Hey, why is it so expensive to make movies now? Just an LED screen can easily cost hundreds of thousands, and if you buy it incorrectly, it will affect the final effect of the film. Let’s chat today——​ ​How to choose a professional LED screen for movie shooting? ​ ​

1. Let’s first understand: What’s the point of using an LED screen for movie shooting?

We must first know that movie-level LED screens and ordinary large screens are not the same thing. Ordinary advertising screens may be blindingly bright, but movie screens must be able to withstand 4K camera shooting. There are many ways to do this:

• ​​The refresh rate must be high enough​ ​: At least 1920Hz or higher, otherwise the picture will be smeared (imagine the afterimage effect of a martial arts scene)
• ​​The brightness can be adjusted​ ​: Indoor 800-1200cd/m², outdoor 4000+cd/m² (there will be no reflection when shooting outdoor scenes during the day)
• ​​Color accuracy must be precise​ ​: 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut is the basis (otherwise the colorist will have to cry and faint in the computer room)

To give a negative example, last year, a major network production team bought a second-hand screen for cheap. As a result, the face of the person's face turned green during the night scene, and it cost more than 200,000 yuan to retouch in the later stage.

2. Here comes the point! A reliable LED screen requires these three items

1. ​​Don’t be fooled by technical parameters​​

Before buying, take a small notebook and write down these hard indicators:

• ​​Pixel pitch​ ​: P2.5 and below are suitable for close-up shots, P4 and above are suitable for large background screens
• ​​Grayscale​ ​: Starting from 16bit (so that dark details will not be blurred into one piece)
• ​​Protection level​ ​: IP65 is standard (you won’t be afraid to use a water gun when filming a rain scene in Hengdian)

A veteran in the industry told me that when testing, you can adjust the screen brightness to the lowest level and take a slow-motion shot with your phone - if you can see the scan lines, the screen is basically useless.

2. ​​Certification qualifications are essential​​

Nowadays, Hollywood studios look for DCI certification, just like we look for health licenses when eating. Although it is not mandatory in China, there are screens with this certification:

• Color deviation rate <0.5% (the human eye cannot see the difference at all)
• The service life exceeds 100,000 hours (enough to film 50 TV series)
• The supporting playback system is encrypted and tamper-proof (to prevent the leakage of the master film)

I heard that this year a science fiction film set up a 600-square-meter certified screen in the studio, saving two-thirds of the green screen special effects fee.

3. ​​Service is more important than equipment​​

What is the crew most afraid of? The equipment broke down during the shoot! Reliable suppliers have:

• 24-hour on-site technician (had to be on call even if the play was changed at 3 a.m.)
• Provide spare modules (if any lamp bead breaks, replace it on the spot)
• Special-shaped screens can be customized (if you want round, just round, if you want curved, just curved)

Last year, a crew was filming in the desert, and the supplier directly brought drying equipment to maintain it. Only then could the daily filming progress of millions of dollars be maintained.

3. Personal point of view time

Let me tell you, LED movie screens are now subverting traditional shooting methods. It used to take three to five days to build a green screen shed, but now the splicing screen can be done in two hours. ； In the past, you had to wait for the weather to take pictures of the stars, but now you can directly use the 360° annular screen. But we also have to be clear-headed - no matter how great the technology is, it still depends on how it is used.

Take the recent popularity of virtual filming as an example. Some crews rely on LED screens to the point of obsession, and even refuse to go to the real forest. As a result, the movements of the leaves captured are so fake that the audience is stunned. So, good equipment must be matched with real skills. Just like a Michelin chef can cut flowers with a kitchen knife, but a novice may hurt his hands with a top-notch knife!

In the future, this industry will definitely become more and more rolled-up. I heard that there are already flexible screens that can be rolled into a cylinder. If they are not guaranteed, they will one day even be used for underwater shooting. But the fundamentals remain the same, and only those manufacturers that can understand the technical parameters thoroughly and accurately understand customer needs can stand firm in this wave of upgrading of the film and television industry.

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