You’re planning to shoot a promotional or entertaining video. You’ve hired a subject so that you can combine them with real scenes to create something amazing for your audiences.
You might think that love-action videos are incredibly easy to develop as your characters and scenes are ready to record. However, keep in mind that shooting and editing live-action videos take more effort even than animated videos.
From weather to noise to traffic, there are multiple factors you need to consider that might affect the quality of your video. This is where green screens come in handy.
The green screens will help you shoot video without moving the subject to the proper location to achieve the proper scenery. As the green screen serves as the background to the subject, you can later edit it during the post-production process and replace the solid green color as per your desired footage or image. This process is known as Chroma key editing. Here are the top 3 green screen mistakes you need to avoid.
You Install the Green Screens without Measuring the Set
Many people purchase a high-quality green screen background without considering the size of the set. This is one of the most common mistakes you need to avoid. Make sure you consider the amount of movement in your videos carefully. If you’re planning to shoot an interview session, you don’t need to use large green screens as the subject will be sitting for a long time.
Additionally, you need to consider the selection of shots. If you’re taking wide shots where the subject is moving or crossing the road, you might need long green screens. In this case, make sure your green screen doesn’t contain any type of hard surface. You can choose curve green screens as they will prove effective during the keying process.
Shadows
This is another most common green screen mistake you need to avoid at any cost. During the post-production process, the video editors will suffer a lot if they notice shadows on the green screens. Therefore, make sure you pay close attention to the setup of the green screens so that you can remove all the sources of shadows.
Make sure the distance between the subject and the green screen is moderate. This is one of the most common causes of shadows. Additionally, ensure the proper positioning of the wires, props, and other equipment so that they don’t block the lighting for the subject and the green screen.
Keep in mind that a single source of lighting can cause shadows. Therefore, experiment with the location of light to balance it out. As per Academy of animated art, shadows are also important in some specific cases.
Uneven Lighting
Overexposure to light is one of the most common problems of green screen productions as they can alter the nature of the color.
To achieve a great keying process, ensure that your green screen background is lit properly. Make sure you use at least two lights that are on the opposite side of the green screen. Don’t forget to consider their placement as well as angles so that they can light up every portion of the green screen perfectly.
It doesn’t matter if you use LED or tungsten lighting; make sure you use the same light throughout the entire shooting process.
Conclusion
These are the top 3 green screen mistakes you need to avoid. When you manage to avoid these mistakes carefully, you can leverage the benefits of a green screen without facing any problems.