Moving Green Screen

S

Setay

Member
I'm aspiring to shoot a video in which I have a person walking while holding a picture frame with a green screen within it (the frame casts no shadows onto the green screen). Separate video will take place inside the green screen. Would anyone have some good insight on how to achieve this, both program and tool(s) wise?

I'm aware shooting outside is more challenging, but we will be in an environment that creates no shadows with consistent sunlight.
 
This is an intriguing concept that I might have to steal sometime :D

But the biggest key is to get as an even amount of lighting on the green screen as possible. That might be an issue with someone holding the frame, and that casting shadows on the color. But if you have a good 4:2:2 camera recording it, shouldn't be too much of a problem to get decent key off of it.

Unfortunately, the hard part of this is probably the tracking of the screen. I don't know of a good way to do this in FCP. I'm excited to hear how to do this.
 
If you have Final Cut Studio you have Motion. There's a behavior in Motion called "Match Move" that could be used for this. You'll also probably want to add Four-Corner Pinning to that since it's unlikely the frame will remain on the same Z axis while walking. Same thing could be done using After Effects. However, round-tripping between FCP and Motion would be simpler. I would recommend getting a one month subscription to lynda.com for $25 so you have access to some good video tutorials on whatever solution you may choose.

Not sure why you would use the green screen method unless you have some type of generic background behind the frame where wherever the frame goes the background shows through. Otherwise, the method above would work without the hassle of using the green screen

Sounds like a cool project. Keep us posted.
 
Last edited:
It's been done, in music videos. Could be interesting, depending of course on the story.

Having a fixed rectangular size makes if very easy to key. Shadows shouldn't even be too much of a problem.

If you want a real challenge make it on his T-Shirt instead.
 
tflak said:
If you have Final Cut Studio you have Motion. There's a behavior in Motion called "Match Move" that could be used for this. You'll also probably want to add Four-Corner Pinning to that since it's unlikely the frame will remain on the same Z axis while walking. Same thing could be done using After Effects. However, round-tripping between FCP and Motion would be simpler. I would recommend getting a one month subscription to lynda.com for $25 so you have access to some good video tutorials on whatever solution you may choose.

Not sure why you would use the green screen method unless you have some type of generic background behind the frame where wherever the frame goes the background shows through. Otherwise, the method above would work without the hassle of using the green screen

Sounds like a cool project. Keep us posted.
Click to expand...

Do you have links to "Match Move" and "Four-Corner Pinning" tutorials and such? It sounds like it would be a great help in bringing the quality of the final product to a new level.
 
You can go here and find them in Chapter 7: http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=52251 However, these are not among their free tutorials. There are a bunch at the top of this page that are free which should give you a good idea of whether it's worth getting a monthly subscription. IMO, at $25 it's a total steal since it gives you access to everything on their site; which is mind-bogglingly extensive.

Or you could just Google those topics and maybe find something from Ripple Training, Creative Cow, etc. for free.
 
Do you plan on matching the movement of your footage to the movement of the frames? If that's the case, you don't even need to use a greenscreen or keying. You'd probably be better off using any blank color (probably white) with some tracking dots.
 
handsome pete said:
Do you plan on matching the movement of your footage to the movement of the frames? If that's the case, you don't even need to use a greenscreen or keying. You'd probably be better off using any blank color (probably white) with some tracking dots.
Click to expand...

I've never done anything like this project, so I'm really open to any solutions on how to get the desired effect. How would I do what you're saying, setting up tracking dots and such?
 
Just Google "motion tracking" and you'll be on your way. And you can always check out my previous suggestions.
 
Shot some test footage and I got the basics of Match Move down. Great feature!

Any advice on making the edges of the smaller video being included more natural looking, maybe a type of blur or something? Thanks.
 
Hard to really comment further without seeing exactly what you're trying to do. Can you post some footage?
 
Not bad. Motion tracking is definitely the way to go. You might need to do some minor roto work if someone's hand covers any of the inside frame, or if anything moves in front of the frame.

Also, look into using blending modes to add glass or reflections to the frame to make it more realistic.
 
Good work - I think you've done a surprisingly good job for your first effort at this type of thing. In fact, it looks really good. Excellent suggestions by handsome pete to add the little details that would help make it even more convincing.
 
Are the blending modes within Motion? I can't seem to find them. Any links or personal input would be greatly appreciated.
 
I am running into a minor problem with my video. The camera begins on the ground, then pans up until the guy and picture frame are in the shot. How can I Match Move the beginning part?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top