Why You Need a Green Screen for Your High Tech Video
Posted by Catie Foertsch on Thu, Oct 27, 2011 @ 12:15 PM
If you’re trying to sell something technical, like a machine, you need to convey how it works and what’s unique about it. But that’s not all you need to communicate. The quality and reliability of your company, and the level of professionalism with which you produce and deliver your product - these are secondary messages that are just as important as ‘how does it work’. That’s why your media company should use a green screen if at all possible when they shoot your video – because a green screen provides you with the isolation and flexibility that are crucial for communicating those secondary messages.
Here’s a video we shot for PVD Products – a global leader in its sector. As you watch the video, notice the background. The video was shot at the PVD manufacturing facility, which is a crowded place with lots going on. But you’d never know that from the video:
ISOLATION
Right behind the machine was a wall with a window and a couple of outlets. To the immediate right was another machine, along with all its ductwork and wiring. To the immediate left were a couple large gas canisters, and more ductwork coming down from the ceiling. In other words – the machine was surrounded by a LOT of visual distraction. Shooting against a green screen let us remove everything that surrounded the machine and present it by itself – so the viewer is focusing only on it.
Visual clutter gets in the way of a clean message, and a green screen lets you reduce or eliminate visual clutter, and present your machine by itself, so the viewer can focus just on it.
FLEXIBILITY
When you shoot a video without a green screen, you’re stuck with the background as it is – clutter and all. You can’t replace it with something better. A green screen lets you choose the best possible background. And if you change your mind, you can change the background – as many times as you want until you’re sure you’ve got it right.
PROFESSIONALISM
Your media company can work very hard to get beautiful close-ups, and to create stunning graphics, but if they don’t use a green screen, as soon as the video cuts to the wide shot and the viewer sees the whole machine in its natural, cluttered environment, the viewer is yanked out of that clean, crisp, professional world your video is trying to create. It’s a jarring transition that can undermine the level of professionalism you’re working hard to convey.
So ask your media company if they have the capability to shoot your machine against a green screen. That one simple production choice can will make a world of difference in the final product.