Need a fast answer on this one

[Jim Feldspar]

I have to get a shot on Friday of a person jumping in bare feet off a step onto concrete. Originally

planned to do it in two shots buts that's such a cheat, like cutting into the basketball going swish

through the net. Right, he really made the shot...!

 

In the first shot we had planned for the frame line to be above the feet landing so as to avoid

showing

the landing pad and then cut to the feet on the concrete. I'm thinking now what if we put a green

screen (we have some inexpensive fabric that works well for green screen) over the a part of the

pad

in the shot and then do a lock off to get the same shot with the concrete to key in so it looks like

he's really doing it in one shot.

 

I'm using a Panasonic Mini-DVC 30 (doesn't have 24P) with the "film-look" setting. It's a decent

camera

and I know what people say about avoiding green screen with Mini-DV but it's worked out okay

with this camera.

 

I'm hoping to shoot right at sunrise, white balancing to the daylight and having some tungsten lights

with 1/4 CTO to hit certain

spots that I want to be sure have that orange sunrise look. This brings up a problem that I've never

had before.

 

What do I use to light the green ? I know that I want it

to look green, right? Ambient light may be low so it probably is going to need something but

what? I do not have a color temperature meter so I'm unsure how to proceed.

 

The light at sunrise in the areas not hit by orange light seems to still be pretty blue. I'm

planning on having some glints of orange light on the actor in various places as he goes through the

air and maybe some points on the nearby car.I really want the sunrise look and don't want to wait

until 10:00 a.m. and use full CTB. What level/color temperature do I use on the green?

 

I know in the studio it's usually a stop under key and tungsten on the green. I have decent power

available, enough for probably four Lowell Omnis each with 600w lamps and an Arri open face

that somebody is getting supposedly 300w.

 

If I can, I'll test tomorrow but I may not be able to get all the gear tonight.

 

This shot is going to be edited into a scene which is going to be e-mailed Friday. That's the most

important person to see this scene, the e-mail receipent. Thus ,maybe some problems may not

be as apparent.

 

(Incidentally, I'm editing in Final Cut Express but have used i-Movie to e-mail video. It works but

it's a little bigger than a postage stamp. An Apple guy is going to show me how to send a

larger e-mail screen, which will lessen quality but that may hide any green screen flaws.)

 

What do I do? If lighting can be figured out, any tips on saving the shot when the feet cause the

fabric to depress and fold into the pad?

 

Thanks!

[Albert Smith]

Keying mini dv footage is very tough especailly ext with a fabric screen that isnt really the best thing to use. even a perfectly lite screen in a studio is going to be hard to key with mini dv especailly without the use of something like ultimatte or a higher end keying program. I would suggest avoiding the use of one.

[Jim Feldspar]

Keying mini dv footage is very tough especailly ext with a fabric screen that isnt really the best thing to use. even a perfectly lite screen in a studio is going to be hard to key with mini dv especailly without the use of something like ultimatte or a higher end keying program. I would suggest avoiding the use of one.

 

I know, but I'm going to give it a shot. Thanks, Jake!

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't see how you can have feet landing on a soft-enough pad to be comfortable yet not have the feet depress into the pad, thus making it look like the feet are disappearing into the concrete when you try and key them, plus you have the problem of the green pad reflecting onto the feet if this is a tight shot.

 

And if this is a wider shot on location, then won't the person's feet not only sink into the pad but be a few inches higher than the ground so once you pull the green pad and shoot the plate of the ground, the feet won't line-up?

 

How big is the frame, head-to-toe? How high are they jumping from?

 

I agree about about avoiding greenscreen work with Mini-DV...

 

In terms of lighting a greenscreen outdoors in daytime, I would use daylight lamps (like HMI's) with green gels on them, or just available light. But you can't really light a green pad that someone's feet will be touching though except in the colors of the scene.

[Jim Feldspar]

I don't see how you can have feet landing on a soft-enough pad to be comfortable yet not have the feet depress into the pad, thus making it look like the feet are disappearing into the concrete when you try and key them, plus you have the problem of the green pad reflecting onto the feet if this is a tight shot.

 

And if this is a wider shot on location, then won't the person's feet not only sink into the pad but be a few inches higher than the ground so once you pull the green pad and shoot the plate of the ground, the feet won't line-up?

 

How big is the frame, head-to-toe? How high are they jumping from?

 

I agree about about avoiding greenscreen work with Mini-DV...

 

In terms of lighting a greenscreen outdoors in daytime, I would use daylight lamps (like HMI's) with green gels on them, or just available light. But you can't really light a green pad that someone's feet will be touching though except in the colors of the scene.

 

I've tended to get ambitious with hoping that I can solve something with greenscreen then find out

flaws in my plans. Now that I think of it; I would never have anybody in the studio walk back and

lean on the green screen, yet that's what I was proposing here. Yes, the frame was to be head -to-

toe and from several steps up so there would have been a significant depression of the green

screen. Either that would have killed the shot or if somehow I got away with that then the plate

still wouldn't line up.

 

Thanks David, I sincerely appreciate it.