The Secret Hack that Artlist.io is Bringing to You
Video marketing has become vital to the success of a product, and getting the perfect shot can make or break your marketing effort. One of the most critical aspects of a product video is the background of your product. You need It to simultaneously blend with your product’s vibe and be interesting, but not too much so that it will overshadow your product.
One way to create a background is by using a green screen and adding it in post-production, but that can be time-consuming and costly. Other ways include painting a wall, lighting it with RGB lights or using a softbox. You can also attach a colored paper to cardboard and use it as a background.
However, there is a simple, cost-effective way to create different types of backgrounds, and it will not require you to compromise on the quality of your video. We recently used this secret hack when we shot our Life of an Indie Filmmaker commercial. As you’ll see, the result was seamlessÂ
The Basics
The essence of this secret hack is creating a beautiful background for your product shots using a TV screen or a computer. Just open an image on that screen or create one with a graphics software. We like to use Photoshop, but you can choose whichever you prefer. Now that you have your screen background, just place your main object in front of it and there you have it – the perfect background for your product.
You can get super creative with different backgrounds or keep it simple with a solid color. To add glare to your shot, place your object on a reflective surface. If you want to enhance your glare, use a spinning platform like a lazy Susan.
The big plus of using this technique is the beautiful backlight you’re getting from the screen. The obvious drawback is the limited space you have to work with.Â
To get the best results, we highly suggest using a tripod and a focal length of 35mm lens or up. Don’t forget to make sure to adjust your camera shutter and frame rates to avoid any flickering coming from the screen.
Beyond Product Video
You can also take this hack to the next level and get super creative with it. In the ad we shot, we used this hack to recreate a realistic subway car without actually leaving our studios.
First, we built a set wall of a subway car with a window in the middle, orange plastic chairs, a metal pole, a map and a few stickers to make it as real as possible. To tie everything together and make it look like a real, working subway car, we needed to fake the passing view from the window and make it look like the car is in motion.Â
The obvious choice would have been to use a green screen, but we decided to go a different route. We created a looping background in Cinema 4D and played it on a TV screen which we placed behind the window. That helped us create realistic reflections from the car window with minimal post-production work. It also saved us time and money that we would have spent on gear for lighting a green screen.
To bring everything to life, we moved around an HMI light simulating the lighting of a moving subway while we physically rocked the whole set back and forth.
That’s a Wrap
So, if you’re doing a product video and you want to avoid post-production work or prefer not to deal with a green screen, use a TV or computer screen. You will be amazed by the result.Â
Until next time, stay creative.
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Did You Know?
- Raindance Film Festival is considered one of the top fifteen film festivals in the world?
- Raindance has a Higher Education programme offering HND, BA and MA in Filmmaking and Screenwriting?
- Raindance members support indie film, and enjoy a range of benefits
- Let Raindance guide you on your filmmaking pathway. call +44 (0) 207 930 3412 or email filmschool@raindance.ac.uk
Artlist is a leading creative technology company offering content creators powerful video and image editing software, and over 900,000 professional digital assets under a revolutionary, global license that covers every project worldwide.
In its mission to empower people to tell stories through video, Artlist offers four products: Artlist.io, a royalty-free music and SFX platform; Artgrid.io, a curated stock footage platform; MotionArray.com, an all-in-one marketplace for creators including video templates, presets, music, SFX, stock footage, motion graphics, and stock photos; and FXhome by Artlist, a cutting-edge video, VFX and image editing software. Artlist works with a growing team of contributors across the globe, updating its catalogs daily with fresh content while preserving a consistently high level of quality across its media and platforms.
Since its founding in 2016, Artlist has revolutionized the industry by offering subscription-based products under an unmatched license, and is becoming the ultimate 360-degree solution for content creators. Recognized as a top startup by LinkedIn and WIRED, Artlist counts Google, Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, Ikea, Mercedes, Samsung, Wix, Netflix, Dior, and many more among its 17 million clients.
