Can I make a DIY green screen or does it need to be an exact colour cloth?

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Level 1

54 points

Can I make a DIY green screen or does it need to be an exact colour cloth?

I would like to try using the green screen effect in iMovie but as I do not own a specially made green screen background I wondered whether I can make one if I buy a large piece of green material from a dressmakers shop. Can i do this or does the shade of green need to be exact? Would it be better to just buy a proper green screen from a video equipment supplier and if so, what specification should it be?

20" 2.66Ghz iMac, 15" Macbook Pro 2.8Ghz, Mac OS X (10.6), 2 external drives, 80gig 5G iPod, 16G iPod Touch. Apple TV

Posted on Apr 24, 2010 4:35 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 24, 2010 4:41 AM in response to 12frets56

I use a green wall. A green fabric from a dressmakers shop would work fine. It does not have to be perfect.

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Answer 2

Apr 24, 2010 5:27 AM in response to 12frets56

The only thing to remember though is to have a lot of good even lighting facing the wall. If you use fabric it should also be pulled tight. Shadows from folds in cloth make darker spots of color on the screen and the software will not key (chromakey) out the darker spots. One thing that I have used in the past is a bright green table cloth. I got one from Party City (6'x9') for $3.50 two of those and you're good to go! I got a bright green snuggie for christmas that matches the color of my screen! Now I can do floating head effects. Have fun! 😉

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Answer 3

Apr 24, 2010 6:07 AM in response to 12frets56

I'm using green felt - avoids reflections/'hot spots'.

no special color needed, just has to be 'plain' ..

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Answer 4

12frets56 Author

Level 1

54 points

Apr 24, 2010 7:49 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

Great, thanks, that will save me money then. I guess the best thing to do would be to stretch the fabric tight on a frame made from wood and then stand that up behind the subjects.

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Answer 5

Apr 24, 2010 11:44 AM in response to 12frets56

Hey just if you're pretty interested in film making head over to http://www.youtube.com/user/indymogul#p/p , Indy Mogul is a great place that shows people how to do DIY effects and they show some great tips and tricks. Well good luck to ya then!

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