NarniaWeb Community Forums

sweeetlilgurlie wrote:@AJ: That's cool about the bluescreen! I've always wondered if that would be possible to do with less-than-a million dollars-worth of equipment.

Definitely. You can do it for almost no money at all. I use the very thin blue curtain in my window as my blue screen. The sunlight from outside already illuminates the blue screen evenly. I set up a lamp behind my feet shining upwards to make sure my shadows don't show on the curtain, and I can chroma key the blue out almost perfectly. (Example of one of my blue screen videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug7AjKqpoTs)

You can even do it with other colors besides blue. The 2 important things are:

1. The screen behind you must have as little variation in hue as possible. (If patches of the screen are lighter or darker than everything around it, that creates problems.) This is why it is very important that the screen be lit properly, and that you make sure that your shadows don't go on the screen.

2. Anything you put in front of the screen cannot contain any bit of the same color as the screen behind it. (Rule 2 becomes a little less strict if Rule 1 is followed well...for instance, if the sheet is solidly light red, you can include something with a more dark red.) This is why bright blue and neon green are mostly used for chroma key screens, however...they're usually the least used colors for everything else in life.

Just released our latest film online this week... we've been around a few years and some of you may remember "Spy Guy" or the earlier "Chocolate Lord" films... anyway, if you'd like to check out Bashaw Production's newest film click below Enjoy!

The Chocolate Lord III: Caramelot's Last Stand:
http://bashawproductions.com/blog/?p=850

@ BowAndArrow: We really enjoyed your latest film, it was excellently done! You guys put a lot of hard work into it, and it definitely came through clearly. We also liked the inclusion of the Ginko (I think that's what his name was?) character, he was funny.

About green screen... we did our first bit of green screen when we filmed a few scenes for our (hopefully) next movie last month, and while for the most part it worked, we still had green edges around things- in this particular shot it was of people's feet walking back and forth, so there was green around their feet. Does anyone know how to fix that? Thanks for the help!

Thanks Krys Sounds like you have a lighting problem. You need lots of lights spread evenly across the screen, and it's tough to achieve that. What is your current setup?

Hmmm, thanks! Our current set up is out doors- we put up our green screen stretched across in front of our garage door, as that was the largest place we had. We filmed that scene on a really bright, sunny day. Do you know what sort of lights usually work the best for getting the right amount of lighting?

In general, bright sunny days are not ideal because they leave shadows on the green screen (which can be fixed if the subjects stand far enough away, but is impossible if the subjects have to stand on the green screen). Overcast days usually work best.

What editing system do you use, ForeverFan? You don't always need better lighting - I've been able to achieve great keying results with mediocre lighting. Try using more than one filter, so that you can get rid of two different shades of green. Make sure you're not feathering the image too much. See if your editing program has spill suppressors. Spill suppressors can be your best friend if there's still little bits of green lingering around the subject.

We use Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 Plus (or something like that...). I'll definitely check and see if our program has spill suppressors and filters- I would assume it would at least have the latter as the program appears to be one with many different features.

Thanks for the green screen tips! I appreciate them a lot- we're just starting to get into experimenting with it, so I hope we'll be able to get it working well for us.

@ForeverFan...no problem! It usually usually takes a little while to get used to green screen. Good luck on your adventures!

I recently made a music video with my brothers just for fun. While ended up using green screen, motion paths, motion blur, rotoscoping, and lots of color correcting. It was a lot of fun.

The music video is a parody of this video, and makes more sense if you watch it first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej_H8wYo2s4

And then here is the music video we made! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5RP4EXoqz8

If you have any comments/feedback to give, my brothers and I would love to hear them.

Hey Everyone!

I made a Lord of the Rings video last year for a Tolkien class. It was a lot of fun! Hope you all enjoy it! http://www.rebeccabrasby.com/portfolio_web/personal_creativity/middle_earth.html

~Arya

Good job on your Lord of the Rings video, Arya! I enjoyed it quite a bit! The premise of it was creative, and I liked the transitions between the living room and Middle Earth. Nice job on the sword fights as well.

My sister and I are slowly filming our current project (the one I believe I mentioned several posts ago), which we started last December, but due to winter and school we were not able to continue. However, since it is Spring now (and almost summer!), we were able to pick it up again. I think the break was good, as I was able to revise the script and my sister and I and Mom were able to change parts so that it will be much better, and will raise the production levels. We're looking forward to working more on it! I've also been able to do some of the editing, which was always my sister's domain previously. I'm still learning the ins and outs of it, but it's fun, and it's really fulfilling to see a scene come together.

I really like your LotR video, Ayra! Great job! Any hints on how to get your brother involved? My brother doesn't want to help me, lol!

Lucy of Narnia, trying offering him candy. It's worth a try.

My brother is a good sport about the films. We used to play around with an older camera when we were little, so he's used to be in front of the camera. He likes acting too.

~Arya

*wishes her brother was like Arya's brother*

It's really hard to make movies with only one character in it. Even harder is to control the camera at the same time. Anyone have any tips for that? My brother used to help but he's gotten tired of my films.

So how long did it take you to film that? I might be able to do something with a friend of mine...

Lu

Lucy of Narnia, it took some time to make it from start to finish. I started in September and showed the final video in December. The video was a class project. We weren't working on eight hours a day like professions do. All in all, it took about 34 hours to complete.

Good luck filming with your friends! Friend are always nice to have and are fun to film with. If you do made a film, please post it; I'd love to see it!

Here's a film idea if you like edit (which is my favorite part): trying making something with images, music, and text. It's not the traditional story filming format, but it may be something fun to do. Almost all of the work is done on the computer. It's really fun, especially if you like to take pictures. For example, here's a typographic I made. I did all the work on the computer (you don't need to bribe your actors!) Hopefully it will create some ideas. (yours doesn't need to be this complex; I'm just a film nut who likes to edit.)

http://www.rebeccabrasby.com/portfolio_ ... Light.html

~Arya

Thank you for your encouragement!

Okay, that is awesome. You are very, very good at what you do!!

Lu

P.S. I'll keep you all updated! Actually, I had an idea that my brother is actually considering helping me film!!! YAHOOO!!!

Lucy of Narnia, sounds great! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

~Arya