With the launch of our new Chroma Key Studio(aka Green Screen) fast approaching, we’ve taken a closer look at the history and development of this exciting video production tool through the ages, and at what exciting projects you could use green screen technology for within your own business. Once launched early in October our own Studio will be used to capture live presentations to promote our clients, deliver safety moments and toolbox talks, motivate a workforce or launch products, with filming being mixed and streamed live. Subscription packages or one off solutions, both with finance opportunities available to spread the cost and actually save money once offset against the company tax obligations..

What is a chroma key studio?

In layman’s terms it’s filming in front of a green screen to enable the filmed images to be dropped into a virtual reality image. Chroma key allows performers to appear to be in any location without leaving the studio. Performances from different takes can be composited together, which allows actors to be filmed separately and then placed together in the same scene, or backgrounds edited - to appear as though at The Grand Canyon, or in the centre of a Volcano, or more usually in a smart virtual studio set branded using your corporate guidelines.

What is chroma keying?

Chroma Keying is the process by which a specific colour element (chroma) is removed from a video scene and replaced (keyed) with a different element (the background you wish to display instead).

How does chroma keying actually work?

Chroma Keying is the process by which a specific colour element (chroma) is removed from a video scene and replaced (keyed) with a different element. Using a green screen means there is no chance of the background mixing with the skin tone of the subject. It’s become standard for a green screen to be used for this as there’s no chance of it matching anyone’s skin tones - providing of course no-one wears a green outfit to a filming day.

Why is a green screen used?

Green is the go-to because it doesn't match any natural skin tone or hair color, meaning no part of an actor will be edited out through chroma key. When a green costume or prop is essential, a blue screen can be used instead.

How did Green Screen TV develop?

Green screens were originally blue when chroma keying was first used in 1940 by Larry Butler on the movie ‘The Thief of Baghdad’. The innovative new technique won him an Academy Award for special effects. Since then, green has become more common.

Why do weathermen use a green screen?

The special effects created during weather forecasts are added digitally - weathermen and women are actually positioned in front of, and pointing to, large green screens in a television studio.

How do weathermen know where to point on the green screen?

Practice makes perfect is really the key here. On-camera meteorologists might look as if they're standing in front of a moving weather map, but in reality, there's nothing except a blank green wall behind them. TV monitors situated just off-camera show the meteorologist what viewers at home are seeing, which is how he or she knows where to stand and point. That, and - of course - lots and lots of practice.

Do you need lighting for green screen?

Your green screen must be smooth, clean, and wrinkle-free. A critical distance between the green screen and subject means they can both be lit separately and avoid color spill.

What are green screens made of?

The fabric can vary from permanent plaster through to a portable fabric version - there are even chroma-key bodysuits, but the critical element is to use the right chroma-key paint during construction.

When should you use a green screen studio?

1. When The Project Dictates It

Some filming can only be filmed against a green screen, for example most special effects. Corporate explainer videos featuring a presenter to camera are an excellent choice to film in front of a green screen, because the background will constantly be changing with words and graphics in line with the spoken word. Projections that will be used outdoors at music festivals or to light up a building for special effects will usually be filmed against a green background.

2. When The Budget Dictates It

Like any shoot in a studio environment there is a greater chance to manage a predictable filming process – for example, you won’t have to worry about the unpredictable British weather. You can choose your location too - from major cities, to the bustling heart of a site, without costing a penny in travel fees or having to shut the site down.

3. It’s A Blank Canvas

Green screen filming gives a blank canvas for ideas. Even simple ideas that don’t require much specialist post-production can bring an idea to life in a green screen studio environment.

4. It’s a Cost Effective Environment, with Virtual Sets etc

A good example of the blank canvas point is that a green screen studio also a complete virtual studio where, to all intents and purposes, a TV news presenter can appear in the middle of a 100 screens purportedly showing events from around the world – for example. You can also place your Corporate Explainer host in any part of your site of workplace and show the environment around them, as well as having fun with more exotic locations.

5. You Can Film A Piece to Camera Without Leaving The Studio

Perhaps you need to film a long interview in a location where you only have a very limited time frame. One solution to this could be taking video or stills of the location to use as a background, and then to shoot the interview or piece to camera against a green screen. By matching the lighting of the interview with the location in post-production you can create a seamless composite that hardly anyone would know wasn’t actually shot on location.