Green Screen Studio and Lighting

Posted on December 19, 2009
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One of the toughest issues of successfully working with a green screen studio is evenly lighting it. The screen itself needs its own lighting ; independent from your foreground subject lighting.

The secret is to evenly light your screen, while avoiding the creation of shadows. You ideally want your screen to represent a single, consistent color. Remember, because you’re trying to use the narrowest color range as you can, shadows broaden the range, and are a contributor to reduced effects. If you have shadows ( darker colours ), they would possibly not be picked up by the camera, and as a result ; those areas will not be replaced. If you’re working with a low-budget setup, shadows become more difficult to stop thanks to the less expensive, less specialized materials used.

This is the reason why it is even that much more important to be sure your lighting is as even as possible, especially when working with lower budget setups. Using a minimum of two lights ( the more the better ), you must direct light inwards from either side, and from below ; modify until you get the most even lighting. Using diffusion filters makes a massive difference during this step. They significantly decrease the occurrence of shadows. Next, when you add your subject, you can spot the subject’s foreground lighting casts shadows on the screen ; you will need to readjust your screen lighting and filters for your screen color evenness again.

When selecting a material for your green screen studio, always consider the lighting. Shiny materials yield bad results, as they reflect light and make replaced areas seem paler. At the same time, shiny materials will cast shadows, causing darker areas to not get replaced in the result. What you need to look for is a matte surface. Matte surfaces will diffuse light ; causing even lighting across the entire material, and {therefore ,} a narrower color range. That is, there will be less reflected light ; paler outcomes, aand less shadows ; non-replaced outcomes. Some of the cheaper options when beginning out are solids like card or wood, painted green. Another option is a fabric like canvas painted or dyed green. Imperfections like creases, bumps or divisions in your material are an enemy as they create shadows, and therefore imperfections in your ensuing footage. If you choose fabric, ensure it is adequately thick or dense, and doesn’t let light or its resting surface show through.

When shooting with your green screen studio, your subject is also a large factor in your lighting call. You want to make a value difference between your subject and your green screen. Sometimes a two stop difference ( greenscreen is 2 stops higher or lower than the topic ) between the green screen studio and the subject is preferable as a lighting difference.