In this presentation and live show, we demonstrate how our customers are using green screen, chroma key technology to create professional videos. The presentation includes tips from industry professionals and customer use case scenarios to help everyone learn how to properly use a green screen.

1. Tips for Green Screens &
Virtual Sets
A PTZOptics Back to Basics Presentation

2. Tips from Industry Experts
Eastern Shore Broadcasting,
Alabama, USA
Eric Pratt
US Broadcast & Virtual Set
Works
MKBWebinar
Utrecht, Netherlands

3. Tips from Industry Experts
Jason Jenkins,
DVeStore
Andrew Haley
TeleStream / Wirecast

4. Green Screen Set vs Real Studio Set?

5. Virtual Background vs Real Studio Set
Green Screen Pros:
1. Instantly Changeable
2. Dynamic Overlay & Chroma Key
Options
3. Virtual Sets
Cons:
1. Requires Green Screen
2. Requires Good Lighting
3. Can be difficult to set up
Real Set Pros:
1. Always looks realistic / Hard to
mess up
2. Easy to add multiple camera
angles
Cons:
1. Real studios are difficult change
2. Can be more expensive and
harder to change branding

6. Types of Green Screens
1. Fabric
2. Composite Components Fabrics
3. Painted Walls
4. Collapsable Fabrics
5. Pull Down Green Screens
6. Reflective Fabric

7. Ways to Use Green Screens
1. Live Video
a. Virtual Background
b. Remote Guest Locations
c. Virtual LCD Screens
2. Forward Facing
a. Chroma Key Virtual Background
b. Virtual Set
c. Digital Salesman
3. Video Production
a. Backward Facing Video Production
b. B-Roll
4. Multi-Angle Virtual Sets
5. Creative Projects

8. Tips from Tom Sinclair
Green Screens are all about lighting
Light the screen separately from the talent (that’s
you!)
If you use 3-point lighting for the talent, add three
more lights for the screen. One left, one right and
then a halo light above or behind the talent that
puts a soft glow on the top of their heads (the
halo).
This helps separate the talent form the green
screen behind them.
Eastern Shore Broadcasting,
Alabama, USA

9. Tips from Tom Sinclair
Don’t wear green!
If you get artifacts in your chroma key, that means
you need to adjust your lighting.
Eastern Shore Broadcasting,
Alabama, USA

10. Tips from Eric Pratt of Virtual Set Works
1. Invest in a good quality camera.
The quality of your Chroma Key
will depend on the camera sensor
size.
2. Invest in good quality lighting.
Match the virtual lighting with real
lighting to create a realist effect.
3. Use Virtual Camera Motion to
introduce interest and add to the
quality of your production.

11. Tips from Eeuwit Klink
You can use Green Screens in creative
ways.
Check out this 16:9 Green Screen TV.

12. Tips from Eeuwit Klink
A green screen television will
show no glare like a real TV. It
was built to fit on a tripod stand.
It’s build from a MDF board with
a 16:9 ratio with green screen
paper attached. Around the
broad Eeuwit has a black board
and used a VESA mount
pattern to attach the screen
onto a tripod.

13. Tips from Andrew Haley - The Ideal World
● Spend the time and money to set up a pro green screen studio where you have
enough room to shoot feet to head with green all around you for wide shots,
mediums and closeups
● Walls that aren’t green should be matte black and sound proofed to absorb
light/minimize reflection and noise
● Rig a separate lighting rig just for green screen, even lighting, no shadows,
brightly lit but not blown out
● Subject should stand 10’-20’ in front of the green screen to minimize bounce and
splash
● Light foreground subject separately, match lighting to virtual set/background
make sure you light head/shoulders properly to remove fuzzy edges/green spill
● Hair is the trickiest thing to chroma key – spend time lighting it properly
● Ad blurs and filters to your backdrops/virtual sets to mimic focal lengths
● Use moving backgrounds not static ones when possible/appropriate, even a small
amount of motion can give “life” to a fake background
● Ad props/real-world effects to match backgrounds as appropriate
● Spend time testing ahead of time – different skin tones, clothing, props will key
differently and you will need to fine tune as you go (there is no 1-size fits all)

