Ok, so I caught at least 2 mistakes.  There shouldn't be wrinkles in the green material, and apparently I need to film some blank green screen footage before using a blue puppet.  Any tips?

Not bad. I actually had to look close to see the wrinkles. Not sure the wrinkles are the issue though.  Have a look at this tips video. There are actually tons of wrinkles in his green screen.

Thanks for the video Shawn!  Explains a few things. 

I do a lot of green screen if I can help please ask.

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I see the pixelation on his head but I don't see any background issues.

Are you lighting the green screen at all? I found that backlighting the green screen evenly really made it 100x easier to get a clean shot.

I think you have done pretty well.  practice, practice, practice and experiment.

Thanks

I see the pixelation on his head but I don't see any background issues.

Are you lighting the green screen at all? I found that backlighting the green screen evenly really made it 100x easier to get a clean shot.

To be honest, I seem to be having trouble with lighting.  On this test, I was trying to use natural light through open windows.  The below video was shot with a lighting kit, though I am struggling with where to put them.  For some reason, when I try following the 3 point lighting setup, I get washed out puppets.

I do a lot of green screen if I can help please ask.

Thanks, will most likely take you up on that

There is so many factors with chroma work, and not all of us have the tools, resources, computer hardware, etc. to make it all happen. So I found for me at least, eliminating as many variables as possible helped me.

Here is what worked for me:

1 - Pull the chroma background as tight as possible. Loose background gave me those shadow ripples.
2 - I used 2 lights, 1 from each side. Lights were positioned behind the puppets at around 45deg angles.
3 - Test samples. I would spend an hour or two recording 5-10 seconds, pulling on computer, throwing a white background on to check how my keying did. Once happy, shot video.
4 - Marked my spots. I had the key secure on a wall, gaffer tape on floor to mark lighting spots, etc. so setup/breakdown in my area (i was using basement) was a lot faster each time forward.


Hope it helps some, I'm by no means an expert. Just some things that worked for me.

For some reason, when I try following the 3 point lighting setup, I get washed out puppets.

Is the back light spilling light straight into the camera lens? This could cause the shot to become washed out, even if the light isn't in the shot. If this is your issue you might have to use a flag on your camera or light.

Tyger,

I think maybe you are too close to the green screen.  I see in that last shot the screen move even with slight movement of the puppet. That tells me your body must be touching the bottom of the drop.  Have enough depth where you can light the screen separate from the puppet.