Lighting Green Screens For Streaming, Part 2: Let’s Do This Thing
I know, it’s been forever since I said I would continue what I started with part 1, which goes through making the decision of if you have the space for a screen and if your home wiring can handle it. Now, we’re going to go through the whole process, start to finish, while I get myself a screen and lights. First things first, let’s take a look at my space. As a note, these will be affiliate links (for Valera Screens and Amazon) that benefit me creating more content in the future. Gotta be able to get everything, right?
Pretty small and not a lot of space to really work with. I’ll be replacing my desk with an L-shaped one soon and shuffling as much around as I can. The hope is to shuffle everything around, put my desk by the window, and the green screen about where the red bookshelf is sticking out a touch in the lower left corner. That gives me two outlets, a bit of space, and maybe some better organizational options. Maybe. I hope. I’ve done a lot of measuring and theory so now I just have to make it all work in practice. Which is mostly somehow getting that dresser to move. It’s even heavier than it looks.
Now that we have our dimensions, outlets, and everything else squared away, let’s think about the options we have. I can’t paint a wall (the advantage there is that the plane of the wall will always be pretty damned flat). I also don’t have a wall I can pin things (same advantage as painting a wall but less permanent) to so that’s also out. That narrows things down to collapsible screens but there’s a ton of choice there too. Let’s look at some popular options.
Valera Screens has three potential options. The Creator 95, which pops up out of a convenient and secure carrying case. It’s a lot like the popular Elgato screen. The screen is about 5" taller and .25" less wide with what looks like a lower profile case than the Elgato. This one ticks several pros for me:
- Easy to put up, take down, and move.
- I don’t have to try to make it flat.
- Can work while I’m standing in front of it.
The only real con with this one is that the screen will sit on the floor, which puts it in Cat Attack Territory. To be fair though, any green screen on this list would be in CAT because my boy Bailey really likes to climb things. All things. Including walls. Nothing is sacred to him. This one, however, does negate the potential tipping risks of some other screens though. At the very least, it’s easier to catch.
The Elgato/Corsair green screen has a lot of the same features as the Valera one above but also has a slightly higher price point for a bit less screen area. The counterpoint to that is the backing for it looks more mobile and secure; an X or diamond shape will always be better than a single pole. It does take up slightly more real estate when collapsed however and you’ll need about five inches to slide it under a bed. Still, if you want the name you’ve probably heard of or a more secure screen (see mention of Bailey previously), this is an option.
In a similar vein, there’s also a Neewer one that comes in small (58.7x74") and large (59.8x77.5") varieties.
Valera also has the Explorer series screens, in 70" and 90" diagonal sizes. I think the biggest things about this one are:
- It’s flexible-it can be portrait or landscape, either pole mounted (which is included with the screen) or on a wall.
- The X-frame keeps it stretched, which means no wrinkles. There aren’t a lot of pole-mounted screens that I’ve seen with that feature. Generally, you need to drape the screen, clamp it down, and hope there’s enough tension that it won’t show wrinkles. It always will have some, however, due to how clamps work. It’s my least favorite thing ever.
- The ratio is 16:9. If you’ve tried to make any kind of backdrop work out, you know it can get frustrating. The Creator 95 and Elgato and their ilk aren’t quite 16:9, which means you have to crop out anything not covered by the green screen and also chroma key. That, in turn, means your set up has more factors to it where something can go wrong. These screens eliminate some of that.
The biggest con of this one (and also one of the biggest pros?) is that it’s pole-mounted and Bailey also likes to rub himself against things. He’s definitely toppled things much mightier than a tripod. But that’s something I can take care of with a sandbag or two down the road.
Honorable mentions are the Web Around chair green screens. These attach to the back of your chair (which can essentially eliminate drop shadows because it’s so close to you). The big downside for me is that they feel small while taking up a lot of space. Still, if you are extremely pressed for space but use a centered desk (my current one has me offset to one side and I’d be bumping into my dresser where my cosmetics are), this one’s an option.
If you’re dead set on some DIY, see my previous post for potential pitfalls like using too thin of a fabric.
In the end, I’m pretty settled on the Valera Explorer 70 for its versatility should be space situation change despite the potential for Bailey to knock over or, worse, try to climb it. Also, since I’m now an affiliate with them, it suits my budget. We’ll see how it goes and I’ll do a review once I can. Now that we’ve got our screen picked out, let’s get some lights.
I currently have a Viltrox VL-500RT, a flat-panel bi-color LED light with a remote. What do all those words mean? The LEDs in this come in two colors: pure white and a more natural yellow. That lets me better balance my colors to achieve something that not only works with my skin tone but also with any other light sources in my room, like my PC tower and overhead light. Really good for perfectionists that want that perfect white balance on a budget. If you think ahead (which I didn’t, whoops), you should get the kit of either two lights and stands or three lights and stands. The single one is just a light.
Let’s look at some other lights. I’ve mentioned ring lights in the past, as they’re meant for portrait lighting and give you that nice ring of light in your eyes. However, I think flat panels are better for streaming as they give more even and less obtrusive lighting. Ring lights can absolutely work for things like beauty vlogs or times when your face takes up the majority of the screen real estate. Since that’s not what I’m going to be doing, flat panels it is.
If you’ve looked at the setups of a lot of larger streamers, especially the ones with a good amount of dedicated space, you’ve probably seen their multi-softbox setups. My biggest problem with softboxes is that they take up a large amount of room and can get very hot if left on for a long time. I don’t have space for them and where I live already gets plenty hot enough.
Most flat panels are a lot like the Viltrox VL-500RT, though color temperature range and price vary. So let’s look at the biggest standout.
Aside from the one I already have, I’m going to need some more lights. The obvious pick for a streamer is the Elgato/Corsair Key Light. It comes with a very high price tag at $200 but also has a lot of bells and whistles. It’s app-enabled so you can adjust the brightness without fiddling with a remote or the back of the light and the temperature can be adjusted between cold and warm in a larger range than most other lights. The pole mount it comes with is made for desks which means this can take up even less space than normal. It’s kind of the perfect light for a streamer if you can make it work within your budget.
So you’ve got your key (or main) light. You’ve got a few choices after that. I suggest two key lights, one for you/your subject and one for the screen to make sure it’s as flat green as possible. Once you have those, you need either a second key light (like in the Elgato picture above) or a fill light to make the light even. You probably already have a desk, table, or floor lamp sitting around. Just place it nearby at about a 30–45° angle to your key light. I’ll get into that more with a follow up to this post.
So, let’s review my green screen and lights shopping cart:
- Green Screen: Valera Explorer 70 ($100)
- Key Lights: Viltrox VL-500RT ($70 for one, or $135 for a set of 2 with stands), eventually Elgato Key Light ($200)
- Fill Light: Philips Hue Bloom Table Lamp ($60. I’ve got a thing for pretty colors, okay?)
- Desk: GreenForest L-Shaped Corner Office Desk ($100) and some furniture movers to shift things around
Next time I do a post, it’ll be one part review of the Valera Explorer and one part walkthrough of setting up a green screen.
