![]() Proper steadycams cost an absolute fortune, but the Smoothee for iPhone is relatively cheap at £170 and if you're a handy DIY person, Johnny Chung Lee very kindly posted an article on how to build your very own steadycam for little more than US$14 (£9) in parts. With a steadycam, you can follow your subject wherever they may go. Usually, to get a steady moving shot, you'd put your camera on a dolly – essentially a set of tracks – but there's obviously huge limitations to this technique: one is that you mustn't show the ground otherwise you reveal the tracks another is the difficulty in going up or down stairs. ![]() The Shining is probably the best example of the use of steadycams, as the camera glides through the hotel's corridors and its maze. You could also use a photograph for the background if you prefer, since images are usually taken at resolutions that are much higher than high-definition video, eliminating the possibility of pixellating the backdrop if you zoom into it too much. Just make sure both the background and the subject were shot using a static camera – ideally on a tripod. You don't even need to zoom out of your background clip while you're shooting: all of it can be done from within iMovie. You can, however, cheat the whole thing by using a green screen backdrop. The effect works very well, but is very difficult to replicate with a consumer camera since the zoom controls on such devices are far from precise. The speed of the trackback and the zooming in must be the same for the subject's size to remain the same. To achieve this, you need to move the camera back as you zoom into your subject. The dolly zoom effect is very recognisable: the subject in the foreground stays motionless, but the background appears to change and zoom out so you can see more of it. Make sure you get at least two to light your subject evenly. Getting redheads is probably your best bet as it's not the most recent technology, so you can get them cheaper. Using the same lighting system for your subject would completely wash it out. Get two sets – one for either side of the screen. Twin 500W halogen work lights on a tripod will do an excellent job. Since you're on a budget, you need to find workarounds to expensive modern professional lights. This way, it'll be much easier to find the edges around the subject to avoid a potential halo around it when the backdrop is cut. You need to evenly light your backdrop then you'll need to light your subject separately. Otherwise, eBay has a lot of resellers offering affordable chroma key backdrops. ![]() If you already have a green or blue sheet, or even a wall of the appropriate colour, you could experiment with it and see if it works as expected. You'll need to get yourself some equipment, none of which is optional if you want the effect to work properly. Then you'll be able to be anywhere in the world. That's where it gets a little complicated, but it's perfectly achievable and the results are very effective, even on a low budget. But how do you get such a background in the first place? Low budget One of iMovie's advanced tools is the ability to automatically remove a green or blue background from a clip. Green or blue are used because both colours are the furthest away from all human skin tones. The idea behind the process is that it's easy to cut out a single colour, rendering it transparent and allowing you to put something else in its place. But obviously none of it is real – it's all done with smoke and mirrors, or more precisely, chroma keying. Being able to fly, walk on an alien world or survive a spectacular accident is par for the course in most blockbuster Hollywood movies.
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