Looking for inexpensive green screen + lighting kit

WGCProductions

WGCProductions

Hey everyone. I am highly in need of a green screen and the appropriate lighting for it to shoot a video but whenever I find one that I think might be good, the reviews are generally shitty. As for the lighting kit, I believe I have found 3 softbox lights that I think would do the trick. If anyone has any recommendations as to where I could find a good green screen then please let me know. Here are the links to the green screen and lights I've been considering:

green screen:
http://www.amazon.com/Chromakey-Lig...6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303501876&sr=1-6

Softbox lights:
http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-...TF8&coliid=I1WUOXOM2O0UV1&colid=1A39TZ4D53QJG

Any help would be great!
Thanks, WGC
 
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The Softbox lights are great. If you look, they have 5 Bulbs in every lamp, compared to the umbrella lamps with only 1 bulb in one lamp.

Just search on ebay or amazon for "Greenscreen backdrop" or "greenscreen kit" and you should find a kit which is fairly cheap!
 
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Have you considered background paper? It's $40 for a 9' wide roll (36' roll) and it takes light great and is never wrinkled.

You'd need to spend a a few hundred on a cloth greenscreen with a foam back for the same type of quality.
 
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I have a similar muslin chroma-cloth, and support stand.

It's pretty handy (folds up into a small package, and the stands collapse into a carry-case) but once it gets dirty or gnatty that's it. If you store it (or fold it to transport) you'll also need to lug around a small steam iron to de-wrinkle it on set.

You'll also need grip-clips (available cheaply at Home Depot for like $1.50 each) to keep the screen taut on the edges, by clamping to the side poles. The more worn the cloth, the more important that will be.

With paper, you just pull down a new section when the old one gets grubby.
 
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Zensteve said:
I have a similar muslin chroma-cloth, and support stand.

It's pretty handy (folds up into a small package, and the stands collapse into a carry-case) but once it gets dirty or gnatty that's it. If you store it (or fold it to transport) you'll also need to lug around a small steam iron to de-wrinkle it on set.

You'll also need grip-clips (available cheaply at Home Depot for like $1.50 each) to keep the screen taut on the edges, by clamping to the side poles. The more worn the cloth, the more important that will be.

With paper, you just pull down a new section when the old one gets grubby.
Click to expand...

So do you recommend getting the lights I linked in my original post above with the addition of this paper?:
http://www.amazon.com/Seamless-Back...44/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1303578264&sr=8-15
 
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It's really "one time use stuff", but if you're careful with it you can use it two or three times. The beauty of it is you can tear any piece that's nasty or crumpled off and just pull a fresh piece down.

It doesn't get dirty faster than any cloth screen I've used. In fact, it's actually a bit more wrinkle resistant because it's more rigid than cheap cloth.
 
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About the lights, you'll want to soft lights (wether box, umbrella, etc) to light the BG by itself IN ADDITION to the lights you use for the foreground.

The Cowboy Studio fixtures are cheap.

If $250 is your light budget, try looking for a couple of used Lowel Omni or Tota fixtures on eBay. I bought four in January for about $80 each, some came with stands. Then buy the cheap light stands ($10 a pop) and a few $10 umbrellas. The Lowel lights are worlds better than the Cowboy Studio CFLS.

I have yet to see a decent CFL for video lighting.
 
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Britek is another very inexpensive brand, if lo-budget.

I use two 1k halogens (with softboxes) to light the cloth screen. I do not know how the newer CFL-banks would do.
 
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PaulGriffith said:
About the lights, you'll want to soft lights (wether box, umbrella, etc) to light the BG by itself IN ADDITION to the lights you use for the foreground.

The Cowboy Studio fixtures are cheap.

If $250 is your light budget, try looking for a couple of used Lowel Omni or Tota fixtures on eBay. I bought four in January for about $80 each, some came with stands. Then buy the cheap light stands ($10 a pop) and a few $10 umbrellas. The Lowel lights are worlds better than the Cowboy Studio CFLS.

I have yet to see a decent CFL for video lighting.
Click to expand...

My original plan was to use 2 of the softbox lights for the BG, the softbox on the boom stand as backlight for subject and 2 umbrella lights for key and fill lights. From what I've looked at that would bring my light budget to around $300 which I find pretty decent. What do you think?
 
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If you go to B&H, you can get a green screen kit, 10ft by 12ft for about $50, 10ft by 24ft for about $200. I am seriously considering getting one of those....


-- spinner :cool:
 
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