The Green Screen Handbook: Real-World Production Techniques

I purchased this, after having heard an interview with the author on the Digital Production Buzz podcast. I got the Kindle edition and immediately poured through it on my iPad Kindle App. (BTW, Kindle app is ok, but... better navigation and searching is needed. I guess I should review that app later...)I liked the book a lot, though I also thought it had some holes. Jeff Foster goes to a lot of trouble to tell point us in the direction of how to build cheap lights to light up your green screen, but then he leaves out, what I thought are important details about some very basic things, like, how bright should you light it up for optimal usage. He mentions using Scopebox or other RGB scope applications, which cost several hundred dollars, when there are simpler ways to determine the optimal brightness of your green screen, such as using zebras on your camcorder, or spot percentage luminance meters that tell you what a center spot is at. By the way, after looking through the book and not finding the 'cheap' way to do this, I just looked on the internet for a few minutes and found out that about 50% or 50 IRE is a good amount for your green screen luminance.I'd also like to know if we can use gels on daylight balanced lighting to simulate the fairly expensive Lowelite solution that includes green or blue colored tubes. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just buy a $5 gel and put in in front of your home-made or 3rd party daylight fluorescents and get the same effect as a $1,500 system? With a little investigation I did determine that probably I can get some +1 Green (or blue) filters to do this, however, jury's out on whether that might work or not.I also didn't particularly like his recommendation against using Sony camcorders to shoot green screen, because of their lack of some type of color accuracy quality. I'm not sure exactly where this comes from, as Sony camcorders are used in Hollywood to shoot all kinds of green screen stuff (like Star Wars?). I have a Sony EX1, and even when using the XDCAM EX codec, a 4:2:0 variety, I'm able to pull immaculate keys with it, so I just don't understand the statement. Please, at least qualify statements like this with some examples.I did like his recommendation of using a Lastolite rather than using muslin material. Based on his recommendation, I got a Lastolite reversible green/blue screen and it was terrific, and though not cheap, it was much easier to light and less prone to wrinkles than my 'el cheapo' muslin reversible screen. Last time I used the muslin one I spent a couple hours trying to steam out the wrinkles and they were a problem when it came to the keying software.All in all, it helped me, was a bit frustrating in places, but I liked it --as well as being able to instantly get it and begin reading on my iPad. This is the way we will all be consuming books, especially reference books, in the future. Amazon, get the iPad Kindle to do searching! Also get the Mac Kindle app to do that too, please.

Jeff Foster's "The Green Screen Handbook" is a thorough, detailed description of how to shoot green screen video.The book provides a wealth of in-depth information. It describes:-Multiple setups that one can purchase or construct to create your green screen shooting space or studio, ranging from budgets of a few hundred dollars to more expansive setups;-The various lights and lighting arrangements that one can use when shooting green screen--again, providing information on an array of lighting choices, from the homemade to the professional--and how to use and vary these when shooting;-Digital cameras in green screening, how to shoot both live to broadcast, as well as for video productions;-How to position, direct, and light your actors/talent so that it best maximizes the use of the green screen;-The use of the many software programs and plugins available to composite your results, including information on the advantages of different programs;-How to composite shots from multiple colored screens;-Using virtual sets;and considerably more.This is an extensive book. It provides information on how to use green screen for productions ranging from home studio and relatively smaller scale/indie productions to green screening for major motion picture releases. It offers troubleshooting advice. And it includes, in the print version, a DVD with example and sample footage. The book even provides a history of the technique.If you are looking for a detailed, extensive book on the tools, techniques, and processes of shooting and creating "green screen" footage and live green screen broadcasts, from the set-up to the fine tuning of the results, from the small budget to the major film, and from the build-it-yourself to the professional gear, "The Green Screen Handbook" offers all of this and more. The Green Screen Handbook: Real-World Production Techniques

The author clearly knows his subject and has gone into great detail to explain the use of green screens in cine / video and photography. The book is clearly written with a great deal of emphasis on the use of green screens in cinematography and less on general photography. The author further focused a great part of the book on the use of expensive high-end lighting equipment and high end video production software. He did include a small section on budget lighting. As a result, I found myself constantly using the internet to look up terms used by the author or calling my son-in-law who works on a Hollywood movie set as a lighting expert for assistance in understanding the concepts. I believe this book should be in every cinema movie director's library. However, casual video camera users and still photographers may want to look at other resources. I gave the book four stars only because the author did not fully explain and define the concepts.

This book is really helpful in regards to cinematography and preparing for a Green Screen Shoot. If you are expecting to learn how to do CGI with this book, be very disappointed. It's about "keying" and how to get a good "key." It is very helpful in regards to blue and great shooting, complicated Green Screen shooting, and fixing those problem shots that people just LOVE to give you to MAGICALLY fix bad footage. :/ It is a much have for a cinematographer and post production enthusiasts to understand the basics and technical ideas that should be in dialogue when preparing for a Green Screen shoot.

Semplicemente un must per chi si interessa di green screen. Lo trovo perfetto. Ricco di esempi e molto curato in tutto. Lo consiglio a tutti coloro i quali vogliono farsi una cultura con esempi su come realizzare gli effetti green screen. Approvato al 100%