Green Screen for under $5!

Check out the video below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFiBMA2HsZ8&hl=en&fs=1&]
Other than the camera, light, and software, I only paid five bucks for this.
Ya.
So here is a picture of it with no green screen effects.

So as you can see it is small, but it does the job for just one person.
So what’s the secret for this only costing five dollars?
Poster board.
A about one dollar each, in a close-up you can see the creases.

But the software doesn’t see it!

So, how did I put it together?
There’s tape on the back.

So to make the green screen videos I use Adobe After Effects, with the Keylight plug-in. After Effects comes with built in effects for doing things like the fading shown above.

But the only problem is that After Effects doesn’t play any sound, So to find when you should fade in that picture of that next-door neighbor you hate (or whatever) you need to open the video in Quicktime (or whatever) and remember the time you want to queue it and go into After Effects and add in that picture at that mark.
So to record my videos simply with my Flip, which gives me good enough quality.

But if you are going to use a green screen with a flip and After Effects, BEWARE!
You need to export the videos from FlipShare into Quicktime format before using it with after effects or it will be shaky, there will be no sound, or the video will have horrible quality. It took me a few attempts (and failures) to figure THIS one out.

For lighting, I use two White Lightning X1600 with modeling at -2.5f.

So $115 green screens are a thing of the past. Hello cheap DIYs!

Did you make any green screen videos using this?
Upload them to YouTube and comment with the link!

If you want to have your questions answered in front of THAT green screen on a podcast, just send your questions to podcast@goodmorninggeek.com!!

Then, just click on THIS LINK (requires iTunes, click here to download) and download the podcast with your question.

invisibleSHIELD on iPod touch

Now supporting over 3000 different gadgets and laptops, the invisibleSHIELD is the way to protect your gadget(s) without adding any bulk.

So I recently had my iPod touch replaced because of a faulty display. I kept the concealed from hands until my invisibleSHIELD would arrive. But I could stand it any longer and I discover a bright pixel. So I replace that one as well, and it happens to be on the same day the invisibleshield arrives. So here goes the install. It came with a cloth, a $5 off squeegee, and a moist pad of application solution. And the invisibleSHIELD of course. But that pad is not a good way of things. What happened to that all-perfect spray bottle? It did not get enough on to the invisibleSHIELD so you could
Not slide it around to align it on the device. Also, we had to take it off and on so many times that some dirt would get under the invisibleSHIELD and you wouldn’t realize it until you had put it on. And it didn’t fit right! I had to go at it with a pocket knife to trim it down so it wasn’t o er any buttons or ports. Let me say, that this was a horrible install. So difficult! The easy install aspect gets a -**. Disasterous.

But the protection you get in return Almost makes up for that. The invisibleSHIELD was originally used by the military to protect blades on helicopters from scratches. This is the same material, just cut down to fit your device. Look at the below video to show what it offers.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5mPCC1hHUk&hl=en&fs=1&]

As you can see, scratches aren’t an option! This will stop scratches. It also adds some extra grip, but it still slides in and out of my pocket really easily. It doesn’t spin, but I didn’t buy my iPod touch to spin it.

Overall, I give it ***

Three stars. The install is -2 stars, and the protection is 5 stars.

invisibleSHIELD homepage
iPod touch invisibleSHIELD

Trick #1:Your Mac keyboard has potential

The inspiration for this post all started out in math class. We are studying use of variables, pre-algebra, you know that stuff. And we have always been told– Don’t use an X for multiplication, you could get it confused with the variable! So on we went, using the dot [•]. She would always teach using an overhead projector, but when it came to a pre-test, she had to us it on the computer. But there was only one downside–she had to use the X for multiplication! o people (as she predicted) were confusing the X or the variable, and she is saying “Sorry, I can’t make a dot on my computer”. So I say, “Actually, you can. option eight”. And She’s like “What? Come over here and show me”. So I go over there (all f the teachers have new MacBook Pros, similar to my MacBook) and type option 8. below and behold, There it was: •

A Dot!!
So she was incredibly happy with this, and I just had to- I told her that you can unlock LOTS of different charters by holding the option or the option+shift key(s). And good thing I had LOTS of experience with this, because next she asked” So how can I see all of the characters I can type?” Good thing I specialize in this area. Well, All you do is go into system preferences, click on International (Language and text if in snow leopard), Select input sources, check Keyboard Viewer (should be somethin along those lines for 10.5 and 10.6), Check Show input menu in menubar, click the little american flag, click Keyboard viewer and Voilà! Press the option or Option and shift keys and it will show the large array of different characters you can type. Here are most of them:
¡™£¢∞§¶•ªº–≠œ∑´®†¥¨ˆøπ“‘«åß∂ƒ©˙∆˚¬…æΩ≈ç√∫˜µ≤≥÷⁄€‹›fifl‡°·‚—±Œ„´‰ˇÁ¨ˆØ∏”’»ÅÍÎÏ˝ÓÔÒÚƸ˛Ç◊ı˜Â¯˘
Now, I really don’t know how to do this on a PC. If you can, it’s probably far too complicated to do that well, I would simply suggest you get a Mac.
So if you are a scientist or Math Teacher, NEVER use an X for multiplication again!!