Australian film - Federation of Australian Movie Makers

It was just as well she came as we wanted a volunteer to pose in front of the Blue screen. None of us were
agile enough to hop on to the table let alone cross our legs in a yoga type position. I’m sure if any of us had
tried we would have needed to be extricated by the fire brigade!
The main thing with Chroma keying is to make sure your screen is pulled tight enough so you don’t get any
creases showing, not easy unless you can rig up a special frame. Uwe would be very good at designing a
suitable portable frame as illustrated in “Tips & Tricks”.
Care must also be taken on lighting the screen and the subject. First light your screen as evenly as possible
so you don’t have any hot spots, then place your subject at least a metre in front and light her separately
making sure you don’t cast any shadows on to the screen.
Bear in mind what your background is going to be and
light accordingly and of course remember about perspective,
you don’t want a giant standing in the middle of a
busy street.
Carol sitting on the ‘Flying’ carpet
The group eagerly filming Carol
Err! Mike the gun goes off at.12
whether you are standing in front of it
or not!
Mike’s “Noon Gun” production is coming along well and should
be completed in plenty of time for the Protea competition. (See the
PVC article on Pg 8) It is surprising how much material you need to
make an interesting short story, the majority of which has been
taken from old drawings and paintings of the period.
Using stills to enhance your production
Uwe asked in V-Vibes- “any thoughts on how much material should be your own in a video and would
such a video be accepted in the Protea competition”? The straight answer is yes we would accept anything
providing it wasn’t indecent or felt that it could cause offence. Whether the judges accept a video made up
from other sources would depend on them. I believe since the popularity of the ‘History’ Channel and the
Ken Burns method for simulating movement in still photos, drawings and paintings, it has become more
acceptable to use other sources to enhance ones production. We shall wait and see!!
Peter Smith.
(Editor’s Note: Please ensure you have Copyright approval if you are using other people’s material and
don’t forget to credit your sources.)
Reprinted with permission from the Protea Video Club of Cape Town South Africa.
Australian film & video
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