How do I make the lighting nice and even, like they do on green screens, they put some sort of material over the lights so that they don't cause a bounce of light off of the green screen. What material is that? and what lights should I use, where should I position them and how far away should the camera be? Thanks!
-Sean, Video Director
This is a relatively simple answer, because I do have a green screen.
WARNING:
Lighting can be dangerous! There are Fire and Electrical hazards while using improvised lights and diffusers!
The secret to having balanced light on a green screen (or blue, same principal) is multiple light sources that are commonly diffused. To achieve a diffused light source there a a few ways, depending on your light source and your budget.
I'm going to assume you are working an a small space in a makeshift "studio", so I'll give you the most economical path:
I suggest you first go to Wal-Mart and buy three work lights (about $20-$50 USD), preferably with stands, not clamps. You don't necessarily need to diffuse the light source for the backdrop, hard light (light that isn't diffused, like the sun on a sunny day) could be used, but you will undergo a lot of trial and error.
With the three-light "kit" you will use two lights to evenly light your backdrop, and one to light your subject
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR SUBJECT 5-10 FEET FROM YOUR BACKDROP if you don't do this, harsh shadows will be added to your backdrop, ruining your shot or video.
Now that you have your backdrop lit, you need your subject lit, otherwise you have a back lit subject, which is rarely a good thing. For the subject, you almost
ALWAYS need a diffused light source, hard light on a subject is ugly. Period. To achieve a diffused light I highly recommend that you buy professional flame-retardant soft boxes and diffusing material (found on amazon and any camera show that sells lighting material). If you don't have money for said diffusers, any white translucent material would work (paper, a white t-shirt, ect.), but make sure it is far enough from the bulbs where it can't catch fire.
Never leave improvised diffusers unattended, not even for a minute.Placement of this light, like the backdrop, is up to you, as long as it doesn't cast shadows on your green screen (some shadows are okay on other backdrops).
If you still don't have the money for the work lights I explained, you can improvise with standing and clamping lamps, light is light.
I hope this helped, if you need anything else, just post back here. Although I explained everything in a Photography standpoint, it is all the same when talking about continuous light sources.
-Daniel
