A more interesting background

Al Min wrote on 4/14/2009, 3:30 AM
I am an amateur trying to do the best I can. I recorded an interview today and realised the background looked rather ordinary - just a sofa top and plain wall behind the person speaking. How can I liven it up? In future, I could try green screen, but from what I've read, this can be more trouble in terms of getting the light right. Is there anything that can be done with plain background moving footage?

Comments

richard-courtney wrote on 4/14/2009, 5:53 AM
In an interview I'd avoid having a moving background as it would distract
the viewer from the subject.

The use of color and "gobos" help drab backgrounds. Gobo patterns can
be about anything cut from cardboard and placed "go between" a light and the
wall. Just be careful not cause a fire putting them too close to a hot light.

I'd avoid green screen scenes unless it is something that can't safely or
economically be shot. A scene on the moon, or outside of a skyscraper.
rs170a wrote on 4/14/2009, 6:11 AM
As RCourtney said, change the background.
Get as far away from the talent as you possibly can.
This makes it easier to get the background out of focus which you quite often want in a situation like this.
Keep you lighitng low enough so that your iris is almost completely open.
This will have the same shallow depth of filed effect.
I've shot a lot of interviews over the years and the ones that have turned out the best are the ones where I've taken some extra time to change what's behind the interviewer.
My interviews have ranged from a simple office setting to the factory floor.
Anything you can do to soften the background will help.
One that I remember was in a non-profit board room which meant a small room with a table and chairs.
Fortunately they were getting ready for an event and the boardroom table was full of presents of all kinds.
I placed several of these on a counter behind the talent, separated them as much as possible (only 3 ft. in this case) and lit them and the background separately with some coloured gel on the light.
The Art of Shooting the Video Interview: A Moving Portrait is an excellent article by a friend who's shot a lot more interviews than I have.
Even if you don't follow all of his suggestions, hopefully you'll pick up a few ideas.
In addition, start paying attention to the different styles on various broadcast television interview-style shows.
Walter Graff's site is an excellent resource site with a lot of articles devoted to lighting interviews inexpensively but still making it look good.

Mike
Al Min wrote on 4/14/2009, 11:56 PM
Thanks folks. Interesting advice - I have a lot to learn.
busterkeaton wrote on 4/15/2009, 7:44 AM
be careful of using cardboard in front of strong lights as it's a fire hazard.

The pros use stuff that is fire resistant.

BlackWrap is a black flame resistant aluminum foil that is excellent for controlling light.

Punch some holes in it and it can make some interesting shadows.
http://www.filmtools.com/blacfoilblac.html
Dave Stalker wrote on 4/16/2009, 12:12 PM
Since it's already shot, one option is to composite the talking head over a backplate you create. Use an oval wipe (cookie cutter) with feathered edges to reduce the amount of boring background behind the subject, which will reveal the background.

I frequently use beauty shots that have gaussian or radial blur applied to them as backplates. It's visually much more interesting than full screen talking head against the wall.