14. Tips from Andrew Haley - The Ideal World
● Get something green behind you (could be whatever is in your budget - construction
paper, bedsheet, paint, $100 green screen kit from Amazon, just do it)
● Light it – go to the hardware store, or buy some $100 lights on amazon – bright softbox
lights and LEDs best, they have a better, even lighting, and they keep cool
● Usually you will use some of or many of the same lights to light your foreground
subject that you are using to light your green screen -- that’s ok, you can get by doing
this -- but your mileage will vary depending on A) amount of light and B) quality of your
chroma keyer
● You generally won’t be able to match your background lighting, so, try to pick
backgrounds that match your studio lighting (hint – even lighting on everything or pick
abstract backgrounds) ;)
● If you are too close to your green screen (because of space issues) get more lights on
your subject, and, in a pinch, you can use some magenta gels (B&H Photo) neutralize
some of the green bounce/backsplash
● Don’t wear green ;)
Remember, even a bad green screen is more fun than no green screen… if you don’t try it, you
won’t be able to make it better and improve. And you will be surprised at the creative
possibilities that will open up once you can “teleport” yourself anywhere. It’s totally amazing.

15. Tips from Jason Jenkins
Jason Jenkins introduced us to the ReflecMedia
green screening technology which has been a
joy to work with. Here are some tips from Jason:
1. The minimum working distance between the
LiteRing and the talent is 10 feet (3 meters).
2. The closer your talent is to the Chromatte
screen, the better the results.
3. The Reflecmedia system is intended for indoor
applications.
4. You may not need as much LiteRing intensity
as you think.

16. Tips from Jason Jenkins
New users of the Reflecmedia system tend
to make the mistake of overcranking the
LiteRing intensity. Using a waveform
monitor is highly recommended, because it
allows you to see the exact brightness of
the screen in relation to the talent. A
general rule-of-thumb is to keep the
background at 50 to 60 IRE, with the talent
showing highlights at a much higher IRE.
The snapshot below will give you a rough
idea of what a good exposure looks like.

17. Quick Tip from Kyle Gunderman
A great paint color is Sparkling
App S-G-430 for painting a
chroma key wall.

18. Customer Case Study: Edgar County Watchdogs
The Edgar County
Watchdogs are a group of
concerned citizens. Their
purpose is to foster
accountability, truth, and
transparency in our local
governing bodies.
This is a 25’ wide room with
vaulted ceilings.
After a tornado squashed away John Kraft’s 2 car garage he rebuilt it into a studio.

19. Customer Case Study: Edgar County Watchdogs
The wall is painted flat Chroma
Green. There are hooks in the
wall that can be used to hang
banners. John unplugs all
equipment when not in use.
John is in the process of adding
2-3 more lights and is
considering adding overhead
lights as well.

20. Customer Case Study: Terje S. Skaarhaug Digital Salesman
Terje is from Drammen,
Norway and represents
PTZOptics in the region.
Here is his digital
salesman studio.
This is a great way for
studios to create
sales/marketing videos
in a professional setting.

21. Customer Case Study: Julia Finney
Julia is from Lake Havasu
City, AZ and has a few tips
from her home Green
Screen Studio.
1. Although we painted our
green screen 10' tall it can
always be taller.
2. We didn't paint the floor
green, instead a pale grey,
now we regret it.

22. Customer Case Study: Julia Finney
3. We chose to put in
baseboards... again a decision we
now regret, especially since they
are bright white.
4. Our outlets are white too, so
hiding them can be difficult.
We kept the furniture small and
portable so that we can move
things and switch out items
depending on what we are filming.

23. Free Virtual Sets for All!
Join the PTZOptics User Group and search for Virtual Sets. There is a free
download for over 20 of our premium virtual sets.