ripoff
Click to expand...

They come and go - lately Amazon seems like the place to go; you can usually find the common 2 and 4 banks that have the stronger metal yokes, etc. On ebay today:

6 bank

4 Bank

Cheap 2-bank

set of 3 cheap duals

Though I'd only buy one or two of the gooseneck models - the necks aren't that hot. (But the units are lightweight plastic and you can get them in all sorts of spaces, hang from a suspended ceiling clamp, etc.)

This is the unit I've had the best luck with, in duals and quads. EBay often has these around $200 for duals. $195 on Amazon.

From Amazon - pair of duals. Haven't tried this yokeless setup though. I notice this brand of lights is now "prime", which means amazon stocks and carries them vs. posting sales from others. That's nice.
 
Thanks everyone for the input, links and examples! I watched all the videos and checked out the rhetoric and prices on the sales links.

Kino is out of my budget I think at this time...

I am considering 2 Cool Lights 4Banks to light my 12x12 green (blue) screen. I will be shooting with a Canon HF G10 and and sometimes DSLR (Canon 5Dmkii)

Studio: http://www.coollights.biz/softlight-fixture-series-studio-models-c-25_31.html
Portable: http://www.coollights.biz/softlight-fixture-series-portable-models-c-25_32.html

Not sure if there is any drawback to choosing the portable ones? (other than a little more money)

Also, what about getting the "dimmer" option. Is this going to be potentially useful (I realize it's a personal question, so maybe tell me if it's would be useful to TO YOU or whether you'd fob it off)

These are within my budget. Are there any advantages I would be missing from the Linco's aside from spending more $ on the Cool Lights banks?
 
Paul Hudson said:
Michael, I think this may be what Martin is talking about: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-300W-4f...ltDomain_0&hash=item3f10f4fdb0#ht_4507wt_1141. It is so close to the price of the real thing I am not sure I would risk it.
Click to expand...

I've seen those - while I'd love a 4-ft. fixture, I agree with you. We haven't seen the 4-foots being knocked off to the extent of biax stuff, not much data out there.

I get the same feeling when I see the $900 Chinese 575 HMI's. I'd love a 575, but I think I'll go with cool lights for $2k rather than risk it.
 
Thanks Michael for your tips. The FloLight Continuous Fluorescent Studio Video 500w Light and the Ardinbir Studio 2-Bank 550W Studio Video Fluorescent Light Panel with White Diffuser are about the same price of 175.00$

You said you liked the Ardinbir better. lI don't think they come with a stand, what do you like ? And are the Ardinbir safe to use in a basement, meaning they don't throw off much heat, and low in power consumption. And if a tube goes dead, where can you buy a replacement?
I will be lighting up a 12X12 green screen. So if I use 1 of these lights on each side of the screen, do I need to still have a light above?
How would these lights be for other uses, like for an interview?

And finally, where did you get your green screen from? Do you recommend it. Thanks.
 
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