Green Screen Tips

One of the most popular rentals in Los Angeles right now is the green screenstudio. I have owned a green screen and white cyc studio for years and I have worked as a gaffer and cinematographer lighting and shooting on these types of cycloramas for even longer. Clients are always asking advice about shooting on a green screen and I’m always willing to do what I can to assist them out and give them a quick and easy solution to whatever their dilemma is. People often have questions about markers and tracking so here are a few tips I have for anyone who is taken in some tricks I’ve used on set before.

For starters it is usually a good idea to use yellow markers when using a green screen. The reason behind this is that you can separate the different components for tracking and keying. If you look at the red channel you can see the high contrast difference between the screen and the yellow markers, which will be beneficial for tracking. One of the reasons I recommend the yellow circular markers is because you can pick them up at Office Depot or Office Max for really cheap. Avery makes the round adhesive stickers in multiple colors which can come in handy if you are working with a screen other than green. These stickers are also very easy to carry around in your set bag. I recommend not just having markers along the back wall of your screen. It makes for a very flat look and could easily be remedied with the addition of a few markers at different distances away from the camera. It’s a good 3D solution. Another option for tracking is to use newspaper. This is particularly good for larger green screen studio Los Angeles. The green screen I own at Atomic Studios, is 25ft by 25 ft, eventually we intend on having an even larger hard green cyclorama. This size screen can be ideal for the newspaper to be user for tracking. For most shoots it is a good idea to keep the green screen studio Los Angeles a little out of focus. Your post team will thank you for keeping them in focus because it will make their jobs a lot easier. Some shoot require the markers in focus others will go smoother if you keep the background out of focus. It’s really a technical call, but if the markers are definitely going to be needed for tracking, do your post team a favor and keep them as in focus as you can. People during production always over mark television and computer monitors, when they don’t need to. Most of the time people cover up the gray screen of the off unit with green or blue cloth or paper. A lot of times you can get tracks off of the corners of the screen or some details in television set. You can do this just as easy if not easier then using the blue or green cover. The one problem you may run across is what you are picking up in the reflection. If you are just catching a generic reflection then keep the set uncovered and save your self some time in post. If you are considering leaving the television or computer uncovered then you should always check through the viewfinder of the camera to make sure that the reflection is nothing too specific or distracting. One thing that absolutely never ends up how you planned is to feed a color to the unit thinking that it will easily be keyed out later.

Renting a Green Screen studio Los Angeles can really benefit your production. Most studios offer great deals and can even give you a price quote on a pre-lit green screen. At Atomic Studios we charge very little for pre-lighting the green screen and we supply you with additional lights, just in case. If you are interested in touring our facilities or have any questions about Green screen studio Los Angeles you can contact me at 323-851-3825 or visit our website www.atomicstudios.com. We are open 20 hours a day and are always willing to answer questions and give advice to filmmakers about green screen studio Los Angeles and other facets of production.

About the Author

Liza Martin
Second Voice
Los Angeles, California, United States

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