Green Screen Tips, Tricks and Materials - Chromakey Tutorial

Learn green screen and chromakey how to's and tips.

[thelastoneDS]

he's just selling shit, I use the "ghetto" plastic table cloth green screen $1.08 and as far as reflection and shadows you can easily use GIMP or Blender to fix "if you even need to" oh and GIMP and Blender are both free @gimp.org and @blender.org...

[tubetape]

@MargenProductions All our greenscreens are 100% muslin cotton and machine washable. (I would suggest washing them cold, as to not fade the color) Also, if they start to get wrinkly, you can put them in dryer on fluff for about 5 minutes and they will smooth right out. : )

[tubetape]

@emocrazybot Yes - a wall painted with chromakey paint is often the best option because there's no wrinkles & it's a uniform surface. Of course you need a wall you're willing to paint bright green :)

[tubetape]

@devinizbomb You're right. Chroma key is the removal of color - not specific to one color. However, industry standard is green or blue because they are furthest from human skin tone & because most cameras are set to work best with those colors. Also, some editing software is designed to only effectively key out green or blue.

[tubetape]

@1MSoViP You need the screen to provide you a chromakey background. You will need the software to actually key out that background so you can place your own digital backgrounds behind your subject. You can either purchase digital backgrounds, or go out with your camera and take your own. The only other thing you need is to light your background and subject evenly. You can use normal house lights (but you will need A LOT of them) or you can purchase at least a two light (preferably 3 light) setup

[tubetape]

@Boomation Yes we do. Just search for TubeTape and you should find them. (They also may be a bit cheaper there then on our main site)

[tubetape]

@OverratedTodler There is typically less light lost with a soft box & you get a nicely diffused spread of light, so we would recommend using those.

[tubetape]

@itsnickyeah We suggest using TubeTape chromakey paint or Rosco chromakey paint simply because we have tested these two brands and know they will give a solid, professional key when applied correctly.

[tubetape]

@RandomComedySketches We recommend only using cloth that is true chromakey green so that you won't encounter problems in the keying process. Also, some fabric may reflect too much light back onto your subject and could cause a green halo effect which is near impossible to key out. Or other fabric could let too much light through which is also a problem. We have 100% muslin true chromakey screens available starting at 19.95. Great buy for beginners.

[tubetape]

@Sacrengard Typically we use FXhome Composite Lab for the keying & then pull it into After Effects.

[tubetape]

@brightcarnage Using the sun can be a bit tricky. While it can supply a lot of light, it is very hard to control. Often times the light from the sun is too intense and will "blow out" your subject matter. If you are needing to shoot outside with all natural sunlight, try using something to hold up in between the sun and your subject to help diffuse the light. You can purchase different types of "diffusers" or, if you are on a tight budget, you may want to try using a silk sheet.

[tubetape]

@shak3th3mdr3ads The face of the body suit we carry is the same color as the suit and is made of a tight mesh material so the actor can breath but the green color stays uniform.

[ganstaboii]

omg i just got like 25 seconds in the video and this really helped me im waiting for the video to load because my computer is really slow and i am going to watch the whole thing and so far...GREAT job explaining things!!!

[ROCKnROLL]

nice job...very informative. I have done green screen in the past but was not aware of the 5-7 ft distance from the screen, and lighting the backdrop and actor seperetley

[tubetape]

@TheFunluver101 Actually, it's pretty easy. You can tape it to your wall, or tack it to your wall. Either of those ways would work. And yes, you can use it without professional lights. The lights just help it look better, but they certainly are not required to use the green screen.

[evdude]

Nice video with lots of good tips. Thanks guys!

[BIGBROTHERiswatchinU]

@TheFunluver101, I am using some old table lamps on the floor and "chicken brooder" lights hung up higher. The chicken brooder lights are real cheap and I got them at Lowes.

I used tape to get my screen on the wall and once I had it positioned the way I wanted it, I added thumbtacks because I figured my tape may not hold forever.

[tubetape]

@Tranquil787 Yes, we used editing software to remove the green background color & replace it with an image of a beach scene. :)

[tubetape]

@shadowblade499 If I understand you correctly, it sounds like you need some editing software - something like HitFilm or Final Cut or I-Movie, or something like that. That's the way you can control the sequence of the images in your movie. As for tips with no money: just prepare well and know what you want to shoot beforehand. That's always the best advice.

[tubetape]

@casualwiseguy You can iron it on low heat, or throw it in the dryer on "fluff" for about 10 minutes or so. That should do the trick.