Feature: Page (1) of 2 - 05/15/09
Email this story to a friend. email article Print this page (Article printing at MyDmn.com). print page facebook

Keying virtual backgrounds for "Hellevator"

Three FX artists/video producers detail their FX techniques

By Heath McKnight

In the past two to three years, I've been relying more and more on using green screen and chroma keying for my film and video work. After working with visual effects (FX) artists, I began to realize there is nothing complicated when using software to key virtual backgrounds and sets in.

In this article, three different FX artists/video producers detail what software and hardware they use, and their technique. Also, I will discuss and review virtual sets that you can purchase and begin working with immediately.

Hellevator
Hellevator
is a short film written by David Michelinie, a prolific and legendary comic book writer who worked with Bob Layton on the famous Iron Man stories "Demon in a Bottle " and "Armor Wars," among many others. He also created the Spider-Man villain Venom. I asked David to write a short film that would be confined to only one or two locations, and he came up with the script for my new film Hellevator  (www.hellevatormovie.com).



Behind the Scenes of Hellevator

"Star Greg Nappo gets a gets a helping hand from Key Grip Chris Alonso.

We scouted many locations with elevators and decided the best thing to do would be to shoot the film 100% in front of a green screen and create realistic elevator and office interiors. Since the film is about a fired worker who rides on what may or may not be a haunted elevator, I spent more time with star Greg Nappo (www.gregnappo.com) in rehearsal so he'd be fine working without a set.

Director Heath McKnight and Cinematographer Matt Miller with the Panasonic HPX500.
Matt Miller (http://mattmiller.net/) was the cinematographer and one of the visual effects artists, and we decided to shoot the film with the Panasonic HPX-500 in 720p24 (native 24p, no pulldown), which features three-2/3" CCD imager chips. The film was shot at the Green Apple Group in Jupiter, FL, with Patrick Speicher (www.kirtapproductions.com/) supervising the set. The crew evenly lit the green screen and used Chinese lantern balls (made with glass) to help produce an even, diffused light to mimic elevator lighting.

Getting background plates of a real elevator.

 
Page: 1 2 Next Page
Related Keywords:chroma keying, virtual sets, visual effects, filmmaking, independent filmmaking,
Related Sites: BN - Acquistion ,   BN - Panasonic ,   BN - Sony

Related Newsletters:
Source:Digital Media Online. All Rights Reserved

DMO TEXT LINKS
(Click here to place a textlink on this site)

Vegas Pro 10 Available Now
Professional HD Video, audio, and Blu-Ray creation.
CLICK HERE!!!

Draw it. Build it. Make it.
Reset Your Skill Set.
Pratt Institute, CLICK HERE!!

Wii U Scheduled to Launch Christmas of 2012
Japanese video gaming company Nintendo is releasing a new model for the Wii U for next Christmas. Read More
Quick Look: Nextbook Premium9 Tablet
It has a 9 inch Capacitive TFT screen that supports multitouch operation, a 1280x800 display and a front facing camera (2MP best suited for video calling but there as a camera if you need it). It comes with 4 GB memory, expandable to 32 GB via microSD ram. Has a G sensor so you can rotate to what ever view you prefer. Built in in speakers, WiFi and USB. OS is android 2.3. Read More
Samsung posts record Q4 earnings
Samsung's quarterly earnings up 76 percent, with smartphones and chips driving profits. Read More
WiGig: More than Wi-Fi on Steroids
With speeds of up to 7 Gbps and virgin spectrum, the forthcoming WiGig technology gives enterprises a much needed alternative to Wi-Fi. Read More

@ Copyright, 2011 Digital Media Online, All Rights Reserved

Webmaster
Digital Media Online, Inc.