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| Making Great Green Screen Videos |
By:
Jerry Corley |
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Making Green Screen Video Look Great
By Jerry Corley - Founder of The Standup Comedy Clinic
I produced some sketch videos with my writing partner Rob Rose and they we've been getting some nice comments posted to them on YouTube. Our friends got a huge kick out of them, as well. Many of our friends were surprised when we told them that most of the videos were shot, not on location, but in front of a "green screen" in our home studio-(Sshh!!…our garage!)-mostly using consumer equipment. I was asked recently for the specs to how we got it done. So I'm going to use this space to try to get it down on paper and get it to you, (translation: get it into this word processor and post it on this blog.)
Let's start with the equipment. Here's a quick list of the equipment I use for shooting my green-screen videos:
§ Camera: Sony HDR-FX1
§ Manfrotto 302 IN. Tripod
§ Manfrotto 701RC2 Smooth Glide Tripod Head
§ Paper Chroma Key Green Backdrop (107"x12 yards)
§ Sufficient Lighting
§ Shure Wireless Mic kits. PGX24/SM58; UX 14/93 (Lavalier)
§ Computer Editing Software:
o Pinnacle (Now a division of Avid) Studio Ultimate (Version 12)
o Adobe Premiere 2.0
Although you can produce videos with almost any camcorder, I am excited to talk about the camera I use for most of my video productions. It is a Sony HDR-FX1, a high definition, 1080-I, 'prosumer' model. It uses Mini-DV tape and produces broadcast quality video. It cost me around $3,500, so it's not cheap. What I really like about the camera is the multiple presets it allows me to configure to get the exact picture I need depending on the lighting available. What I don't like? Well it only has one audio input. (If I knew this while I was purchasing it I would've chosen a different camera.) I often use the camera to record live stand-up and I prefer to run a shot-gun mic on one channel while running a direct feed from the performer directly into the camera giving me two separate channels to control the audience and the performer separately. It gives me super clean audio and after I cut the video together really gives it a professional sound quality. But I digress. For the purpose of what we do in our sketch work, it suits us fine.
Next, I use a green background. (My "greens creen"). My particular background is used for photography and comes in a roll that's 9 feet wide and 40 ft. rolled up. It only costs about 40-60 bucks and gives a nice even look, but because of its width (9 ft.), it gives the subject(s) some room to move a little. You can purchase this at any decent camera supply store. I bought mine directly at www.backdropsource.com
Lighting is extremely important as it will make or break your chroma-key effects. If you don't have an evenly lit, shadow-less background, your chroma-key effect will suffer greatly. Take it very seriously. Make sure your lighting is sufficient. The reason I use the word efficient is that you can actually get away with lighting inexpensively. Good fluorescent light kits for video can cost you more that 1000 bucks. But if you really want to do something on a shoestring, then do what I did. I picked up 500-watt, halogen construction lights at the Home Depot and used a diffuser. Some of you are saying to me right now, "what the heck is a diffuser?" Well, it's something you use to "spread" the light out so that it doesn't cast hard shadows. (Remember we want a "shadow-less"green screen!) For the diffusers I picked up a couple of 8-dollar fluorescent light diffusers, again at the Home Depot. They are basically sheet of thin textured plastic used to cover fluorescent light fixtures. You may have some in your kitchen. I secure them in front of the Halogens using small, spring-loaded, hardware clamps, available in the hardware section of-you guessed it-The Home Depot. Make sure you have plenty lights. I have 2 sets of double-mounted 500w halogen rack that comes with a 6-foot stand to mount them on if you want. The reason I like these lights is because they have hi and low luminance settings. You can switch them on to give you close to 10,000 lumens per light. Plenty to light a scene and make it look like daylight. We used these to shoot our satire Rockstar Energy Drink commercial.
I also have a couple of single mounted 500w halogens (one I use for a backlight), and two double-mounted 250w halogen with 3-foot stands. I use these four lights (2 for each mount) to cast an even light on my "green screen".
Sound is also important. When you do video productions, one of the things I notice most is that the sound quality is poor. Audiences are very fickle. They decide to look at your video to be entertained. If they have to work to listen to the words, they will tune you out. Who wants to work when all you want is a little entertainment from your computer while you're supposed to be working at work?! The built-in camera mic is usually not sufficient enough to pick up clear sound. The ambient noise and room echoes that occur during a shoot will distort the subject's voice creating just enough of a negative impact on the final cut to make choosing an upgrade a high priority. Don't get me wrong, you can get away with using the onboard camera mic. But if you plan on using your video to promote yourself or your company either online or via DVD, then by all means upgrade your sound!
I use a wireless mic system that can plug directly into the camera and use a quality boom mic that remains close to the subject(s). When you are setting up your shots you should use headphones and test the sound before you shoot. If you hear buzz or noise-in our case we heard crickets, (which can kill a joke!)-it will interfere with your viewers enjoyment.
A quick note: if you are shooting a single subject. You might want to consider using a Lapel microphone. I use a Shure PDX UX-13/90 wireless mic, when I'm shooting single subject, (mock newscasts, or talk show style shots) I have the receiver plugged directly into the camera. It records a very clear sound and makes the final product look very professional.
