1. Don’t over expose the screen. Under exposed screen is better than over exposed. Too bright increases spill and decreases saturation. One stop under is okay.
2. Light screen evenly with softboxes/diffusers. Check with light meter within 1/4 F-stop variation and all same temperature.
3. Avoid using dimmers on screen light (talent is okay); they create flicker, which may not key every other frame. If dimmers must be used, test in keyer on-set before shooting.
4. Turn off any in -camera color gain or filters, sharpening or detail. Don’t forget to set white balance!
5. Place talent as far from screen as possible to avoid spill. Light talent separately to match planned backplate, avoid unwanted light spill and shadows on screen. Don’t use colored backlights to reduce spill. Turn off the screen lights after everything is lit to see actual talent lightning.
6. Use blocking tape with color close to screen so they both key in one pass. Use tracking marks with similar, not exact, color when crossed by talent or a contrasting color for better tracking results if track marks will not be crossed by talent. They can be garbage matted out later.
7. Avoid interlaced footage if possible. It’s just one less hassle in post.
8. Keep talent in focus, especially if using compressed footage (focus/depth can be stimulated in post). Screen out of focus is okay.
9. Keep screen as clean as possible. Dirt won’t key and must be removed by hand. Wear booties, or roll out brown paper when working.
10. All problems can be fixed in post if a sufficient amount of money is available.

Top 10 Greenscreen Tips
by Lucien Harriot, (Mechanism Digital)

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