This week I directed a commercial for Biotene on a greenscreen stage. It’s awesome how blue the sky looks after you’ve been in a completely green stage for 10 hours.

I am getting DAMNED good at greenscreen work. No surprise, since my very first student film had visual effects in it. I’ve gained a lot of hard-won knowledge from my short films and other projects that I put into place on this shoot. Most people like to keep such knowledge to themselves. Not me. Here, for free, are the Patrick Ortman “Dos and Don’ts When Dealing With Greenscreen Projects”:

• Do rent or buy a waveform monitor. Use it. Learn what a properly lit greenscreen should look like. Hint- it should look like a pretty, thin straight line.
• Don’t be afraid to tell the bestboy that the lighting isn’t even. If you don’t speak up now, you’ll have hell to pay in post.
• Do place markers. In the photo above, my markers look like crosses. If you have any camera movement that has to match a background plate, you’ll thank yourself in post if you have these markers.
• Don’t forget to shoot a take of a gray card. And a gray ball and mirror ball if you have them. This will help you recreate the on-set lighting in post if needed. And if you’re REALLY smart, you’ll shoot some footage of the screen with nothing in front of it before each camera angle change. Trust me.
• Do light your subject completely separately from your background.
• Even though your whole set is virtual, don’t forget that your actors often need something to interact with on set.
• And finally, don’t believe this kind of work is easy. It isn’t easy to do well. Testing and preparation are key. Pun intended.