Set Building for a Small Company Isn’t an Option –
Why Green Screen and B-Roll Are the Cost-Effective Solution

Large studios can build custom sets for every video.
Small companies — especially those balancing teaching, science communication, sailing content, and corporate work — simply can’t.

At Philip M Russell Ltd, space is valuable, budgets are sensible, and every square metre of the studio has multiple jobs.
Building and storing sets for each video would be impractical, expensive, and time-consuming.
So instead, we rely on two powerful tools:

✔ Green screen
✔ Extensive B-roll libraries

Together, they give us flexibility without the cost of physical construction.

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Why Set Building Isn’t Realistic for Small Teams

A proper physical set requires:

• materials and construction time

• physical storage

• painting and dressing

• lighting adjustments for every shoot

• money that could be better spent on equipment or teaching resources

Even a simple backdrop becomes expensive once you add props, lighting, and redesigns for future videos.

By contrast, a green screen setup takes seconds to deploy and adapts to any topic or environment we need.

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The Power of the Green Screen

Green screen allows us to drop presenters, experiments or instruments into:

• a virtual lab

• a sailing chart room

• a wind tunnel

• a lecture theatre

• a digital whiteboard

• a multispectral display

• a clean corporate background

• branded teaching layouts

With consistent lighting and a good key, the results are professional and endlessly reusable.

Benefits:

• Unlimited backgrounds

• No physical storage

• Branding or diagrams added instantly

• Perfect for online lessons and science demos

• Ideal when the real environment is noisy or messy

• Portable when filming on location

Green screen lets us build sets with pixels, not plywood.

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The Role of B-Roll

While the green screen provides the environment, B-roll provides the texture.

Our library includes footage from:

• lab experiments

• sensors and equipment

• sailing on the Thames

• organ and synthesiser controls

• drone aerials

• wildlife and macro shots

• behind-the-scenes workflow

• sustainability clips for the Going Green podcast

Instead of building a set, we cut to visuals that support the explanation.
It saves time, prevents dead air, and makes content more dynamic.

Why B-roll matters:

• covers edits

• adds detail and context

• keeps students and viewers engaged

• allows demonstrations without resetting the whole studio

• is infinitely reusable across lessons and projects

A strong B-roll library is one of the most valuable assets a small production company can build.

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Where the Two Meet

A typical Philip M Russell Ltd shoot might use:

1. Presenter on green screen

2. Digital background matching the topic

3. B-roll illustrating each step

4. Picture-in-picture overlays for equipment or diagrams

5. Graphics added in DaVinci Resolve or Fusion

This produces a polished, professional video — with no set building, no storage, and no need for dedicated rooms.

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The Takeaway

For a small company, sets are luxuries.
Green screen and B-roll are practical, flexible, and much more cost-effective.
They allow us to teach science, explain technology, demonstrate equipment, and tell stories from the river — all without building a single wall.

When space and budget are limited, creativity and workflow make all the difference.