GreenKey

How does the exhibit work?

Sit on the rocket in front of the green background. Look at the screen: you are flying through space!

What is the science behind it?

This technology is called chromakey. You may also know it as 'greenscreen' or 'greenkey'. It is very popular with weather presenters. They are often in front of a green background during their job .An image of the weather map replaces the green colour. Just pay close attention when you see the weather report. The weather man or woman is not looking behind them. No, they look to the side. There is a television screen there on which they can see the weather map.

Here too, we replace the green background with something else: a spectacular video of the space. Just sit on our rocket and look at the screen. Do you see yourself flying through space? Yohooo!

By the way, did you know that chromakey allows you to use any colour? Green and blue are most commonly used. Why? Because those contrast well with the skin. Unless you're the Hulk, of course. Or a smurf.

Chromakey with a little extra

If film stars have green clothes, it may cause a problem when shooting with chromakey. That's where Netflix came up with a solution: the 'Magenta Green Screen'.

The movie stars are filmed against a backdrop of bright green LEDs. From the front, they are illuminated with red and blue LEDs. These give the film stars a magenta glow. That way, the software can quickly spot the difference between the movie stars and the green background. And with AI, the magenta film stars get their regular colours back. Ready. Set. Action!

Chromakey in the films

Before they had Netflix's solution, filmmakers had to get creative. As, for example, in the 2002 'Spider-Man' film. Spider-Man has a red and blue suit. His enemy, the Green Goblin, a green suit. In scenes where they both flew through the air, Spider-Man had to act in front of a green screen and Green Goblin in front of a blue screen. If they had stood in front of the same colour, one of them would be partially transparent.