Going Green Screen
Activity 1: The meteorologist's trick
(10 minutes)
Imagine you are flicking through the channels and you pause on the local weather. You see a meteorologist making sweeping hand gestures, maybe demonstrating how a cold front is moving in. She is standing in front of map full of place names and temperatures . . . or is she?
THIS is what on-air meteorologists look like if you see them in-person. The tv monitors to the sides of the man show what he looks like to people watching at home. In this video a meteorologist explains one of the tricks of her trade.
Facilitator note: For members who want to explore this idea more, or need more support, check out this Wonderopolis resource.
Activity 2: Who uses green screens?
(5 minutes)
Green screens aren’t just for meteorologists. Lots of movies are created with green screens, especially for special effects. If it seems impossible that a person could really fly or survive a crazy car crash, that’s because it is. But they can appear to do so with the help of green screens and computer generated effects. What is one movie that you suspect used a green screen?
Shooting with green screen isn’t only for Hollywood. Check out this video of teens using the technique.
Activity 3: Make (or hang up) your Green Screen
(30 minutes)
You can create a green screen by hanging bright green construction paper, poster board, or a large piece of green cloth. With your club’s permission, you could even paint a wall green. You can look at examples by doing an internet search for “homemade green screen.”
If you don’t have, or can’t find any, bright green material, bright blue also works well. Bright green and blue are the most common colors for this video technique because they are not present in any human skin tone. This might sound strange, but it is important because programs that use this technique identify the background color and then exclude it completely from the video. If the background were red, it would also exclude the red in your lips and they would also be replaced with the new background image.
Activity 4: What's your plan?
(20 minutes)
For your project, you will need a normal photo as well as video footage of someone or something in front of a green screen. The photo will become the background for the video.
Think of a theme for you green screen video. Gain inspiration from one of the ideas below, or create your own scenario.
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Take a photo of a piece of your artwork. Film yourself in front of a green screen talking about the artwork.
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Find a photo of a stage or a full concert hall. Film a friend playing a musical instrument or singing in front of a green screen.
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Use a photo showing some type of weather, like a forest after a snowstorm. Film someone giving a weather forecast in front of a green screen.
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Use a photo from your family vacation. In front of a green screen, film yourself explaining the highlights of the vacation.
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Challenge: How could you make a video in which it looks like you are flying?
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Challenge: How could you safely make a video that shows you running away from a giant animal, explosion, or natural disaster? (For this one, experiment with substituting the green background with a video clip, instead of just a photo.)
Want to use the background photo of a tropical beach or even the moon? If you don’t have a photo of the image you’d like to use as the background for your video, you can search for an image on Pixabay.com. All the photos and videos on this site are part of the public domain, which means anyone can use them for free and without permission. If you are not sure about the theme of your video, you could even browse through the site to see if a photo sparks an idea.
Still Interested? Take a look at these resources:
Article: Why do weather people still use green screens?
Article: Who Invented the Green Screen?
Video: How to Light a Green Screen
What You'll Need:
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Create incredible footage of yourself in unlikely places
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Activity 5: Start Shooting
(20 minutes)
If you are using a smartphone or tablet to film, download the free app Stop Motion Studio (available in iTunes and Google Play). Here are part one and part two of a video tutorial introducing how to use the green screen function in the app.
If you are using a digital camera and a computer, use WeVideo or iMovie. WeVideo is available for free on any computer with an internet connection. iMovie is a pre-installed program on Macs.
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WeVideo: Color Keying tutorial
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iMovie : Green-screen effect tutorial
A few tips:
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Before you shoot your video, make sure your green screen is all the same shade of green
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Make sure there aren’t any wrinkles in the green paper or green fabric.
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Remember that if your actors wear green, their green clothes will be replaced by the background image or video. Only let your actors wear green if you want them to be part of the background. (Check out this video to see the eerie effect when a meteorologist wears a green shirt.)
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Don’t stand too close to the green screen because you might cast a shadow. Before you start filming, stand in front of the screen to see you casts a shadow. You might need to adjust the lighting and/or where you stand. (If you film with a shadow, it will look strange on the background photo.)
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Shoot your footage using a camera stand or tripod so that it isn’t shaky. If you don’t have one, you can make one using objects like binder clips or even a paper cup.
Shoot your video and using the app or software described above, and then substitute the green background for the photo of your choice.
If you’re having fun with this video technique, don’t stop! The possibilities are endless! Level up your videos by replacing the green screen with a video, instead of just a still photo.
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