emergency, there's an emergency going on...

So I've been in pre-production of a school film project for about two or three weeks now. It's nothing mind bogglingly major, rather just a test of own skills at managing a project of this magnitude. And an IB project for marks .

Anyhow.

I need the cheapest (read "cheap but do-able") solution for greenscreens. I'm setting up a 5x3.5/5x4m greenscreen in the school gymnasium (just enough for two saber duelists with some space to move) but I'm not sure what available materials I'll be able to afford. I'm running on an extremely tight budget here because of family reasons. I was thinking of doing some kind of petition accompanied by a demo reel for financial support from the school, but I doubt they would go along with that, and it would just take too long.

Secondly.

What other equipment do you recommend, or what other advice/tips do you have to share with greenscreen filming? (Just FYI, currently looking for lighting.)

And thirdly.

Is it possible to shoot a tape on a NTSC camera, and capture that tape onto a computer from a PAL cam? It would save a LOT of hastle.

That's all for now.

Would appreciate any help given .

- Me

EDIT: Yes, I googled. Yes, I looked around stores.

 

All you need for the screen really is a wall you can paint and Chroma paint.

One thing I would recommend at the very least renting would be a light meter. It's the only way you can properly light your screen and your talent. Also, get the brightest lights available for your screen, and smaller lights for your talent.

But other than the meter there's nothing I'd really say you would need for the screen.

As far as NTSC to PAL, my Hi8 camera boasts it can do it, but not all can as far as I know of. The main difference between NTSC and PAL is power and frame rates. NTSC (colour) is 29.97 fps at 60 hz, and PAL (colour as well as black and white) is 25fps at 50 hz. Technically it shouldn't work, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Or, well, it could hurt. But just the tape, not you.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=90460&is=REG

Quite expensive. Just to put me in perspective, what area would one gallon of paint cover?

EDIT: Ugh... link too long, just copy/paste.

I also checked out the light meter. Don't have that kind of money.

Note: We want to pull this project off without any major financial complications. This will more or less be the demo-reel to attract foolish pay-pal donators later . Kinda. For now, we operate low-budget. Very low.

 

If you would have clicked on the "Specifications" tab while you were viewing that item at B&H, you'd see exactly how much space it covers.


Approx. 300 sq. ft. per gallon

 

Cheap but works...

You know those tableclothes you poke holes through at parties?

Ya.

They work.

I was at Party City the other day and got eight, about 11x8 for $0.50 a piece. Eight of um came up to $4 dollars, and I'm sure that would be plenty. I only need 3 and I covered an entire wall in my basement.

I filmed my footage, put it in Vegas, did the chroma stuff, and it looks great. The wrinkles where the folds were still show, but I didn't really take much time to smooth it. Maybe if you made a frame out of 2x4s and stretched it between them. The results were surpisingly professional. I myself was amazed.

The blue stuff works better than the green. I have tried both.

For lighting, I just used floodlights stuck to old tripods with the heads off. Seemed to work fine. I wish I had diffusers though...

As for the PAL and NTSC thing... I see no reason why not. I don't honestly know though.

Hope that helps!

Chris
Comitar Studios

 

You may find that posterboard, being less reflective, is easier to light evenly and doesn't spill as much as those tablecloths.

 

I think one can of Chroma green'll be enough.

What surface though? We can't paint the walls.

 

Why? You can paint 'em back when you're done. It'll make them look better than they are now, they'll have a whole fresh coat of paint.

You may find that posterboard, being less reflective, is easier to light evenly and doesn't spill as much as those tablecloths.

Tablecloths are waterproof, spilling isn't a problem. noot.

edited out unneccesary comment

 

My first greenscreen I did was made with a bunch of green posterboards... It was a cheap alternative that worked good, but didn't last unfortunatly.