Green Screen Sample

[Paul Bruening]

The guy at the local Lowes swears his computer will match proper green screen paint. Would someone mind sending me a sample from their set or from a can of their paint in an envelope by US Mail? About 1 inch square or so will do. PM me and I'll throw you my mailing address.

 

Thanks in advance.

[David Rakoczy]

You don't even have to 'match' it... just come close and you will be fine. We just shot a bunch on two green screens placed together and they were very different. The Editor was there and said no worries (I was just Gaffing and renting Equip on this one). You can always take some paint chips to your local rental house...

 

For exposure, you generally want the green screen to read (reflected) one stop under.

[Paul Bruening]

I think I recall something about the pigment formula in green screen paint was tuned to a light frequency hole in Kodak's negative stock. Or was it that it was tuned to fit kinoflos? From what you're saying, David, it sounds like it doesn't matter to a computer. Is that what it is?

[Phil Rhodes]

Bear in mind that no two camera systems will render the same green the same way, anyway - it's not really about how it looks to the camera, it's about chromatically selective reflection. In an ideal world you'd get it matched to the output of whatever green-emitting source with which you'd be lighting it, but that's probably tricky unless they'll let you lay a fluorescent tube on top of their sampling scanner (if that'd even work).

 

The issue is that most good greenscreen paints have (or at least claim to have) considerably more dye or pigment in them than conventional paints, to produce better saturation. I'm not really sure how necessary this is, though.

 

P

[Adrian Sierkowski]

I'm with David on this one; it just has to be "close enough" to the computer, and I've used Blue and Green screen paints before from Home Depot on shoots (where I wasn't the DoP) without issue. As a DoP we even used some fabric from fabric row here in Phila which was "greenscreen-eque" and it worked fine for what it was. Also had monitors showing a "green" for keying out as well (plasma). So anecdotally FCP/Premier/AVID/After Effects aren't as "selective."

That being said, I'm sure the proper green screen paints have something a bit different about them which certainly can't hurt in keying.

[Chris Burke]

The guy at the local Lowes swears his computer will match proper green screen paint. Would someone mind sending me a sample from their set or from a can of their paint in an envelope by US Mail? About 1 inch square or so will do. PM me and I'll throw you my mailing address.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

http://www.muralo.net/products/specialty_0035.php

 

 

http://www.rosco.com/us/scenic/chroma_key.asp

 

 

you can purchase this paint or just pick a highly saturated green that is flat. If not muralo or rosco, but rather lowes brand, apply three thin coats.

[Paul Bruening]

What if I cast any aliens. Won't they come off invisible?

[David Rakoczy]

I think I recall something about the pigment formula in green screen paint was tuned to a light frequency hole in Kodak's negative stock. Or was it that it was tuned to fit kinoflos? From what you're saying, David, it sounds like it doesn't matter to a computer. Is that what it is?

 

Yes. Now being (professional) I purchased 12x12 and 6x6 Green Screens but if I did not have them I would not hesitate to just pick a flat green from the paint store. Taking some paint chips (samples) to your closest rental house will give you your answer as to which would closest (match). I know a guy who covered a wall with green construction paper... worked great.

[Paul Bruening]

Okay, then. Thanks, fellas. You've saved me that effort. Even better, you've saved me from buying the expensive paint from a movie gear supply store. Now, I get to pick the funkiest, brightest green from the Lowes chip rack.

[Matt Read]

What if I cast any aliens. Won't they come off invisible?

If they were green, then you might have a problem keying out just the green screen without losing part of your aliens. In that case, you'd want to opt for another color screen.

 

The only reason that green is the predominate color used for chromakey screens is that it is the complementary color (opposite side of a color wheel) of "average" caucasian skintone and will therefore have the least chance of keying out part of your talent's face. If your talent were to have a different skin color (like green aliens) or you wanted to have some element of the foreground be green, it would be to your benefit to use a different color for your chromakey screen. In the case of green aliens, an orange-red screen would work best.

 

But everyone knows green aliens are a myth. Real aliens are gray. Or 3-foot tall walking teddy-bears.

[Paul Bruening]

"But everyone knows green aliens are a myth. Real aliens are gray. Or 3-foot tall walking teddy-bears."

 

Joking aside, I am putting a couple of CGI Grays in this production as brief cut-aways.