My First Chromakey Studio Setup

[Anonymous]

Hello! I am building my first Chromakey studio and I wanted to get some expert opinions before I push the go button. I have the camera and tripod but I need to buy lights, greenscreen and microphone. Here is what I have picked out so far:

Blue/Green screen from Lastolite:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/254350-REG/Lastolite_LL_LC5787_10x12_Blue_Green_Chromakey_Background.html

Lighting Kit – 1500 total watts.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/490320-REG/Savage_M31500_Variable_Power_3_Flood.html

Wireless Mic- Sony
UWP-V1

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/553681-REG/Sony_UWP_V1_3032_UWP_V1_Wireless_Lavalier_Microphone.html

The studio will be portable and I plan to set it up like this:

I’m going to position the two lights behind my talent so that It lights up the green screen nice and evenly. I’ll only have 1 light for the talent, so I’ll probably raise it as high as it can go and try to point directly at their face. Is a hair light and dim light absolutely necessary to have pointed on the talent? What if I moved my two side green screen lights back just a bit and had them hit the two sides of my talents face + the background while I used the key light directly on their face.

For the audio I want to treat the space a bit, but panels are not an option because the studio will be portable. I was thinking of hanging up some moving blankets on the two sides of the green screen going back towards the camera to absorb some of the sound. Would this be a good idea?

Also, am I going overkill on the wireless mic? I just really want good audio. The videos I produce with this setup will be for product demonstrations.

Am I forgetting anything?

Thank you so much!

Dave

[vid-e-o-man]

Dave, you might consider reflectors to help your existing lighting units to do double duty- hair lights, fill etc. You just have to watch any shadows on the green screen.

[vid-e-o-man]

Dave, I clicked on the links for the equipment that you areconsidering and notedthat the lighting has fan cooled lights. It might be a problem for noise pickup on your audio in your video.

[Luis Maymi Lopez]

I wrote an article in my blog about how to light a greenscreen a la guerrilla style. Basically you need to light the screen as evenly as possible and the talent separately. You can achieve this easily by lighting the greenscreen with 2 of the softboxes your interested in buying and using the other one for the talent. For better results follow vid-e-oman advise on getting some reflectors because you can point your talent light to the reflector and it will act as a simulate second light. The hair light is important because it separates the talent from the background (in this case green) making the chroma keying process a lot easier. Ideally you light your talent with three lights, using the three point lighting approach, and your greenscreen with two softboxes.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for the responses!

Vid-e-o-man: I had read about the noise issue with those lights, but I just assumed all lights were fan cooled. Do you possibly know of a keyword I could use to find lights thataren’tfan-cooled, and thus a little quieter?I willdefinitelyconsider the reflectors, I am so glad I came to this forum or I wouldn’t have thought of that at all. Thanks!

Sargehero: Great blog post! I’m going to start looking for reflectors now asap.

Thanks guys!

[Yvon]

Hi,

Consider to use softbox with neon lamp (new type swirl) this is cool no noise and low cost and last. Some use 3, 5 and up 9 lamps. Reflectors is a must or simply a white card board or foam board.

2 softbox to light the green screen

3 point light for the talent

Talent is about 5 to 7 feet in front of the green screen that the reason I prefer neon lights over other type if you work a close room less heat generated better working environement for you and talent.

Now you can find low prices on soft box and stand.

Regards,

YR

[Anonymous]

Hey guys after doing some more research I think I am going to go with this combo now.

3 point kit:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/622667-REG/Smith_Victor_408105_Economy_Softbox_3_Fluorescent.html

2 lights for the greenscreen:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/742111-REG/Interfit_INT293_Super_Cool_lite_4_55.html

both fluorescent so even balance of light temperature. Both run cool so no noisy fan… Only 300 bucks more :/ What do you think?

[vid-e-o-man]

Dave, these look like a good starting point for your endeavors. As I read the comments on these light sets, I notes that you should take your timeon initial setup till you get the hang of using them.If you would want to go in a more economical direction with some do-it-yourself equity, you could look for some work light stands or clamp light fixturesthat hold these spiral lights (CFLs). The problem is to find CFLs that have high color temperature (like sun light). I have found one source GrowersSupply.com . I am sure there are others. This catalog supplies the greenhouse industry so sun lightcolor temperaturelights are stocked. Just be sure that you check the color temperature, wattage and the type of base of each bulb. Keep shooting.

[Yvon]

Hi,

The best lamp I build myself all my studio lighting equipment and the best lamp found it is Philips Bright White 23 Watts equal 100 Watts incandescent light) this is 5000K also you can use Daylight type 5500K I use exactly the same design than conventional soft box. 4 bulbs or 5 bulbs with 2 thickness of silk diffuser (WallMart or any store selling) bulbs from Home Hardware.

Pay attention not to use a diffuser too thick to judge it place you hand behind the cloth you must see it

Regards,

YR

[Author]

Posts