Top Tips: Virtual Green Screen Services
Any fan of CGI-reliant movies like Marvel or Michael Bay blockbusters will be familiar with the concept of green screen recording. This game-changing technique helped transform the capacity of Hollywood movie studios in making awe-inspiring visual effects. From dragons to dinosaurs, Mars to Westeros, goblins to gorillas, the sight of spandex clad actors with attached sensors and far off stares into blank neon vistas are now a common part of ‘behind the scenes’ excerpts. But green screen services and technology is now no longer the purview of movie directors and big-budget TV shows. It has become more and more prevalent in the world of virtual events and business communication, particularly in the last few years. The sheer fact of being able to create more immersive and exciting content, without the necessity for a huge crew or film set budget, has transformed the way companies can utilise technology to connect with their teams, their audience and their stakeholders. If you have been looking into green screen services that could work for your organisation, we’ve put together some top tips, so you can get the best results.
How do green screen services work?
An insight into how it is done in the movies provides the simplest explanation, “a green screen is a large green backdrop placed in the background of a shot to allow for digital effects later. In post-production, the special effects department will edit the background with CGI (computer generated imagery) or background footage called ‘plates’”. The process is known as chroma keying or compositing which is where two images, the subject in front of the green screen and the special effects, are layered together. One of the earliest known uses of the technology was in 1903 when filming The Great Train Robbery were the train windows were painted black to allow the team to add passing scenery in at a later date. In terms of marketing and communication, businesses can use green screen to showcase a vast range of content in a highly professional, engaging and impressive manner, often adding gravitas and innovation in surprisingly impactful ways.
Top Tips From the Experts
At Serindipity Solutions we have extensive experience in green screen services as part of our virtual solutions department. We know how valuable it can be as a medium for companies of all sizes, particularly given its versatility and budget-friendly options. But any investment into technology for communication purposes should be as effective as possible, which is why we have put together these tips for you to bear in mind before selecting any green screen services.
- Start with the end goal in mind… No matter your budget, it is crucial that the product or visual is worked out fully before commencing, even if you can’t afford a Studio Art Director to complete a full storyboard. Forward planning can properly equip the lighting and camera team and enable them to make the scene look believable. Ultimately, if it is captured wrong, no amount of post-production work will be able to fix it.
- Get the lighting right….. The professionalism of the end result will rely heavily on how much time you were able to give to ensure the lighting was correct. Large, soft, diffused lighting, positioned on both sides of the set will help to eliminate shadows and evenly light the subject and the green backdrop separately to ensure a nice even key is achieved in post-production.
- Separate the Subject…..Keeping the subject away from the green screen as much as possible will make life much easier in the editing room. A better separation will increase the amount of flexibility in postproduction.
- Review as you go….. A good practice is to record some footage and play it back as the shoot progresses. It will allow presenters to get a sense of the end product and adjust their output and the film crew will be able to look for shadows or lighting spills that can make life difficult when it comes to editing post shoot.
- Plan any cropping carefully….. Poor planning will result in the camera team cropping out feet and hands that will look really strange in post-production and remove any allusion that the background is not real.
- Get the green background correct….. Creating a smooth seamless green background is an essential step. Chroma paint, whilst more expensive, will always give a better result than green commercial paint. Even scratches can show up on the post shoot edit, so they should be removed from hard surfaces prior to filming and if you are using green fabric, it should be under tension with no visible ripples or folds.
- Allowing enough time to edit….. The editing process will take longer in post-production, so you need to make sure you allow enough time between the recording the and the delivery deadline. A simple rule of thumb for regular footage is for every one day in studio allow three days for editing, and double this amount for Chroma.
- Finally, don’t wear green and avoid shiny surfaces…. This one might be obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people make this mistake. Your wardrobe and set dressing can have a big impact on the final product. Reflective surfaces can catch the green colour from the background and cause editing problems and the wrong colour clothing (mostly green and white) can cause a range of issues – and a host of memes – just ask Queen Elizabeth……
If you are interested in finding out more about which green screen services could work for your business goals, get in touch today with our expert virtual team on john@serindipityevents.com or 050 5944226 today.
