Mighty Ducks... Wha, How? O_o Options

[Dinaga]

OK, now I have your attention, great

I've been thinking to improve the quality of my videos, and I want to be able to put a custom background, instead of my boring room. I assume you use a greenscreen? Could you please give a short insight of what exactly you do to put a background when you record your videos for lessons, collabs etc.? Which software do you use and how do you set up a greenscreen like the "Mighty Ducks" one in Heavy Metal Shuffle lesson? I am a total idiot in this, and I wanted to hear it firsthand from the Master, not from some generic internet article.

And of course, thanks a lot in advance

This post has been edited by Dinaga: Feb 5 2012, 03:40 PM

[Ben Higgins]

Yo D-Master !

My 'green screen' isn't a real green screen. I just use a light blue sheet, which would be a bed sheet or something. Try to hang it so there is not to many creases. Next thing to think about is lighting. Ideally, you would have more than 1 light source. You'd have one big light source that provides the majority of light and then a secondary light source that shines between you and the backdrop to try and eradicate any shadows. It's very hard to get rid of shadows and I can't do it 100% but the basic rule it: the better the lighting and the less shadows, the easier it will be to replace the background with a picture.

Also, try not to stand too close to your backdrop.. it's better to have more space between you and the backdrop so you can use the light sources to elimanate as many shadows as you can.

What video software do you use ? I use Sony Vegas. In the effects plugins it has something called 'Chroma Keyer'. This allows you to mess around with the colour of the backdrop. Sometimes when you insert the effect it may even detect your video settings and automatically apply a suitable neutral chroma setting. If this happens then you can drop in a photo onto another channel and you should be able to see it.

I do recommend watching some tutorials though, because they will help you a lot better than me because I'm quite crap, really !

[Dinaga]

Yo D-Master !

My 'green screen' isn't a real green screen. I just use a light blue sheet, which would be a bed sheet or something. Try to hang it so there is not to many creases. Next thing to think about is lighting. Ideally, you would have more than 1 light source. You'd have one big light source that provides the majority of light and then a secondary light source that shines between you and the backdrop to try and eradicate any shadows. It's very hard to get rid of shadows and I can't do it 100% but the basic rule it: the better the lighting and the less shadows, the easier it will be to replace the background with a picture.

Also, try not to stand too close to your backdrop.. it's better to have more space between you and the backdrop so you can use the light sources to elimanate as many shadows as you can.

What video software do you use ? I use Sony Vegas. In the effects plugins it has something called 'Chroma Keyer'. This allows you to mess around with the colour of the backdrop. Sometimes when you insert the effect it may even detect your video settings and automatically apply a suitable neutral chroma setting. If this happens then you can drop in a photo onto another channel and you should be able to see it.

I do recommend watching some tutorials though, because they will help you a lot better than me because I'm quite crap, really !

Thanks a lot for the advice, sensei! I already watched some lighting tutorials on GMC and they explain the lighting pretty well, but I didn't know how to do the picture thing Now I'm glad I don't have to buy a special screen, I honestly didn't know you can use bed sheet, haha!

Well, it's hard to admit it, but I've used Windows Live Movie Maker so far for video editing just because of its simplicity, it gets the job done quickly! But I'll have to install something more advanced for this, I guess Will have to try out Sony Vegas. And of course, I have to get a better camera, with real HD resolution, but now I know a lot more about this. Thanks a lot again Ben!

[Ben Higgins]

Thanks a lot for the advice, sensei! I already watched some lighting tutorials on GMC and they explain the lighting pretty well, but I didn't know how to do the picture thing Now I'm glad I don't have to buy a special screen, I honestly didn't know you can use bed sheet, haha!

Well, it's hard to admit it, but I've used Windows Live Movie Maker so far for video editing just because of its simplicity, it gets the job done quickly! But I'll have to install something more advanced for this, I guess Will have to try out Sony Vegas. And of course, I have to get a better camera, with real HD resolution, but now I know a lot more about this. Thanks a lot again Ben!

No problem Man ! Vegas is fun but it looks like there's some pretty cool free stuff out there these days as well so you may not even need to get it. Todd Simpson posted about something that's free and does the same things as Vegas !