Green screen and lighting kit purchase question

Hi Rebecca,

There's a fair amount to consider when it comes to green screen and lighting. But, since you're in a hurry...I'll sum it up on a short blurb: Your goal is a green background that is wrinkle free and evenly lit.

Background Options:

Option 01: The cheapest route is a purchase a green muslin backdrop and support system. The challenge is making sure you have the space. You'll also likely need to iron the muslin material to make sure that it's wrinkle free. 

Option 02: Paint a wall with some bright green paint. (Not my preferred option unless you really love bright green). But, it'll definitely be wrinkle free!

Option 03: Use a product such as Savage Paper. I use this as a backdrop for some of the Articulate videos I've created. It's wrinkle free and you can cut a piece to size and tape it to a wall. (I happen to have the roll suspended from the joists in my basement, but this may not work in your situation). It is a little more expensive, but works great.

Option 04: You could purchase a green screen pop up. These are typically in the 5'x7' range when open. Cheap. Medium. Quality. I have a grey version of this Botero that works well. Pros: These are portable, and easy to store. And the higher quality models help eliminate wrinkles. Cons: Cheaper models can still hold wrinkles and this isn't the best option if you want to record full body.

Personal suggestion: If you want to record full body, then I'd go with Option 01 or 03. If you're doing Torso shots, then Option 03 or 04. 

Lighting:

There's the ideal, and then there's the affordable. The ideal situation finds you with a lot of space so you can stand away from the backdrop, and a lot of lights (just out of the camera frame) to light the backdrop, and you from the front and behind. But the reality is that most of us have neither the $ nor the space so...

Affordable/reality: You can probably get away with three softboxes. Two softboxes to light the background and one to light you, the subject. So a 3 light kit would do the trick. Just keep in mind that these lights don't have the greatest build quality. If your budget allows, you can scale up the quality and number accordingly. 

If you're in a total pinch for time and $, you could even do chroma kit such as this model. But for my money, I'd go with something like the Savage paper and some decent softboxes.

I hope this helps! 

Mike