I'm working on a project with no budget, so the set I built is completely CG. There will be a single actor, newscast type setting, so keying should work just fine to put the actor "on" the set.

The big question in my mind though is depth. When I watch the weather reports on a local newscast, there is no depth. The weatherman has the map immediately behind him. That's fine, that's how it's supposed to look. But, what if I want the background to look like it is a foot or two behind the actor instead? I've seen this done in movies, so I know it can be done, just not sure how.

My best guess is to position the vertical screen the same distance behind the actor as the back wall of the "set" would be, and light the actor so shadows are generated on the key screen. It seems that when the shot is combined with the CG set, the shadows would combine with the visual "cues" in the set to add the sense of depth I'm wanting to achieve.

Basically, I'm trying to avoid a pasted in look. Am I on the right track with what I'm thinking? Is there a better way to do it? Is there an article here or at the Cow, or somewhere I should be reading that addresses this?

Thanks in advance - Jim.