Bricks in Motion
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I've watched a few videos, and they were great as I expected, but I was wondering about you guys do for the backgrounds. Do you guys just build massive sets that go back about a foot longer than the actual filming area? Or do you use printed backdrops or blue/green screen?
Anyway, I just want some ideas about what I can do for a brickfilm.
Phiz
Well, it depends on the movie in question. I generally use a piece of light blue card for a sky backdrop. Printing off a picture of the sky works too.
Last edited by Hazzat (June 11, 2009 (04:07pm))
I'm a fan of white skies, since they create an interesting atmosphere (no pun intended) and also bounce a lot of light back onto the set.
I'd use blue screens as a last resort, especially as a beginner. My advice would be to have a real backdrop, put it around a foot behind the set, and light it with a completely separate lamp.
I'm a fan of white skies, since they create an interesting atmosphere (no pun intended) and also bounce a lot of light back onto the set.
I found that out recently filming my Terminator 4 clip, I only used it with close-up shots (the rest is just green screen), but I realized it gave a nice look.
I think I use it like that for more of my films.
Thanks for the ideas. I especially like the idea of using a separate lamp for the backdrop. I think I'll go buy one tomorrow.
yes that tends to work well. if you have enough LEGO bricks on hand it is nice to do most of it in actual bricks, but obviously that would take a lot of bricks! i have used some greenscreening which can be very tiring (especially if you do it frame by frame) also i have printed off pictures of sky. and done the plain white or blue posterboard. really you can use pretty much anything, just make sure it looks the way you want it to!
-flip
Something that may also work is to have something between the set and the actual background. Example:
A shot from Nathan Wells "Driven".
Notice the areas that are colored.
Green - Foreground
Blue - Between Foreground and Background
Red - Background/Back Drop
The blue area is to break up the directness between the foreground and the background. This gives the shot more depth and produces a better result. It also makes the set appear to be much larger than it really is. It's all tricks of the eye.
Hope this helps.
-iDroid
I remember seeing that, but one question, what exactly makes up the blue part? Is it just a printout?
it's carbon paper
The blue area is completely digital.
What? No, I don't think so.
EDIT: If somebody wants to try this out, you might get good results by using blue paper for the backdrop, but only lighting that and not the set. Then, you should set your exposure so that the areas in the foreground appear normal, and the sky will be a very light, burned-out blue. It's a technique I've seen in some films, like Days of Heaven (which you have to see if you're into cinematography, no questions asked) or The Proposition.
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