Green screens give you the creative freedom to make your marketing videos tell more epic stories.
Everyone is looking to avoid being just another marketing video. Green screens give you the ability to drop in whatever image you want in the foreground or background. By adding incredible visuals to your marketing videos they will truly stand out and you can use them to make your stories much more engaging.
The good news is that green screens are no longer just for big-budget productions. This essential visual technique is more accessible than ever thanks to inexpensive products such as Adobe Premiere. All you need to do to produce standout marketing videos is to follow the 6 Do’s and Don’ts down below. Using these tips will make your marketing videos demand attention and you will also avoid a couple of common mistakes.
1. Do Use Correct Lighting
Proper green screen lighting illumination is essential for smooth-looking videos. This is a bit different from traditional three-point lighting. The fine folks at Soundstripe have a great article illustrating the basics.
You can either buy a premade green screen or you can simply make one yourself. All you need is a decent-sized square or rectangle of smooth material and a can of ChromaKey green screen paint.
The key to great green screening is consistent lighting and this is best achieved by using a few bright lights. The brighter the better to illuminate the entire screen. Using fewer lights means an easier time later when temperature matching in post-production. The most common approach is using two box lights to shine on the green screen. This proper lighting setup ensures the green screen will produce a continuous field of color which makes the images superimposed on them much smoother.
Remember green screen lighting is to be used in addition to a three-point light system and not as a replacement.
Lastly, always review your green screen elements to make sure they align with the scripted message and desired tone. You don’t want your visual effects to clash with or undermine the points you are trying to convey.
2. Don’t Use Low-Quality Fabrics
Whether buying a prefab green screen or going DIY, always buy the best fabrics. These higher-end materials will absorb lighting more effectively and help to ensure the smoothness of your transposed images. The good thing about fabric-based green screens is that they are light and easy to carry. High-quality ones also offer excellent wrinkle protection, as any wrinkle will negate even your best efforts. Top shelf fabrics are also machine washable to combat dust or even dirt build-up. Remember anything that is not green, like dust or dirt, is a no-go.
3. Don’t Film Reflective Surfaces
Whether it’s innocent-looking props, large jewelry, or even glasses a shiny object can reflect the green from the screen and utterly destroy the visual effect. This is because the reflective object will become transparent and draw the viewer’s attention to itself and not what you want them to focus on. However, there is good news for your actors, small bits of jewelry are not a big risk.
4. Don’t Allow The Color Green
Though this seems obvious, many productions still fall flat because the word did not get out to avoid this color. Overstress to everyone that on the days of the shoots there must not be any green! And yes this includes plants (as well as frogs!). It is always a good idea to have alternative outfits on location for the actors, just in case.
5. Do Use Jump Cuts
Another invaluable cinematic technique to use is jump cuts. They can make your green screen images pop out and grab the viewer. Once again, the good people at Soundstripe have an article illustrating how to use jump cuts to make your marketing videos stand out over everyday projects.
A traditional rule of filmmaking dictates that jump cuts are disruptive and destroy audience immersion. However, looking at content creators on YouTube you will see how this rule can not only be bent but also broken to make very engaging content. Jump cuts give you immense creative freedom when editing your videos.
You can use the jarring nature of jump cuts to your advantage. Use them to accentuate the quick change from one edit to another. You can also utilize the disruptive nature to hide unwanted elements like an actor flubbing a line. Or you can focus on one actor’s reaction rather than another’s delivery to underscore the importance of the message.
YouTubers have wildly embraced jumped cuts and most use them in two different ways. The first is to build energy in a montage that is typically employed in the intro or outro of a video. The second is the “talk to the camera” style of vlogging to better underscore certain points or to provide levity.
Jump cuts can make your green screen shots pop out. And that is a good thing. You want to use them along with other changing images to constantly grab the viewer’s attention. Pay attention to videos you watch and see how many times jump cuts are employed to highlight green screen use. When done well they help to hold the audience’s attention throughout your marketing video.
6. Do What the Story Demands to Increase Engagement
Don’t be afraid to fully embrace green screens as a way to unleash your creative side. Thanks to these handy little shapes, any image you desire to increase viewer engagement is easy to achieve. Just make sure that it serves the story. Your marketing videos are no longer limited by physical reality. Go wild and let your imagination help you create the next viral marketing video.
Conclusion
By following these 6 do’s and don’ts you can make marketing videos designed to grab and hold the viewer’s attention. The good news is that most of these can be utilized in proper pre-production. The bad news is if you don’t catch them then post-production will become a nightmare of reshoots. Just follow these steps and your marketing videos will cause others to turn green with envy!
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