Thanks for reply. My only concerns about paper -- this due in part to ignorance and part necessity:

A) Wouldn't paper be more shiny and tougher to get to be even? Once a frame is built for cloth, stretching it takes care of such visual imperfections.

B) I'm looking at at least 9'x12' muslin to use horizontally, wide angle so to speak. And for floor+wall coverage vertically if so needed.

I bought one from Tubetape and I like it and very affordable. I bought thier largest muslin green screen and I thing it cost me about 100.00 dollars, so far it does the job.
Daryl

"Wouldn't paper be more shiny and tougher to get to be even?"

No, it simply hangs evenly. It's reasonably thick. Printed paper backgrounds are used all the time in stills photography. The paper has a matte finish so no excessive reflections.

"Once a frame is built for cloth, stretching it takes care of such visual imperfections."

You'd think but last time I used a Scrim Jim fabric background no amount of stretching would get a crease out of it. Admittedly it was a heavy fabric that's blue on one side and green on the other. If you do get fabric I'd suggest also getting a length of PVC pipe and rolling the fabric around that for storage rather than folding it.

Here's a link to the kind of product I'm talking about. As it turns out this one is velvet non woven polyester. You'd probably buy this at around USD 15 / metre. Same company down here also sells Colortone seemless background paper in CK green by the roll.

Bob.

"...fabric background no amount of stretching would get a crease out of it. "

Hey, ever heard of an iron, Bob? Works on creases, specifically on cloth, ya know :o) That said, if one has miles of it, that would be some tedious ironing...

As to DIY way of getting adequate green cloth, I've already started to look around fabric stores. Turns out muslin is considered lower grade cotton because it's not treated (i.e. cheaper for large sizes and also more matte).

Related to that, I've been toying off and on with the idea of getting a used sewing machine for about USD $50, and voila: one can make as many backgrounds with pole sleeves one wants. Would also come in handy for other non-film related stuff (like repairing clothes--what a concept).

However, I have to weigh the costs of DIY vs. pre-made in terms of chromakey. Sometimes DIY can turn out costing more once all the parts necessary are factored in.

So still thinking this through, one step at a time. I'll look into the paper route if more cost effective and practical, but currently leaning cloth.

Has anyone here tried the Chromakey paints? I am finishing a very large unfinished attic with high ceilings and I am strongly considering it, but would like experienced feedback.

Joe

Chromakey paint is used every day in almost every TV station in the world.

Re: Britek screen... I used another guy's not long ago. Worked fine. Just light it evenly, like any other.

Yeah, I tried the iron bit. Two hours later, when I thought I was done, the first part ironed was wrinkled again. A fabric steamer works quite well when the greenscreen is hanging, though.

after years of using painted walls, Disney green fabric and the flex pop chroma key I settled on a screen from eefx.com and have never used anything else since. It has a foam back and a spray bottle of water removes any wrinkles I encounter.

I bought one of the hoop type screens with blue on one side and green on the other. It springs open from three coils in a bag to quite a large size. It's listed on the Digital Juice site, but I got mine off TradeMe here in NZ for about $NZ140.00. I'm quite impressed with it. I did a very quick test using just the natural light from the window and got very good results for a first timer. Mind you, I only intend to use it for interviews of people sitting on couches. But its big enough to do a full stand up shot in the vertical position, and I'll be able to use my two camera alt shots in the horizontal position. I just bought a couple of backdrop stands to hang the thing up using its built in loops. Early days, but I'm very impressed so far.

"after years of using painted walls, Disney green fabric and the flex pop chroma key I settled on a screen from eefx.com and have never used anything else since. It has a foam back and a spray bottle of water removes any wrinkles I encounter."

Looks like impressive stuff, but not cheap for the paupers amongst us since I need the larger size. I could try to look for a second-hand one on Craigslist, but that's 100% self-delusion :)

Renting one isn't an option for I need to have one handy as-needed.

Renting one isn't an option for I need to have one handy as-needed.

16'5" Trevira CS Digital Muslin - 16'5' wide - $53.62 per yd.

92" Keying Spandex - 92: wide - $50 per yd.

Mike

I've used all sorts backgrounds to chromakey: green muslin; painted wall; blue polyester (not so crinkly); foldout screen etc. For me it's not the fabric that's so important, it's the lighting.

Mike/rs170a,

Interesting option with the 92" spandex version in your second link, though either one is a bit expensive for my wallet. I also noticed something else at that page:

--- The swaths for chromakey material show two greens: regular and "digital" (the lighter hue). Naturally, RGB representations of cloth are hard to do, but I've never seen this regular-vs.-"digital" thing.