Practice with the technologies

Before filming our final piece we had to be trained on how to use chroma key and the green screen in the studio. We were given a pack to go through so that we could learn how to cut out our character in order for us to place them in front of different backgrounds. First we had to be shown how to light the subject against the green screen. By creating an even spread of light against the screen, using the lights provided in the college studio we were able to eliminate most of the green in the background, before actually removing it through chroma key on final cut express. We then had to make sure that we lit our subject properly to avoid their outline being noticable against the background and to avoid dark shadows appearing on their face.
We also learned how to move the character to different points on the screen and  how to change the size of our person.

Here is the short sample clip that we created.

Overall, I think for a first attempt at using chroma key, we did a pretty good job. There is a clear, sharp edge around Alistair, rather than the kind of halo effect which appears when the subject has not been lit properly. The background is completely solid, with no sections of green apparent. The only problem with this video is that Alistair's outline is ever so slightly wobbly, rather than being smooth all the way around. When using the greenscreen in our actual video we may have to try out a few different ways of eliminating this and may have to film some of the same shots more than once, to ensure that this effect does not occur in our final piece. We will also allow the charater to move around in front of the greenscreen in our finished video, which we did not test the effect of in our practice training.

Photography and lighting

By Evie