Green Screen Problems

[Aj123]

Hi,
Not sure if i am in the right forum, sorry if it is the wrong forum. I am having green screen problems, I set up green screen (photo attached) as you can see in the picture. I am trying to do a full body shot for a website spokeperson but can get it right. I always get shadows under the feet, I have set up the green screen and followed all the rules. 2 lights for green screen both have the 5500K 85W bulb without diffusers. One hair light for talent same temp and wattage as the two for green screen. The key and fill light for talent. The fill light has diffuser and the key light doesn't. The green screen is smooth and you barely see any wrinkle on the bottom. I used both final cut X's keyer and After effect Cs5's Keylight. Still not good results, My question is that what is it that i am doing wrong with this green screen? Thanks in advance for replies.

[Aj123]

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The camera i am using is Canon XA-10

[david walsh]

Long Shots (including feet) are never the easiest, but you have no where near enough room. You wouldn't want to do anything more than mid shots in that space, and that's pushing it.

Your lightings still way wrong for that anyway, but there's no way to correct it, even that in that space.

David.

[Aj123]

Is there anyway you could tell me the correct lighting. I have a bigger space i could use, i just need to know the correct way of setting up the lights. Most people did this way but i guess that is wrong. Thanks in advance

[Zero]

I know there must be a reason that you need full length, but you could save a heap of work by going head and shoulders, or having the talent sat behind a desk or on a stool. The solution to shadows under the feet won't be the easiest -

[Thurston Lang]

Tiny interview softboxes... still throw shadow,

you could try simply hanging a couple of sheets of diffusion in the same places (roughly) and banging your lights through that.... at a distance .
I don't know if you have the room.

You need diffuse light....all over..... and your lights are all at the same height and the diffusers are too small.

Frankly - if the guys going to just stand there...... i'd light him without worrying about green screen then in AE or motion make a mask / rotoscope feather it by 2 px and cut out the background that way.

[Rembrandt Rob]

Try using the walls as reflectors. Point your lights at the walls and bounce the light onto your subject.

[david walsh]

Try using the walls as reflectors. Point your lights at the walls and bounce the light onto your subject."]Try using the walls as reflectors. Point your lights at the walls and bounce the light onto your subject.

That's a good idea, but your walls look off-white so it could cause problems, bouncing it off white reflectors would solve this. If going that route I'd more inclined to bounce the lighting for the screen rather than the subject. But even then it's a compromise as it's harder to control spill when bouncing light and the key to lighting green screen is all about control.

If you have a larger room you want to get in there.

You want to get the lights further from the screen, about the same distance away from the sides of the screen as it is wide. Your using the same lights to light the screen as you are the subject, this is a problem. Forget about diffused light, you want the light nice an clean. If you have barn doors use them instead of the boxes, they offer better control in directing your light to keep the screen and subject separate.

Use the light to the right to light the opposite side of the screen and vice versa, this crosses the lights and gives an even balance. If you can get that back light behind the screen pointing down it will work better as it will keep it from affecting the back wall of the screen. You really want barn doors on this so you can close it down like a letter box and minimise the amount of light effecting the floor, this way anything that does affect the floor will be front of the subject anyway and be of minimal issue.

You also want another 2 lights, get those 2 that your using for your subject down lower to wash away the shadows at the feet, sadly you can't cross these to get the better control over an even wash, dim them low and as a last resort maybe diffuse these, but really try not to. Use the 2 new lights as a fill and key, you may want some diffuser on your fill, dim this to half that of the key.

It's not uncommon to be doing a little roto-work around the feet of a subject shot like this.

David.