Setting up a green screen can be a real hassle. It used to take an me at least 45 minutes to hang and light my old 10×16 green drape. But I was never really happy with the final result. My lighting would usually be a little off and there was always a stray shadow or wrinkle that I couldn’t get rid off. So I’d have to spend even more time in post-production playing with masks and the keyer effect’s settings. But no matter what I did, I could never get the effect to look absolutely, 100% perfect.
And then one day an idea hit me: What if I put away all my LED panels and work lights and just set up my Green Screen outside in the shade? I did a quick test shoot and I was amazed by the results. The lighting on the subject and the screen were beautifully smooth and even. It turns out that when everything is in a shadow, nothing is in a shadow. I think the process is pretty self-explanatory but I went ahead and made a how-to video that shows off the final effect:
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So long story short, if you want to try this trick you need to:
- Use a portable green screen
- Set up outside in a shaded area
- Film while there’s still a lot of ambient sunlight
- Adjust your exposure and white balance for shade-shooting
Trust me, once you try filming this way you’ll never want to waste time lighting a green screen again.
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