Green Screen Research

Green screen is “used to separate an image from a colored screen and composite it over a background image”(Sawicki,M; 2007; 157) within film and television. It involves a green material being placed behind a person or object to act as a background which can be changed in post-production using Chroma Key. Chroma Key is an effect that layers two images onto one another, based on colour hues, by making the colour range in the top layer transparent to reveal the image behind.

A notable example of a film that uses green screen is Zack Snyder’s ‘300’ (2006) which was shot almost entirely using green screen as the background.

This illustrates the set up of green screen in 300.

The use of green screen in this film is to give the audience an insight into the world of 480.B.C without having to build a set or film on location which gives the filmmaker a huge advantage in being able to control environmental factors that could affect a film such as weather and lighting. This means the budget of the film will be significantly lowered due to lack of travelling expenses, which could be relevant to our film for next semester.

Green screen is used very effectively here, as it is able to immerse the audience into the world of the film without making it seem like it was all filmed in a studio. This is partly due to the CGI effects used in the background, but also due to the staging of the action in certain scenes and the space used in the studio.

Another worthy example is the flying car scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Seecrets (2002) by Chris Columbus.

This scene uses a green screen on a constructed set composited with a landscape drone shot, which uses two technical conventions we want to use next year. The reason it is effective is due to the variation of camera angles in conjunction with the GCI shots which make the whole fantasy style sequence seem believable.

As we will definitely be using green screen at least once in Daniel’s Kite, I have researched the problems that we may face when filming and editing this type of footage.  The main problem we will have to face is the lighting of the shots. “The screen is lit with two large soft lights on either side that are adjusted for an even field.”(Sawicki,M; 2007; 162) This is most simple way of keeping the hue of the screen the same which is extremely important as the mask in post-production could be uneven. The same applies when thinking about shadows, and the camera's exposure.

446 Words

References: Sawicki, M; Filming the Fantastic: a guide to visual effect cinematography;  Talylor & Francis Ltd.

The Woman in Black Scene 2 - Analysis

Firstly, I will analyse how the film sets up significant plot points through a mixture of visual and auditory techniques. The dialogue is the main driving factor as the character Mr. Bentley discusses what the other character, Arthur Kipps, has to do, which is to collect and read through documents to find a client’s final will. This is backed up by asserting shots of the preliminary last will, as well as the mise on scène which shows us a professional and academic office making us believe that this is indeed a law firm.

The scene also gives us exposition into the company and the personalities of the characters through the performances of the actors.  Mr. Bentley is shown as driving the conversation as he talks at Kipps in an instructive manner without even waiting for a response. He also pauses intentionally to add emphasis to what he is saying, whilst punctuating certain words such as “… this is not a charity…” All of these portray Bentley as an authoritative figure compared to Kipps who barely adds anything to the conversation. This contrasts with the cinematography however, as we see a lot more of Kibbs on screen than Bentley, which shows that the narrative values the reaction of Kibbs because he's the main character.

Another notable convention of the cinematography is the use of forward tracking shot's into a character when they are the only thing in the frame. This is a frequently used technique in a lot of horror films and is conventionally used to build up tension or dread. The framing in the scene is also interesting as there are only 3 close ups used in a sea of mid shots. The first two, showing a cigar case followed by Mr. Bentley chopping the top off of a cigar, are used, with the dialogue, as a metaphor where the cigar case is the law firm, Kibbs is the cigar and the cutter is showing what will happen to him if he doesn’t complete his duty. This small sequence uses the dialogue as a framework for the picture to be cut around.

Finally, one of the more interesting shots in the scene is a high angle shot that physically shows Mr. Bentley getting up from his chair and walking to the window, also showing the geographical distance between him and Kibbs. The connotations of this shot imply Bentley as being in a commanding position, whereas Kibbs looks small and trapped which continues with the theme of authority. Also the positioning of the shot itself is unrealistic and fails to matches anyone's eye line, which makes it voyeuristic whilst running with the paranormal theme of the film.

445 Words

Film Reference: James Watkins’ The Woman in Black (2012)