During the setup of my broadcasting studio, I found the need to hide the backgrounds behind the two people on the show. I wanted to provide a way to have multiple screens of different colors, including chroma-key Green. Then mount those screens so they are kept stretched and smooth for the broadcast. What I came up with was a four point mounting and an innovative Indie screen system.
Using cheap hardware from Lowe’s, building these screens was a breeze!
Required Parts (for 4-point mounting):
(4) Eye hooks
(1) Drill with properly sized bit
(1) Stud finder
First locate where you plan to mount your screens, and use the stud finder to help you find the perfect spot. Drill your holes and screw in the Eye hooks.
Required Parts (for one screen):
(4) bungee cords of appropriate length which depends on where your wall mounting points are.
(4) Eye hooks
(1) Bed Sheet, Twin bed size was perfect for my needs
(2) 2”x1”x96” boards
(6) Carpet tack strips (for mounting the bed sheet)
Spread the sheet out and position the 2” boards on either side. Roll the sheet around the 2” boards for one or two turns and use the carpet tacks to hold everything in place. Lastly, drill pilot holes into both ends of both 2” boards and screw in the eye hooks.
Roll the rest of the sheet around one of the 2” boards and wrap with Velcro straps for storage.
Mounting this is very easy and done within minutes by one person.
Clip one of the 2” boards across the top to the bungees attached to the upper two mounting points.
Then unwrap the Velcro and unfurl the screen slowly… don’t let it drop since you may damage the carpet tacks.
Lastly attach the lower bungees so the screen is nice and stretched.
Once your all stretched it should look like the image at the top of this article.
I built multiple screens of various colors. They store very easily in my closet and I pull out the appropriate one depending on topics of our show.
TIP: Spray Downy wrinkle eliminator onto the screens when they are stretched before your show. It puts a pleasant smell in the air and smooth’s your screen out very nicely.
If you have any questions or suggestions on other broadcasting equipment, please comment below.
And to see all of my Screen pictures, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielheth/sets/72157629653027764/
