Underwater Green Screen

[kccannon]

So I'm going to work on a production project (some time next year) that involves underwater green screen (not like one of those little videos of a guy walking around pretending to hold his breath with an ocean background) I'll try and post some videos of what i'm trying to do (nothing matches perfectly)

I know that the lighting will be a huge pain even with specialized lights, any ideas?

tips in keeping the camera steady?

If their is an easier way to do this please tell me

Just pay attention to the swimming scenes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um0rgqojSy4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcsaUJTGcMk

[guns1inger]

I know it sounds too obvious to be helpful, but Google is your friend.

http://www.digitalgreenscreen.com/underwater.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umCblEAo1ng
http://forums.creativecow.net/archivepost/54/786953
http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=27412

And pages more

[redwudz]

Sandbags on a camera tripod will work well enough.

For lighting, you can try a reflector made of a piece of plywood with aluminum foil glued to it and suitably weighed down. Cheaper than underwater lights and it works well in outdoor pools with overhead sunlight.

Good luck with the underwater green screen. You may have to keep the surface of the pool smooth to keep out unwanted light reflections.

But I'm no expert on underwater photography.

BTW, if you remove those brackets from your links, they will work properly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um0rgqojSy4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcsaUJTGcMk

And welcome to our forums.

[kccannon]

sandbags never thought of that. And mirrors would work great.

and thanks for the bracket tip hahaha

[dLee]

If your project can afford it, there are underwater stages / pools that will already have everything you need.

Water clarity (out in the real world) is a huge issue for underwater photography. You can wait for days for the water to clear.

Underwater stage water is heavily filtered, so you can shoot on schedule.

[kccannon]

Well their is a local dive shop with an indoor pool
Think that would work, I can ask a year in advance so they may say yes

[dLee]

Well their is a local dive shop with an indoor pool
Think that would work, I can ask a year in advance so they may say yes

If they do a lot of this type of thing, it could work, but most dive shops use their pools for teaching and testing, not photography.

Safety is a big issue. You need strong lights to get a good image and that means AC not batteries. People can drown, too. Unless you're going to make this a specialty, go with someone who has experience.

A good rule of thumb when working around water is to allow 3X to 5X more time to do the same thing on dry land - with occasional 10X situations.

If you're asking for a freebie from the dive shop, if something that pays comes along, you'll be out.