Being Invisible With Green Screen Film Making

In the old days of movie or production was common practice to have actors stand on a stage with a revolving drum or video showing scenes behind them

. This gave the illusion that the actors were actually standing on a ship or driving through the countryside. Modern film making has abandoned this practice and now use what is called green screen film making.

This modern technology has developed a method for putting two images together in which the color from the first has been removed allowing the image behind it to stand out. An example of this is the news forecaster seen on television. It appears that he is standing in front of a large map when, in reality it is a blue screen background with different maps added wherever the color is located.

Blue and green are the colors primarily used in backgrounds with green being most popular. This is because the modern cameras are most sensitive to this color and less light is needed. It is also less likely to match other things appearing in the completed screen such as blue clothing. Prior to the modern digital camera blue was the color of choice.

The important point in doing this type of filming is to be sure that the colors do not match and cancel each other out. The colors in a digital TV are red, green and blue so it is not difficult for the correct combination to be used. If it is found that they do match each other, an alternate background video is used. Care must be taken that the clothing worn, by subjects in a video for example, not be the same as the key color in the background.

One prime example of the use of this technique is when a person is to appear invisible in a movie. With a blue background, if the actor wears blue clothing he or she will blend into the background and disappear. This is called an 'invisibility cloak' and is used in films such as the Harry Potter series. If there is a problem, for example, with someone in a green costume then a blue background must be used if they are to be seen.

A number of things are involved in using this procedure, especially where people are appearing in the video. Blue, for example goes well with human skin tone so is preferred for things such as special effects. However, it does not work well in scenes where there is a blue sky as the color could disappear. In this case, green is the preferred color and it requires less light with the digital cameras.

In film making, especially special effects, artists choose whatever background will work best with the subjects involved. Red is not used very often with people, because of skin tones, but is commonly used in outdoor scenes. Magenta is also used on occasion.

There is no doubt that filming has come a long ways compared to the beginning. The development of the digital camera, applications of green screen film making and other advancements in this area has allow the creation of effects previously only dreamed of. Other very interesting filming applications are currently in use or in the experimental stage and, as time advances, it will be interesting to see what develops next.

by: Lance Thorington

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