FXhome are specialists in visual effects software for photographers and filmmakers. They hired us to create a promotional image, illustrating the vast number of possibilities of their products, adding an edge of excitement to their brand along the way.

 

FXhome's green screen technology allows subjects to be shot in studio conditions, with backgrounds added in later taken from absolutely any context. It's a technique called 'comping' - and it's a forte of ours. We've done it successfully a number of times before, including this image of a cyclist racing through London. (He was actually photographed in our Norwich studio.)

 

For this job, then, we hired a local tropical garden and a smoke machine, and produced our background there - making room in the composition of the image for a model to be edited in later.

 

Next, we photographed our model. With her muddy appearance and clichéd outfit, we tried to inject a little humour into the image, and we also asked her to pose with an anxious expression for the tarantula that we edited onto the brim of her hat.

 

With a bit of humour as well as a lot of skill, this job shows what can be achieved with a green screen.

We also shot a parkour practitioner in our studio, arranging the lighting to match that of the background which we'd shot beforehand. The reason we did it in this way was that, had we shot our model on location, we would have had far, far less control over the ambient light, which would have prevented us from capturing the sharp and dynamic image we wanted. The green screen method afforded us this control. There's plenty more information - and a couple of videos about the shoot - here.