Would yellow curtains work as a blue screen?

[Rudyard]

I was wondering if I could use the yellow curtains I have in my house as a type of blue screen?

I dont know if blue screens are actually or have to be blue (i saw on a making of video, it appeared green?) but could I film something at home in front of the yellow curtains and then in a video editiing program set the lumar key to remove the yellow and then overlay the video over something else giving the similar blue screen effect of say super man flying over a back drop?

Would that work or is it not that simple?

[adam]

Well the process is that simple but green, and sometimes blue, screens are used for a reason and that's because there is very little of this color in fleshtone. If you use a yellow backdrop and then remove that color your video is probably going to look like a scene from the invisible man.

Best to use something green and get it hung as tightly as possible and then light the hell out of the set.

[guns1inger]

There are technical reasons why blue and green (and they are particular shades of blue and gree) are used, however in some cases other colours are used instead. For instance, for Predator, because the background was jungle, a red suit was used to allow the predator to be keyed out of th eframe.

Be aware that yellow is close to some skin tones, and the reflection could well make keying more difficult that with some other colours. That said, it will only take you 10 minutes to test it out to see if it is feasible.

[Rudyard]

Thanks fellas, I will give it a try and see what happens.

Another thing you have made me think of is that the curtains would need to be tight as they are currently a bit wavey which would create shadows and different tones of yellow.

I was just thinking about doing some fun scenes or gags....its just a hobby I really enjoy, nothing professional for me.

[guns1inger]

Go and buy a cheap blue double bed bedsheet and use that instead.

[Rudyard]

Didnt even think of that guns1inger.....I have one at home in the linen closet! Great idea, thanks!

[julitomg]

A few tips:
Tighten your screen(wether curtains or bedsheet)as much as posible to avoid wrinkles, light it as evenly as possible(even if you shoot outdors), keep your subject away from the backdrop as much as possible to avoid getting any stray light reflection from the back on your subject(wich would get colored as it reflects the screen´s surface), use a back light behind your subject and point it to the back of his/hers head and shoulders (another trick is to fit that back light with a colored gelof the opposite color of the back screen,for example, if you use a blue screen, your back light could be orange, etc..)
(Sorry about the bad english... )

[Rudyard]

Thankyou julitomg, I appreciate any advice given. This should be fun to play around with and test some results!