natural skin picture style for greenscreen

[ProperTv]

I shot some clips with a greenscreen this week, and all the footage looked a little unnatural. The client wanted the raw footage to select the portions he would like to use in the movie, so he got the footage without color correction. I told him I would color correct everything, and sent him a color corrected file which looks very natural to me. The problem is he still thinks now the footage is not 100% perfect and he wants me to reshoot it. Since this is the first of 30 movies I want him to be 100% happy and I'm willing to reshoot it.

Ofcourse when I reshoot it, he's going to pixelpeep the images, so now it needs to be 100% perfect out of the camera. I light the subject and the greenscreen with LED lights that are 5500k, and shoot with a 600D running ML on 1.4x bitrate. I use a hairlight that is not 5500 k but a little greener, but since it's a very weak light it's not noticable in the footage.

Anyone who has a clue of what PP is best suited for this kind of job? It would save me some time if I don't have to try all PP's before going to this shoot

[Francis]

Well it is green screen so it is unnatural. What looks unnatural about it? Is it just the skin tones? What were your clients specific complaints? Maybe this go around, give them a color corrected version only.

My only suggestion to get in camera is to light the subject better. Try a soft light modifier like a softbox, umbrella, or scrim. You could also gel the light on the subject. Maybe a 1/4 CTO or 1/2 CTO on the key light, but leave the green screen as is.

[ProperTv]

It's the skin tone that looks unnatural to him. I shot with a neutral picture style, so he complains his face is a little 'bleached'. I tried to explain that I would color correct it during editing, but after seeing the raw footage I don't think he will ever be convinced he looks natural..

I know this is the danger of showing raw footage, but since he is part of the editing (he selects what images i should use for the editing), and i'm not really a big fan of color correcting footage I'm not using in the final edit, I should have a picture style which doesn't have to be corrected anymore. It should just be as realistic as possible, maybeye warm up a little bit because the lights I use are a little cold.

[Francis]

Try standard or portrait and play with the saturation and contrast. It is unfortunate that they are so involved with the editing but don't understand that color correction is part of it.

[eikerir]

If possible, post a snapshot of the footage, it would be easier to help you with a visual reference to see exactly what could be wrong.

[sparedog]

There is a fashion photo/tv studio here in Spain that develops picture styles that are for skin tones. There website is milkstudios.es
You could ask them if they do stuff for greenscreen?

[Nostradamus_1]

Proper TV

How did you get the job? Was is a referral based on previous work or a random request?

Whichever it is, do not let the "carrot" of 29 other jobs throw you. Your client clearly thinks that colour correction  isn't part of the post production process.  If it were me, I would use short a throw away section of footage and apply CC (three versions). If the client is not happy with one of them, then they will never be. And you need to face the fact that this is a one time deal (not 30).

You need to find a gentle way of reminding the client of why they hired you. And if the job was that easy they wouldn't need your services!

Good luck!   

[Russell]

While a good picture style for skin tones would help somewhat, your problem is that LED lighting is not good for skin tones. Because there are colours missing in the spectrum, no amount of colour grading can fix this. If the footage that it's to be layered on is daylight, flouro or tungsten lit, then that will make things worse. Your footage will look a bit washed out.

[kihlbahkt]

I agree with with Nostradamus_1. Respect your own work and dont get pushed around. If you know your final CC will be what is needed then try to finesse this client away from micro managing your workflow and time. It sounds like a client/partner relations issue and dont let that carrot of " lots of  future work" compromise how you do what you do. If he does not understand that the footage is not graded or CC'd then it should not be your responsibilty to do extra work so he can see post production results out of sequence. That said, if the money is good and the crap is worth dealing with  for 29 more movies then follow the money. If you think the footage is substandard, reshoot it. Everyone has room for improvement, if you think you need some for lighting, shooting or processing GS footage, grind thru youtube. There are many great tutorials for both shooting and processing DSLR GS footage to deal with proper screen removal, spill, shadows, and all the other crap that you face with actors on GS.  It isn't a simple subject if you want great results but a PS isn't gonna make things better. Good luck.