Where can I film a short video with a green screen?

Digital Media
#1

Hi!
I’m Kim and I’m a total noob at filmmaking, so forgive me if I’m asking something that has already been answered. I’m filming a series of comedic sketches that I wrote and I need to film one of them with a green screen, because it takes place in a supermarket. I am a makerspace member but my actors and crew are not.

  1. Is there a room in the Makerspace I can use for a couple hours to film this sketch? I saw a video of someone painting a blue wall, is that something we can use as a green screen? How can I ensure there isn’t background noise while we’re trying to film?
  2. What kind of equipment does the makerspace have that we can use? What’s the policy for reserving a room or borrowing equipment? Can we bring our own equipment?

This is the sketch I want to film Sneaky Snacks YouTube.

Thanks so much!!!

#2

There’s actually a “class” on the calendar on 2/2 to learn to set up our green screen.

I know nothing about the event but it sounds like you get to be the manual labor to help set up for a film that will be shot the following day, specifically focusing on the green screen setup. It sounds like a good opportunity to learn about the equipment have.

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#3

Hi, I have another commitment during that class but I am interested in learning and watching them film. The class description says to send a message to jloukus on Talk, but I don’t see an option anywhere in Talk to send him a message. Is there a way to contact him directly? @jloukus I want to learn how to set up the green screen so I can film my own film using the green screen. Can you please help me understand the process?

#4

Looks like you figured out how to tag him! In the class description he used the word “at” to represent the @ sign and that’s what you were missing.

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#5

Here I am. I’m relatively new at the makerspace, but I’ve been doing chromakey work for decades, both professionally and for my own projects.

The scope involved in chromakey production is heavily dependent on your script and storyboard, but it’s very plausible to pull off a handful of shots using a green cloth and a stand.

Good lighting, a plan for edit, and for sourcing backgrounds, as well as an understanding of the post production involved are all critical to success.

The cameras at the makerspace is somewhat less than ideal for production of this sort, but it is achievable. There are plenty of stands, and cloths, and lighting available. The computers in digital media have the software required to do effective chromakeying if it’s been correctly shot.

There has been discussion about doing a series of classes on this topic because of my expertise in it, so I think we could probably pull something together for next month if we have active interest like this.

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#6

In my office now, so I just wanted to follow up with more specifics on your original post,

I’m Kim and I’m a total noob at filmmaking, so forgive me if I’m asking something that has already been answered. I’m filming a series of comedic sketches that I wrote and I need to film one of them with a green screen, because it takes place in a supermarket. I am a makerspace member but my actors and crew are not.

Cool.

Is there a room in the Makerspace I can use for a couple hours to film this sketch?

For this upcoming shoot we have, we got cleared to reserve a space that we’ll configure and then reset when done. This is a little atypical but this is our second time doing it, really, and we haven’t had any show stoppers. The digital media room is the space “for” doing this, but it does have some space limitations and is subject to… intrusion.

I saw a video of someone painting a blue wall, is that something we can use as a green screen?

I also recently inquired about this, and I gather that this is a pretty old video from something like 10 years ago from a time when everything was in a different place and what I was told is that space as depicted doesn’t exist in the same way anymore.

How can I ensure there isn’t background noise while we’re trying to film?

Good forethought, and I don’t know that there’s a good way to totally ensure this. This coming shoot for us will have us very adjacent to the woodworking shop and it’s a known issue that we’ve accepted as part of the complexity of using the space. It’s our intent to shoot around intrusive noise and be prepared for extra takes, and there’s always ADR if all else fails. The digital media room is relatively far away from the louder noise makers, but that doesn’t preclude people in the hallway, and this is also subject to changes in building layout happening soonish.

What kind of equipment does the makerspace have that we can use? What’s the policy for reserving a room or borrowing equipment?

The cameras are locked up and there’s a simple Digital media course to take on the learn site for getting access. There are a bunch of gopros, but the main camera that would hold any interest for the kind of use case you and I are evaluating here is a sony a7s, if memory serves. For what it’s worth, I’m bringing my own.

Can we bring our own equipment?

I haven’t heard of anyone having a problem doing this as long as it’s not being stored someplace that will confuse everyone.

Happy to consult with you further, I’m usually in the space on a midweek evening.

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#7

Hi Joel,
Thank you so much for the info. Turns out I can come to the class after all! I’m excited to see how you set it up.

Who needs to clear it? How do I reserve it, and was it free?
Thanks!

#8

We’ve pretty much been following the protocols for general class scheduling, the clearance in this case was really about doing a very atypical two day reservation of the space because of some intensive setup required, and those were just conversations with board members. There was no additional cost associated with this.

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