Using an LCD TV as an interview background

[habragg]

Assume I have money to blow, and one small closet of a studio where a number of head and shoulder interviews will take place over the course of many years. Is a large (65" and over ) LCD television a bad idea for a background?

 

[custerc]

Yes? Assuming you're putting moving images on it, I find that's really distracting when watching an interview. And if you're putting still images on it, it seems like there are way cheaper ways to do that....

 

[alekstef]

I would rather use a plasma TV. Make sure you get a TV with a matt screen, reflections aren't too fun to deal with. Also, be careful with animations and stuff you put on the screen, as it might become quite distracting if not used right.

 

[Bruce Watson]

Assume I have money to blow, and one small closet of a studio where a number of head and shoulder interviews will take place over the course of many years. Is a large (65" and over ) LCD television a bad idea for a background?

It's a light source, you know that, yes? Light sources tend to cause lens flare -- in this case probably a noticeable loss of contrast, in particular at the boundry between your background and subject.

Since your background is a light source, you're going to have to supply sufficient light to lift your subject to match, probably more light than you'd think.

The surface of the TV is going to be an interesting source of oddball reflections too -- from room elements into your frame, and from your lights on the subject into the room. It can be sorta like filming in front of a mirror. Not everyone's cup of tea, that.

But is it a *bad idea*? Not necessarily. Depends on what you want. But you might obtain a better result shooting them separately (green screen for the talent) and combining them in post where you can control things much easier. Again, depends on what you want.

 

[Allen Ellis]

Be aware that most screens are a daylight balance, so if you want the colors to look right, you'll have to shoot either with natural light or fluorescents.

 

[StuOS]

I'm late on this, but is this for live interviews? If not, get a broken TV and put a greenscreen where the screen is. You can then put anything you want onto the screen in post, and you won't have to deal with lighting issues, synch issues, etc.