You remember the blue screen from iSundae II, no? Back in those days, we had no idea how bad wrinkles could be. Hours of work in post later, we emerged, vowing that we’d think twice before working with blue screen again.
Until now. Read on to see what changed my mind.
I had heard how on indie films people had used a green or blue screen outdoors. This supposedly had the advantage of even lighting without any real work. I’d always wanted to try it, but I had no frame and I couldn’t think of anywhere else to hang the screen.
My dad came to the rescue last week with a great idea: Grab a few clamps and hang the blue screen from the gutter on our house. Hanging the screen in front of the garage door ensured enough room to back off for a wide shot.
I hurried outside to try it. The day was pretty windy, so the screen was constantly in motion. This is unfortunate, since that messed up the key a little. But still, I got results at least as good as those in iSundae II with about ten minutes of work. Compare that to the hours I spent on a single shot for iSundae II!
Here’s my test video:
I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do when the wind isn’t ruining my shot!
By the way, on the subject of chroma keying, I’ve been messing around with the demo of DVmatte Blast recently. It does a very nice job!