Tips to Set Up a Green Screen Area by Cole McNaughton

Have you ever wanted to create a fantastic scene from a movie? Maybe you would like to bring an image to life from a book? Green screens and some imagination can help. Over the next two weeks, I'll share some tips and ideas for using a green screen.

Before we begin, it is worth mentioning that a strong setup is very important for planning a scene. Here are a couple of tips peerspace.com recommends to aid with your projects:

1)      The subject matter should contain contrasting colours. Avoid wearing or using anything with colours similar to the green background, this includes tattoos with colour. This causes a hole in the subject and can make the editing process more difficult. In short, avoid wearing green.

2)      When setting up the green screen, make sure to stretch out any wrinkles and use even lighting on the background. This can be done with portable lamps. Shadows come through during the editing process and will need to be removed manually.

3)      Try to have some distance between the subject matter and the background. Being too close can reflect green onto your subject or even cast shadows on the screen itself. Using a blue screen can minimize this issue but creates its own problems as blue is naturally a more common colour. This would have us return to tip one.

Now that the fundamentals have been covered, I recommend experimenting with your setup. Find what works best for the room it is in. Temiskaming Shores Public Library supplies access to a green screen wall in the Creator Space that is open to the public during the hours of operation. If the individual or group needs access to a device to record and work on the editing process, our library can lend out its iPad during that time. If a library member would like to do green screen projects at home or outside the library, there is a portable green screen that can be signed out.

Next week, I will share some gathered ideas that can be done using a green screen.