Lighting: March 2009 Archives

Submitted question:

My v-screen keeps fading out.  I know I don't have the proper lighting, but could low memory be an issue?

I'd first consider the following:

1.  Have you moved, panned, zoomed in/out camera, etc. AFTER setting the vscreen?  The rule of thumb is to get all lights and camera setup first, and lastly set the vscreen.  Once vscreen set, NOTHING should be moved or changed regarding lights and camera.

2.  Do you have VC version 3, as the keyer has been redone in version 3, and the vscreen wizard was added.  Versions 1 and 2 had a less powerful keyer with fewer options to tweak.

3.  Is the camera set to manual focus?

4.  Is cam set to manual exposure?

5.  Did you manually set white balance?

6.  Did lighting in the room change after setting vscreen?  Open shades, turn on/off banks of lights, etc?

7.  Is the entire VC project and all it's contents exist on a local hard drive (not flash drive, external drive, network, etc)?

I don't think this would be a memory (RAM) issue, more likely a lighting or improper camera setting issue.  More details on setting up your studio are in my training DVDs.  See details on the softbox lights I recommend and use HERE.

http://www.schooltvmadeeasy.com/vendors.cfm?subpage=557172

 Let us know if that helps by posting comments below to continue our conversation...

Submitted Question:

When running VC live each day occasionally our vscreens
will fall out and we are left looking at a green backgroung rather than the
image that we set for the vscreen.  Have you ever experienced this and if so,
what should I try to fix this?  Thanks!

A few ideas:

1.  Be sure the vscreen image or video clip is actually on a local hard drive, not a removable flash drive, external hard drive, network location, etc.  If say someone disconnects the drive or the network is running slow, this can happen.

2.  Be sure you've saved the project (*.msh file) to a local drive as well, for same reasons as above.

3.  Be sure your camera is set to FULL manual mode.  Turn off autofocus, autoexposure, anti-jitter (E.I.S.) and set white balance manually.  See your cameras manual if unsure how to do this.  I cover these steps in setting up your camera chapter 4 of my Training DVD volume 1.  Basically you need to keep your camera consistent with the video image it is sending to your computer.  Too many folks overlook this, and it is important for achieving clean, consistent keys.  Don't change any lighting, and don't zoom in/out once you've set the key.  I really like the new V-screen wizard that comes with version 3 of Visual Communicator.

Those ideas may help, let us know below in the comments area and we can continue the conversation...

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http://www.schooltvmadeeasy.com/vendors.cfm?subpage=557172

If you've used these products, be sure to leave comments below!