Green Screen Made Easy (eBook)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS CHROMA KEYING?
Learn about the terminology and history of the craft of chroma key.
CHAPTER 2: TO BUY OR BUILD A GREEN SCREEN
Learn the pros and cons of buying vs. building your own green screen.
CHAPTER 3: POPULAR OPTIONS FOR BUYING A GREEN SCREEN
Learn the pros and cons of options like cloth, portable flexscreens, and X-Drop backgrounds.
CHAPTER 4: BUILDING YOUR OWN GREEN SCREEN
Several options are discussed, including rolled paper, walls, flats, foam core, vinyl, and cloth. Also, learn how to build your own cyclorama green screen studio.
CHAPTER 5: GETTING YOUR BACKGROUND ENVIRONMENTS
There are multiple background options: photography, video, digital matte paintings, 3D Rendering, and more.
CHAPTER 6: LIGHTING YOUR MATTE FOR MAXIMUM KEYING SIMPLICITY
Learn about positioning your lights effectively and types of lighting, including additional lighting elements to make your colors “pop.”
CHAPTER 7: LIGHTING AND POSITIONING YOUR TALENT FOR OPTIMAL BLENDING
Pre-Planning the lighting to blend between foreground and background planes, placement of the actor, and other blocking considerations for the best results.
CHAPTER 8: CAMERA TECHNIQUES FOR CLEANER KEYS
Master how to up your camera for great keys, including the optimal distance and behavior of your camera, and how to achieve higher-definition footage than you’re shooting.
CHAPTER 9: PRODUCTION IDEAS FOR CREATIVE GREEN SCREEN USE
Learn about how to create effects like The Invisible Man and Sin City: A Dame To Kill For Makeup, how to shoot flames or smoke, and more.
CHAPTER 10: PRODUCTION CHECKLIST
19 rules to shoot by, The Golden Rule of Green Screen, and 7 things to prep your talent for optimal shoots.
CHAPTER 11: KEYING ESSENTIALS
Get to know keying workflow and the order of operations for the best results from postproduction.
CHAPTER 12: PREPARE YOUR FOOTAGE
Prepare and repair your footage to give you the cleanest key and improve your workflow, learn terminology, and learn what not to do when keying.
CHAPTER 13: KEYING TOOLS
Learn about some of the keying tools in compositors like Adobe After Effects and The Foundry NUKE, as well as a few excellent third-party keying plug-ins.
CHAPTER 14: MASTERING THE ART OF KEYING
Learn the Multiple Edge Mask Technique in After Effects and how to deal with difficult edges, motion blur, spill, and other problems you may encounter.
CHAPTER 15: MAKING YOUR COMPOSITES LOOK BELIEVABLE
Master the technique of matching color and grain, using a light wrap, matching shadows, and creating your own cast shadow. Finish off the shot with some color grading and adding film grain.
CHAPTER 16: CONCLUSION
RESOURCE LIST
GLOSSARY
ABOUT THE AUTHORS