The Beginning and Use of Green Screen

I watched Hollywoods History of Faking it: The Evolution of Green screen Compisitng at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8aoUXjSfsI&index=1&list=WL  (Posted by Filmmaker IQ - Youtube User)


This clips begins by talking about the history of Green Screen. He talks about George Melies' use of matte and multiple exposure. He presents the clip 4 heads are better than one (1898). He describes this as the beginning of green screen composition. Melies would black out part of the frame using a piece of glass with black paint on it (this was so light would not reach that part of the film, therefore it wouldnt get exposed). He would then rewind the film and then matte out everything else in the frame except the parts that were matted out before. This was all done inside the camera.

The technique was then used again in The Great Train Robbery (1903) in order to create a larger world. This was because it was virtually impossible at the time to film the sequence on an actual train due to location restrictions and lighting. The movie was filmed in the studio and certain parts, such as windows and door frames, were matted out in order the moving scenery outside the train.

Norman Dawn used the matte technique in order to present big locations and sets without the cost of construction. The Glass Shot was a matte inspired technique used to do this. The problem with this is that paintings of the locations had to be ready on set. The painting was put onto a piece of glass and placed between the subject and the camera. Dawn solved this later on by painting the glass black and treating it like it was a matte shot. The glass was then transferred onto a different camera where matte artists could then spend time developing the paintings.

This technique was used for some time through the golden era of Hollywood and is even still used in the modern digital world.



The above information was retained from Hollywoods History of Faking it: The Evolution of Green screen Compisitng at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8aoUXjSfsI&index=1&list=WL  (Posted by Filmmaker IQ - Youtube User)