green cast

[Ravi Walia]

Hi, I find getting green cast as there is in the film Black Hawk Down very difficult despite using all sorts of green gel, why is that?Also the thicker green once eat up lots of light.

[Michael Nash]

That greenish cast you sometimes see is often the result of color correction, usually digital. Take a close look at some frames that have the green look you like -- is the green bias uniform throughout the contrast range, or is it limited to the shadows or midtones?

 

Sometimes it's easier to use a greenish filter on the lens than it is to color all your lighting. But you suffer the same light loss with camera filters as you do with lighting gel. Any saturated color gel or filter eats up a lot of light.

[Chris Pritzlaff]

The Matrix also has this greenish cast throughout the film which I would assume was also done in post throught color correction correct?

[Matt Sandstrom]

if you use "cool white" fluorescents and tungsten film you'll get a cyan/green look.

 

/matt

[Stuart Brereton]

If you're shooting tape, try putting some 1/2 or full minus green on your white card when you white balance. If you're shooting film, add it to your gray card, and tell the colorist not to grade it out.

 

If you want to do it in post there are many grading tools available. Magic Bullet actually has a preset based on the Matrix look.