Using the "green screen"

Ever wonder how people get those colorful, moving graphics behind them in a video? How about how television weather presenters (better call them meteorologists) point to the map and look at the camera? This is all done using a chroma-key green (or blue) screen. In Mark Apsolon's "The Essential Video Production Guide" on YouTube, Mark shows us the basics of using a chroma-key screen for videography and photography. You have to make sure your background and foreground are well-lit. You also have to know the different settings for using chroma-key for outdoor scenes as well as indoor scenes. Mark also says that there are different ways to edit your chroma-key graphics. The "colorful, moving graphics" I described earlier are called "motion backgrounds." According to Mark's teaser (I did not use the full video for this blog), "chroma-key is the merging of two or more images to create one image; it involves the removal of a specific color or range." There can be problems experienced using chroma-key. Those problems could range from software or computer malfunctions to wearing green (or blue) while standing in front of the screen. Why can't you wear green or blue when standing in front of a green or blue screen you may ask? When people see you standing in front of the graphical background, it will look like some of your body parts (legs, upper body) are missing. I personally experienced that when visiting the CNN Center in Atlanta. I was wearing a blue shirt when I volunteered to stand in front of the blue chroma-screen that the weathercasters use. I found out that if you are going into television news, weather, or anything that requires use of a chroma-screen, prepare to choose your wardrobe carefully (do NOT wear blue or green). Also, I learned that you probably should not wear tye-dye while standing in front of such a screen.

Before...
...and after.