31Aug Green Screen with ReflecMedia
This week we got to play with ReflecMedia’s Chroma background kit
, and this thing is pretty wicked! Before we dive in, let’s talk about some basic green screen methods. If you have a bit of knowledge with Green Screen, it usually requires some additional lighting, specifically for the Green background. You try your best to light the background as evenly as possible trying to minimize shadow casts. All of this additional lighting (often large softboxes), lots of space, and this can all generate heat in the small room you’re working in.
The ReflecMedia kit may not be as good as a full green screen studio, but it makes quick and simple work of ‘green screen on location’. The ring light shines against the backdrop. The special background with glass beads reflect the light and it appears to be a very even distribution of Green (or blue) color. That’s very important to have an ‘evenly diffused color of green’. It’s effective at pretty far distances too as seen in the video example. You no longer need to light the background, just the subject. We managed to key out the background pretty well with just Final Cut Pro, and keep in mind we’re also not experts with this. We lit this piece using the cheap softboxes found below.
2000 WATT Digital Photography Lighting Studio
The price is a bit high for most green screen hobbyists, but there are some huge benefits if you’re often doing green screen location shoots. The entire kit packs up fairly small, and you only need to be concerned about lighting for your subject. There is also a kit with a very large Pop-Up background which doesn’t even require backdrop stands. Just lay it up against a wall, which makes this whole kit even more portable. We’ll be doing more tests with the ReflecMedia soon, but it can be found on eBay (click here).
ReflecMedia Chroma Light Ring Bundle Kit
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August 31st, 2011 at 7:21 pm
Hi, doesn’t the ring light cast a green tinge on the talent’s skin?
thanks.
A+
August 31st, 2011 at 7:31 pm
@Alan – No it doesn’t. The video with Olivia has no color correction done to it, and we were able to key her out pretty well (not perfect).
August 31st, 2011 at 9:05 pm
$1,600 can buy a nice backdrop and a whole lot of lights. I like that you only have to light the subject but still, that’s pretty darned expensive.
August 31st, 2011 at 10:01 pm
@Kerry – Yes it’s the whole convenience over price thing. Truly does work great for on the go and small setups, but you could achieve the same results with just some home depot lights and a green paper backdrop.
August 31st, 2011 at 11:18 pm
I gotta go with what Kerry said. Definitely for convenience, but I would happily pay a fraction of that getting a bunch of nice interview lighting and backdrops. Definitely for the people that have the $$$$ to spend for it. Admittedly a very cool invention though!
September 1st, 2011 at 2:58 am
This is pretty neat… uber expensive though. It would’ve been cool if you could use it for any background that had a flat surface. (i know, impossible)
September 1st, 2011 at 4:19 am
I actually have one of these with a backup powersource/adapter. If anyone is interested, reply to this and I’ll throw it up on eBay for like, a third of what they’re going for for Cheesycam readers. I’ve used it once or twice. No background though.
If not, back to the closet it goes! Lol.
September 1st, 2011 at 1:43 pm
If this company made the price a bit lower I think theyd have an interesting product.
September 2nd, 2011 at 4:56 am
I’m a compositor and I’ve been keying on material shot with this system. And I found it diffucult with the green dot in the talents eyes during close up interviews.
I’m a fan of the old school way!
September 2nd, 2011 at 2:22 pm
@lucky it’s pretty useless without the backdrop though, it’s the backdrop with the beads that reflects the light from the ring…
September 21st, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Doesn’t work if the subject wears glasses.