Semi-transparent curtain in front of greenscreen

[George]

Dear Roger and appreciated forum members,

I will be shooting a feature film in a few weeks where a small scene will be done in the studio in which a window can be seen. In front of the window there is supposed to be a semi-transparent curtain, I’m not quite sure what they are called in English, maybe stores? I’m attaching photos of the kind of curtain I mean. Originally the plan was to have a backdrop with a house facade in front of the window. As there will only be 1-2 static shots and a backdrop is not cheap, I was asked by the production designer if it could also be done with a greenscreen and VFX. In principle, that wouldn’t be a problem, but as this curtain would be in front of the greenscreen, I’m not so sure. I don´t want the curtains to be completely blown or just white, because the background is kind of important for the story. Does anyone here have any experience with this? Does a curtain like this make the VFX work very complicated or is it no longer a problem to achieve good results here?

Many thanks for your help!

All the best,
George

Topic

[Mike]

you can hire backdrops quite cheaply or you can print out backdrops yourself in sections and pasting them on a board, you will see the joins. Net curtains are also cheap assume you want the curtains to be split in the middle to reveal a background. You can also project a backdrop using a digital projector so not sure why this scene difficult to achieve. There’s are many ways you can go, it is very cheap to achieve .

[Mike]

Should read will not see the joins. You scan use a TV for backdrops depends on the size of the window of course but you have not said what you are trying to achieve

[Stip]

I’d say replacing the green with the BG image without affecting the transparent curtain itself will be difficult. If you have someone in post who is 100% confident that it can be done it might be worth a try, otherwise it might end up costing more to fix it in post.

[George]

Thank you for your replies!

Renting a backdrop is not an option as it is set in a very specific time and place. I´ve never tried projecting the background in front of the window. Did you achieve good results with that?

 

[Mike]

I worked for BBC Drama that’s studio and location work. It was common practice to project an image behind windows etc, otherwise a backdrop was either made or hired to suit the stage. Nowadays large printers can produce any backdrop, provide a plate or photo and they will print out for you, any size no problem. Try making your own backdrop and experiment with your lighting person to light to taste.

[Mike]

Claypaki lit stage.

[dmullenasc]

If a drop costs money, what about the hours of a VFX person working on compositing an image into the window?  At the minimum, you could blur the view further with some 1/4 Hampshire Frost behind the window (or a stretched scrim) and then put anything outside that might create some texture, a Day Blue Muslin with some green bushes, a Tan Muslin with some black & white tape stripes to suggest window frames and pipes running up a brick wall, etc.

[Mike]

If you are on a tight budget then I suggest you borrow a relatives house perhaps one with view and base your production there obviously at an agreed fee. Btw, there are hundreds of backdrops available from China from $15.00 upwards, hundreds of subjects to choose from. Example attached

[Mike]

Large paper backdrops.

[Author]

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