Advice: Blackmagic Pocket Camera and Green Screen

[Oliver Daniel]

Hi. 

 

I am looking for advice on a project. As I have limited green screen expereince, I want to make sure i get it right. I'm much more an 'on-location' kind of guy!

 

I've just been assigned a music video project using green screen and the Blackmagic Pocket Camera. Its a mickey take on Japanese infomercials.

 

The screen is painted 18FT wide, and we will be shooting around 8FT before the wall.

 

I have in my ownership 3 Dedolights and 2 Kino Flo Divas 401s. I know I will require more lights to light the screen (as my owned lights will be mostly lighting the actors), and I was thinking of mounting some Kino Flo 4 banks on C-stands high. The studio location has no lighting grid at the top. 

 

The Pocket will always be on a tripod, filming wides, mids and close-ups of the products/adverts the Japanese people are 'selling.' Got the Panny 12-35mm and 35-100mm, the SLR Magic 12mm and loads of Canon FDs.

 

Does anybody want to give me any advice about this and the use of the Pocket camera? It would be much appreciated. I'm certain I'm doing everything right, just want to make sure I have everything in tow. 

 

Thanks. 

[Ben Prater]

If you have Kino's available and can dump enough light on the green screen, I don't see any problem. The goal with green: plenty of light, consistently lit, no spill from the greenscreen itself to the actor, and no spill from the green's lights back to the actor. (Maximize distance of talent from green, as much as possible.)

 

Otherwise, I think you are in great shape. The BMPCC is a capable camera, so if you nail exposure and focus, you shouldn't have any problems in post knocking out the green.

[Oliver Daniel]

Thanks for that  :)

 

I'm pretty much setup now. Got everything to minus the spills.

[maxotics]

Just curious, Ben.  I have limited experience with green screen, but I eventually decided that it was better to have an evenly lit green screen than a brightly lit one with any shadows, or green reflection on back of subject. (Obviously, best to have both well-lit)   That is to say, I couldn't fix the matte by throwing more and more light on it (but maybe I just didn't try hard enough).  I eventually focused on my subjects and just watched that the green screen wasn't un-even.

 

Also, I found that a dimly lit green screen, around the edges, could be matted out in post.  So more important that I was lit properly in the center of the frame, both subject and green screen.

 

If those things are true, might help Olly.