Your Sound Stage:
Now that we have the equipment, we can set up our makeshift soundstage. First things first: Hang the green screen. Since ours is a roll about 9 feet across I found a used pole from a pool skimmer and ran it through the roll, then hung it on large hooks that were secured in the ceiling joists.
Unroll the "greenscreen" and you have your background. Now it's time to light. Set up your double-mounted 250w light stands at 45-degree angles about three feet in front of your green screen on both sides. Turn on the lights and adjust them so that your green-screen is lit as evenly as possible. Make sure there are no "hot-spots." "Hot-spots" will change the hue of your green color (make it look yellow in spots) and make it difficult to remove in the post -production process.
Your subject should be placed approximately three feet in front of the green screen. Now the lighting for your subject(s) should be at 45-degree angles several feet in front of your subject and above your subject. You must light both sides of your subject. You can choose to have one set of lights as your primary light source and the other set of lights as your fill light, but lighting both sides is a good start. If you decide to play with the lighting later to achieve different effects that is up to you. Watch to make sure whatever shadows are being cast from light your subject are not on your green screen or in your shot. You can accomplish this by adjusting the angle that your light is shining on your subject, forcing it to be cast to the side and down away from your green screen and thus, your video frame.
Last, you must set up a backlight or halo light. I mounted a 250w halogen on the ceiling facing down at an angle behind the subject so it casts light on the top of the subjects head and shoulders. This helps to rid shadows behind the subject, but most importantly it helps the subject "stand out" from the background and it gives your video a professional look. Watch your evening news. You can see how the backlight is used to highlight the news anchor's shoulders. Or watch David Letterman or Jay Leno and watch to see where the shadows are. This will give you a good idea where the lights are placed in their studios to you can use your imagination to duplicate it in yours. Play around a little. You'll see that, it's not too difficult with a little experimentation-yeah, that's what they said to Dr. Frankenstein!
Finally you're ready to shoot. Pre-planning is essential to any video shoot. It's best if you map out what you are going to shoot first, it may seem like a time-waster, but in the end, it is a huge time saver. The more organized you are in the beginning, the easier it is to edit and finish. If you are shooting a sketch, make a storyboard of key scenes and angles that you want to shoot. If you are shooting a single person mock newscast, know your lines or make cue cards.
Once you plan, now you can shoot. Capture each scene and mark it. How do you mark it, you ask? Well, you can get a clapper at any gag store and use it to mark your scenes just like they do in the movies, or you can just stand in front of the camera with a legal pad with the title of the scene written on it so that camera can see it and the take. (Save paper by just crossing out the previous take-number and writing a new one). Marking the scenes will help you in the editing process when you are capturing the footage on the computer editor. This way you can fast forward through takes and you know to stop when the funny-looking guy stands in front of the camera with the legal pad! You check the scene on the screen and determine whether that's the one you wanted to keep.
Editing The Video
After you have fun shooting your event, it's time to edit. The first step is to capture your video. With the popularity of video sites like YouTube, video cameras are now becoming very user-friendly when it comes to getting your video online. Whether you record your video to DV tape or DVD or Flash memory, camcorder companies and computer manufacturers are making it easier and easier to get that footage on the computer and edited. Most computers come with built-in, ready-to-use software that can walk a user through transferring their video to the computer.
With my camera I use IEEE-1394 firewire, created by Apple for the transfer of the video. It is the fastest peripheral transfer standard yet to be developed which is great for transferring a lot of data, and when you're talking about video data…that's a lot of data. To give you an example it takes about 1 gig of memory to record 4 minutes of video in an uncompressed format like "AVI".
Transferring video on to your computer is called "capturing" the video. Basically because you want your computer to capture the video in a data format so that you can manipulate it and edit it using special video-editing software. You can use the software that comes with your computer or you can buy something that has more power. Here's the catch: the more powerful the software the longer it takes to learn. I prefer to use software that's in between. I use Pinnacle's Studio Ultimate 12, because of it's ease-of-use and it's powerful chroma-keying technology. I also have Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 on my computer. It's a much more expensive program but I found that when it comes to chroma-key technology it really falls short and since my videos are all about creating locations using green-screen technology, I find that using Pinnacle is a must. It can really remove the green background and put in any other background I choose…cool!
Now it's up to you to cut and edit and create a really exciting, funny or informative video. You'll find that whether you are using the editing software that came with your computer or upgraded software like Pinnacle or Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro, there are tons of cool transition effects and special effects. They can be a lot of fun, but here's a little piece of advice: If you look at any professionally produced video on television, you'll find that the use of transitions is usually limited to the basic wipes, dissolves and fades. A good rule of thumb is: Keep it simple and you'll find that it looks more professional.
Jerry Corley is a veteran comedian of 20 years. He founded the Writer's Forum at the Beverly Hills Friars Club. He's been a contributing writer to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and currently teaches "Comedy Writing Secrets" at The Standup Comedy Clinic in Burbank, CA, a six-week, high-impact stand up comedy course that focuses on helping the student of comedy learn to write comedy on demand. |
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