Outdoor Greenscreen-ing Tips and Advice

So, me and my classmates are creating a mythological short film for our class. I’m the editor of the film but I need tips about doing VFX. : D

The camera that will be using is not DLSR and we can’t adjust the ISO. And that really results to horrible noise problems specially in the dark shots.

Lighting shots better is the only way to reduce the noise but sadly, I don’t have any studio light or reflectors to use and that made me an idea to just shoot outdoors, specifically the park.

Is that even a good idea? We have night scene… Will thst be a problem or could I just composite it? Any tips on doing green screen effect outdoors? Im just an amateur CG artist… Lastly, what time of the day is best for this kind of VFX? Obviuosly noon is not the best time because I live in Philippines, hot tropical country. Suggestions?.. Advices?..

Lewis07,

Do you have any foam core board or foil that you can use to create a light reflector. If you have any CFL bulbs you rig your lighting. see link for an example: http://www.blendernation.com/2014/08/22/lighting-hacks-filmmaking-on-an-ikea-budget/.

I’m planning to use a greenscreen outdoors in my next film, too. My biggest concern is keeping shadows from tree limbs and people off of it, and if I can do that I’ll have a perfectly even green, which is what you need in order to do effective keying. If you have an overcast sky, you’re in luck. I’m planning to shoot at a specific time of day to minimize shadows, based on where the trees are around my set.

If you’re outside, you’ll have to worry about the light on your actors. Again, overcast skies are your friend, because harsh sunlight looks terrible on faces, especially with low end cameras. You could use a reflector like browneditor said. Alternately, I’m considering using a tent to shade the actor completely and thus avoid direct sunlight.

As for night, look at pictures of the night to get ideas. Avoid shooting the sky because that’s a dead giveaway for daylight, use white balance to shift the colors in the blue direction, and darken your image at least a little bit. If your movie sounds like the night (owls, crickets or whatever you have at night in the Philippines) it’ll help sell the effect.

align your screen to be backlit by the sun. No shadows then and even lighting on the actors.