DiY Retroreflective Green/Bluescreen

[Russ Krook III]

What kind of light would one use to light a muslin chroma green backdrop?
Do you need to use a light diffuser, or can you guerrilla it and use something
like a simple halogen shop lamp?

I know you want a decent even light.

Russ

[Trevor Crump]

Try outdoors, you will get the most even light, just with daylight.
Indoors can be a bit tricky, even light and this is dificild as material tends to form folds that leave shadows. also make sure that the lighting does not cast shadows from the talent.

Shop lamps can work fine but will need diffusers to make the light soft.

[Russ Krook III]

Outdoors leaves you dependant on weather conditions though.

What would you suggest for a diffuser? Cheesecloth? White cotton material?

I'm not too concerned with wrinkles or folds on the Chroma key material as I
plan to make a rack to suspend it from.  I'm also looking at the "Ultra 2" software
from 'Serious Magic."  It does a decent job and has a lot of "oops fixing" features
that you don't have if you shoot everything in camera, and mix your video in
your edit software.

Russ

[Trevor Crump]

Woops, carefull on material in front of hot lights..... FIRE hazard..

Try bouncing light off something. walls. roof or some other surface that gives the light some 'even' light.

[Russ Krook III]

FIRE hazard..

That's exactly what I was thinking.  Those Halogen shop lights throw some serious heat!

Russ

[shane voils]

Hmmmmm? http://www.backstreetinline.com/photoblocker/

[shane voils]

Here's another paint that uses microscopic cube corner reflection, so it says..... http://www.prismaticpainting.com/

Chemistry anyone? http://www.unh.edu/apl/RRcoating/Quarterly%20report%202.pdf

[shane voils]

tip on how to use glass bead with your paint.
http://www.paintcenter.org/rj/oct05l.cfm

[Drew Stephens]

Since I have just joined, I was reading this post with excitement it's definitely interesting!

I was watching the great suggestions and experiments take shape post after post, but it appears that the momentum of people actually building these "DIY LiteRing" rigs kind of died out quite some time ago. So I never got to hear how the experiments turned out!  It was like reading a great book, but the last chapter pages were torn out!

So tell me... did any of you all end up with successful finished products - something that rivals traditionally-lit green screens? Did you end up using Scotchlite 8910 as the fabric? Did you all opt not to use the paint because of the inconsistent layer of glass beads?

Anyone still using a DIY LiteRing system?

Thanks for any feedback. I'm really stoked about the technology, but can't afford ReflecMedia's prices!

[Charles King]

I actually saw a HB ring light somewhere. I'll see what I can dig up.

[Drew Stephens]

Thanks Charles. The rig that ReadW (Warren) posted earlier in this thread looks quite slick! And Cody's pics (and Dino and others, I believe) showed that they all had really close-to-perfect ring lights. ReflecMedia sells their LiteRing (alone) for $1,500. Their bundles go for $2500 for a small 7'x3' backdrop, or $5,000 for a 12x10' backdrop.

But it seems to me that the guys on this thread came up with a system that could be assembled for well under $400!. I'm guessing $100 for the litering and around $250 for a 12' x 8' backdrop. Now that's the beauty of home-built!

Sadly, I heard from Cody that the real killer was the cost of the reflective fabric. From what I understand, the best rate (negotiated by Kevin Clark) was for the Scotchlite 8910, and was somewhere around $30 a yard (by 50" wide), with a minimum order of 55 yards, or around $1,600 (I think that is right).  There was some talk about a group purchase, but from what I can tell, it never happened. 

Oh well, it's a shame that  it seems no one was able to go the next step. But I can relate... it's hard to justify spending money on experiments, when there are so many other things to buy. For example, I just bought Cody's plans, and hope to start on that soon.

My appreciation to the guys who did all of the incredible R&D on this though - thanks for the great read!

[Dino Zizzari]

Hi all

After working one year with my system, i've rebuilt the litering. Because of the small angle of the LEDs (~30-60°) i got the backdrop not lit evenly. So i built 2 new literings with 130° LEDs. I choosed stronger types and needed just 12 which made the wiring easier. I built one with green LEDs and one with blue LEDs.

I'm working now since 1 year with the new ring and i'm very happy with it. The backdrop is always fully green or blue.

Happy xmas
Dino

[Eddy Stevens]

Hi All

The company I work for is looking at manufacturing the lite rings and the backgrounds as a turnkey solution.
They do commercials and are always doing on location green screening which is a pain. I saw a prototype that the techs
were working on and it looked pretty good. I am not sure when or how much they will sell them for but it will be a lot less than the one from reflecmedia.

cheers

Eddy

[Casey James]

Hello,

This is my first post.  I stumbled onto this site in search of the poor mans Chromatte.

Is any one successfully sing retro-reflective paint?  If so what brand?  Would something similar to what is featured on page 8 of this pdf work?

http://www.usreflector.com/PDF%20files/Catalog/reflectors.pdf

Is light fall off a big issue?  If I'm shooting for 30'60' from the screen am i going to need a more powerful led setup?

With chromatte setups in general, is it possible to maintain shadows or do they get blown out?  Perhaps a combination approach of retro reflective on the walls and green on the floor?

I appreciate any thoughts you might have.  I'm planning on renting a largish stage (30'x60') and the prospect of lighting it might be something nice to avoid.

Thanks,
Casey

[David de Jesus]

wow i love this topic makes me eager to make one....about the LED what kind?.... coz theres a lot of different LEDs....what do i need to buy?