Video: Amazing Greenscreen Showreel

I tweeted about this video yesterday, but far more people visit my blog than follow me on Twitter, so I thought it was worth sharing here. Embedded above is a four-minute showreel from special-effects company Stargate Studios, who do a huge amount of work for US television. This particular video highlights instances when greenscreen was used to fool viewers into believing actors are in different environments. I found it rather illuminating.

While there are plenty of shots you know would require greenscreen (such as the abandoned city sequences from The Walking Dead), it's incredible how many others go totally undetected. Would you ever have thought humble shows like Ugly Betty and Monk require gigantic greenscreens to falsify city streets? Did you consider that actors appearing in 24 (season 8 filmed in Los Angeles but was set in New York) had to run around followed by enormous mobile greenscreens? Well, maybe. But it's still eye-opening seeing how much digital trickery goes into US TV production. Enjoy the video!