During the production of the Perfect 10 music video, we used a green screen to put our actors against different backgrounds. A green screen works by filming against a green background and then, during editing, replacing this colour with an alternative background. Green is usually used because it is the furthest from skin colour so when the colour is altered during editing, the colour of the actors isn’t changed. Green is also a fairly uncommon colour for clothing so it does not limit what can be worn. In the music video, we have Mr Grant wear a green t-shirt to show what happens when the actor’s clothing is the same colour as the screen. The result is a fuzzy mess.
As we discovered, the biggest challenge when using the green screen is lighting. Shadows become a significant problem when the subjects are not lit correctly. The problem becomes apparent when it comes to keying out the green of the background; it becomes difficult to key out all the green smoothly because there are different shades of green. This can be remedied by widening the range of colour that is being replaced. This means that the darker shades of green that are in shadow can be replaced but also means that some parts of the subjects may also be replaced, if they are the same shade. Thankfully, the footage we have is not ruined and, during a free period, I was able to key out the green. The other problem I encountered was green present on the outline of the subjects. This can be reduced by adjusting the chroma key until ideal.
I don’t think that I will need to use the green screen for my music video because I don’t think I will want a background exotic enough to need the use of the green screen. I feel that the green screen will only be necessary if it is impractical to actually film the subject in front of the background. I can’t think of anything that I would do in my music video that would need this.
McGarry A2 