Will this work for a white background scene?

E

etrust

Well-known member
Hi,

in 2 weeks I must set up a white background. On the forderground 3 guys will sing.

Do you thing that this will work:

Wall:
- A white wall
- A piece of a white drapery that should hide the corner skeu of the wall/floor and the floor
- A piece of transparent plastic over the drapery, so that the guys can move a little bit


Lights:

Backgound:
1 x 1000w on the right
1 x 650w on the left
1 x 300w on the left

Lights for the 3 Guys:

3 x Softboxes

Do you think that this will work? Any suggestions?
 
Hi,

thank you for your post, but I think that this is the false way.

I'm sure that if you want a white backgound is better to use a backgound and play with the lights.

Keying is a tricky thing and need a lot of time on the post.

Could somebody tell me if my setup will work? Any suggestions?
 
how big of a space are you shooting? About 10x10? I would shoot the 1k from one side and team up the 300 and 600 and shoot from the other. It might be better to shoot the 1k into a 4x8 foam core (if it's in the budget), so you get a bounced light onto your background and do the same for the 300 and 600 on the other side.
 
humm..

4m x 6m maybe.

Sorry for my bad english..

Could you please explain me again what you mean? Should I put the foem core on the background or put them in front of my fresnel? I don't have understand sorry..

And which type of foam core? do you have a link of a example?
 
Last edited:
No problem. So you point the 1k at the white foamcore and your foamcore is placed so that the light bounces off the foamcore and onto your white background. Do the same for the 600 and 300 on the other side of your background. This should get you a more even white background.
 
etrust said:
Do you think that this will work? Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

etrust said:
- A white wall
Click to expand...
Yes, it can work depending on your shot selection. But assuming you want a wide shot...probably not but it doesn't matter (see next response). Any reasonably solid wall would work just fine.

etrust said:
- A piece of a white drapery that should hide the corner skeu of the wall/floor and the floor
Click to expand...
Real question is if it will cover the entire shot side-to-side and top-to-flooring (see next response). If so, it could work. If not, I think you'll have issues unless you have enough room for a garbage matte on the sides. I'm not sure you'll be able to get the lighting even enough from "drapery" to wall.

Speaking of drapery, is the fabric see-through? Opaque or mostly opaque would be better. That way your wall doesn't matter. You can buy a decent 10x12 white bg for around $30; 10x24 for around $40.

etrust said:
- A piece of transparent plastic over the drapery, so that the guys can move a little bit
Click to expand...
I think the transparent plastic will be too shiny, reflecting everything too much. Instead of transparent plastic, use a solid white 4x8 sheet of tile board. You can get 'em at Home Depot for $12. Buy two and overlay one on top of the other (front on top of back so no shadow). They'll still provide nice sheen without reflecting everything and it's mother.

etrust said:
Lights:
Backgound:
1 x 1000w on the right
1 x 650w on the left
1 x 300w on the left
Click to expand...
Would be far better if the lights on both sides were even. But you might be able to play around with these to make them work.

etrust said:
Lights for the 3 Guys:
3 x Softboxes
Click to expand...
More details? Could work just fine depending on what they are and your setup.
 
Oh...and another suggestion. If you can, use a longer lens to compress distance side-to-side. That will give you the best chance of getting your three actors on one seamless/muslin background.
 
With that much white, you need to be making sure your lights' color temperatures match. If anywhere in that mix of wattages you're including tungstens with HMIs or fluos, you should be taking care get it all uniform . . .
 
I do this all the time and in my opinion in a less involved and complicated way. Instead of constructing a wall just buy some a roll of white paper from a local photography store. In Dallas I can get a 9 or 12ft wide roll for about $50. Using a background support system I picked up for $65, I pull the paper down to the floor then out an additional 6-10ft and tape the end to the floor and clamp the top to keep it from unraveling. As you are taping the end down make sure you have created a nice drape like this. (I actually do one a little bigger)
photo2.jpg


I light the whole thing with 2 softboxes if it one person or 4 for more. I have never had much problem with having to light the backdrop and talent separately to achieve the effect though I at times have. The soft light is usually enough to blow out the white without a single shadow, not even between your feet as is the case in the above posted video.

I hope my late night ramblings are of some use to you.
 
Hi EVERYBODY!


Sorry for the delay :=(


UAU! I thank you all for really nice TIPS!! Pics and Links!

I will analyse every tips and come back hopefully with good news.

If I have more questions I'll come back!

I wish you all a nice day :=)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top