Photo 1 Actors on Marks, Camera, Boom Mic
Are you Serious About the Future of Digital Video Technology or a Career in Video Filmaking?
By Merrill Hessel
After spending two days in a GREEN SCREEN INTENSIVE SEMINAR at the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking sponsored by the “Pixel Corps" I decided to write this article and discuss the following:
· The Pixel Corps -- a guild for the next generation of digital craftsmen where anyone can participate. It is an arena where industry experts can pass along their knowledge to experts and beginners alike. Beyond learning, this community builds a strong network where members can trade work amongst themselves.
· The San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking -- An immersive one-year Digital Filmmaking Program that prepares its students for a career in the motion picture industry,
The Green Screen Intensive Seminar
This comprehensive seminar was designed to show how to shoot HD video using green screen and compositing technology. About 20 people from all over the country flew into San Francisco to attend this unique event.
The goal of the actual “Shoot” was to make a Trailer for a Science Fiction film called Europa to be completed in 2007. The purpose of the film Europa is to demonstrate a new paradigm for the film making “pipeline” using advanced digital methods and “to be developed” digital techniques to reduce the costs of multi million dollar films by factor of up to 10.
On the set to make this Trailer (see the photos) was a famous Director of Photography from Lucas Films, Marty Rosenberg (Star Wars, War Of The Worlds, Field of Dreams, Van Helsing, etc.); the Chief Architect of the Pixel Corps, Alex Lindsay, the techie behind the computers and software; and a crew of experienced grips, production managers, makeup artists and actors.
Sony's F950 High Definition digital camera ($116,000) was used and set to 24 frames per second progressive. The uncompressed data was captured straight to hard disk array. About 4 seconds of HD captured data (1920x1080 pixels) uses about a GB of disk space. A G5 Macintosh with Final Cut Pro was used to capture and process the various takes of the scenes. The Director could look at and evaluate each take immediately.
As seminar participants, each of us was given a small iPod like radio that was tuned to the frequency of the Director's wireless mic. We could clearly hear the directions he gave to the actors and camera crew. Before each scene we were briefed by Marty on the purpose of the scene, what he was trying to accomplish, the lighting of the green screen and subjects. The story boards and script, lighting and camera setup were well understood by the entire crew. Alex Lindsay briefed us on various technical details. We had opportunities to ask questions as the scenes were setup and after each scene was completed.
The lengths of the scenes ranged from 30 seconds to about 2 minutes.
To get the proper emotion and actions from the actors the Director shot 5 to 20 takes per scene. Lighting and setting up the camera took between 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours. Before the cameras actually rolled there were several practice sessions for each scene.
A few pictures shown below will help to clarify the shoot. The green is in a corner of the studio and is lit with Kineflo Fluorescent Lamps. It is made up of two about 20 x 12 feet wooden frame beveled together to eliminate a sharp corner and painted with Rosco chroma green. The floor is covered with a chroma green material that is covered with cardboard squares to keep the floor material clean. The squares are removed only if the actors feet is required in the shot.
The purpose of the green screen is to be able to key out everything in the background and replace it with a computer generated set. For this movie a space ship and even computer generated space suits or other items are added.
The Photo 1 below show two actors on their marks, cameraman in the back on the right, along with the boom mic and the director on the right. The green screen has yellow Postit squares and marks along the entire surface at measured positions. In addition, there is a C-stand to the right of the actress that has positional markers. These markers are used to “matchmove” or camera track the three dimensional motion on the set. Using the markers software can scale the computer generated set as the actors move. This provides motion scaling for a photorealistic movie.
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Photo 1 Actors on Marks, Camera, Boom Mic |
Photo 2 is the establishing shot of the movie Europa. In this scene the space jockeys are on a table covered with Lycra chroma green material. The camera is on a boom attached to a cart. The cart sits on a track that allows the camera to truck in and the boom elevates the camera up over the actors as it is trucked in. When the Trailer is complete you will see the actors in their own space chamber aboard the ship. Below, Picture 3 is an out of focus picture of the rails for the boom cart attached to the camera.
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| Photo 2 Space Jockeys | Photo 3 Setting up Cart Rails, On Right Cart with Boom |
In the final picture, Photo 4, below we see the full green screen, camera and computer setup. Alex Lindsay is on the left in he foreground, Marty Rosenberg the Director is behind the ladder. The actors are preparing a scene where the front one found a broken piece of the space ship. The CG set will show them inside the ship in space suits with a more convincing broken part in his hand. The actor in the back moves towards the front. The two C-stands again provide 3 dimensional position markers for tracking.
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| Photo 4 Full Green Screen, Camera & Computer Setup |
The goals, equipment preparation and scene execution of these professionals are quite impressive.
The Pixels Corps
After attending this seminar, meeting with Pixels Corp Members and looking at the Website www.pixelcorps.com I decided to join the Pixel Corps. To understand the goals of the Pixel Corps I quote a statement from Alex Lindsay the Chief Architect of the Pixel Corps:
"The Pixel Corps is my answer to 20 years of frustration. Is it a perfect solution? No...it’s just an attempt to provide what I thought I needed and what I still need. It is the beginning of the path.
The Pixel Corps is designed to provide:
I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to enter and succeed in this industry. I believe this opportunity should be based on commitment and determination, not money or location, and I intend to make the opportunity a reality."
See their Website www.pixelcorps.com and decide for yourself.
San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (SFSD)
SFSD is a relatively new school with a good studio, modern equipment, editing stations (I counted 10) and an excellent staff. It provides an immersive one-year Digital Filmmaking Program prepares students for a career in the digital motion picture and television industry,
“The program consists of two classes; Essentials of Digital Filmmaking and Advanced Digital Filmmaking. All students participate directly in the production of high definition digital movies of their own making and the school's faculty-produced high definition digital motion pictures. One unique quality of this program is the apprenticeship of all students with the faculty in producing these school sponsored productions.
The three most important elements for any aspiring filmmaker are the following: a demo reel of their work, credit on a professional motion picture, and contacts within the industry. Successful graduates of the Digital Filmmaking Program will possess all three of these valuable commodities, better preparing them for the highly competitive world of the motion picture industry.”
Go to their Website www.sfdigifilm.com for more information.