
With apologies to Kermit the Frog, as well as Wayne and Garth, it is easy being green and you are worthy! Worthy of using green screen effects, that is—read on to learn what components you can use to add an impressive green screen (chroma key) effect to your video project.
Background
To get that zesty, rather odd shade of green as a background for your talent or product you can choose between paper, fabric, or paint. Paper is the most affordable option, but it’s less durable than cloth or paint. Options include the Savage Wildetone Seamless Paper 107" x 36', which you can roll out in a new section as you need a clean piece, and easily cut it to fit your space.
Cloth
Fabric backgrounds are available as fabric alone or packaged with a support system. Choose from the 10 x 12' Chroma Sheet Background from Impact, the Westcott 9 x 20' Wrinkle-Resistant Background, or the Photek GS12 Background with a grommeted rod pocket, useful if you already own stands or have other means of supporting/draping the cloth. The portable Westcott X-Drop 5 x 7' Kit includes material and a means to hang it.
Secure the edges of your cloth, join two pieces of fabric, or cover small tears or stains with chroma key green tape. For smaller areas, collapsible backgrounds (think of a pop-out reflector but on a bigger scale) like the Impact Collapsible 5 x 7' Background, or the Angler Chromakey Collapsible Backround (5 x 7') are easy-to-use picks.
Paint
When you’ve graduated to a legitimate studio space, or otherwise have access to a physical wall that you can repaint, roll on some Chroma Key Green Paint like this 1-Gallon Can from Rosco. Paint is the most durable option for a green background and has the advantage of not wrinkling the way fabric does sometimes, but it does require that most limited of commodities for most creators: a dedicated space!
Lights
Don’t blast the green screen with light. Soft, even light is what you’re going for. The screen should be exposed ¾ to a couple of stops below your subject to maintain saturation and to help prevent green “spill” from falling onto your talent. Depending on the size of your shot, you’ll need—at the very least—one light for the screen and one for your talent. A two-light setup will suffice for a waist-up shot, but you’ll want at least two units to illuminate larger green screen evenly, plus a fixture or two for your talent. Try to match your subject lighting to the look of the background you’ll be using. A nightclub scene and a beach will require a different touch.
These more affordable LED light kits will get you started with two or three light panels, stands, and a soft carrying case to carry and store everything. Single and double LED light combos can be used to fill out your existing lighting kit. Turn to the Impact Single Socket Fixture and 4 Socket Adapter to use widely available compact fluorescent bulbs up to 105W for an affordable lighting option.
Complete Kits
If you’re starting from scratch equipment-wise, consider an all-in-one kit including lights, backgrounds, and stands, such as the Impact Background Support Chroma Kit from B&H Kit or the Westcott Ilusions uLite Kit.
Cameras
If you’re exploring green-screen techniques, chances are you already have a camera, but if you’re purchasing one for the first time or you’re looking to upgrade, choose a 4K camera if you can. The higher the video resolution, the better your effect will look; if you’re shooting HD, always choose a progressive frame rate over an interlaced one. Read about why progressive is better and other green screen techniques in Steve Gladstone’s Green Screen Do's and Don'ts. Camcorders range from the compact, live-streamable Mevo Plus to the UHD 4K Sony FDR-AX100 UHD camcorder and, of course, you can use your DSLR or mirrorless camera’s video mode, as well.
Software
Check out Jen Hahn’s article on Software/Tools for Green Screen to understand how compositing works, how to choose the right editing software with green screen tools, and why green screen is sometimes blue or, indeed, other colors besides green.
So get started green-screening with a basic setup and explore other effects that you can create with components available on the B&H Photo website and in the B&H Photo SuperStore, in New York City.
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