How to Use a Green Screen

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This wikiHow teaches you how to film your video using a green screen so you can easily add your own custom background. After filming with a green screen, you can use either Shotcut or LightWorks—both of which are free and available on Windows and Mac computers—to replace the green screen with your preferred background image or video.

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

Creating a Green Screen Video

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  1. You can buy an industry standard green screen online, or you can use a lime-green sheet or poster paper in a pinch. [1]
    • Your green screen should have as few wrinkles as possible, and should be one uniform color throughout.
  2. You'll need at least 3 feet between the green screen and the subject to minimize shadows, which is important when phasing out the green screen later. For best results, aim for at least 10 to 15 feet between the subject and screen—this will help mimic the lighting in the background clip to make subject look natural. [2]
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  3. You'll want your camera far enough away to capture all of your body (if applicable) in the frame, without being so far away that the green screen isn't centered in the frame. [3]
  4. Watermark wikiHow to Use a Green Screen
    Record yourself or your subject in front of the green screen. Make sure that any movements or objects in the frame stay in front of the green screen, as anything shot outside of the green screen frame will end up being cut from the final video.
  5. Once you've finished recording the video, you'll need to put it on your computer so that you can edit it.
    • If the video is on a phone, consider uploading it to a cloud service like Google Drive and then downloading it onto your computer from there.
    • If the video is on an SD card, you can usually insert it directly into your computer (or a USB/SD card adapter that's plugged into your computer) to move the video.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

Editing with LightWorks

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  1. Go to https://www.lwks.com in your browser and click the blue Download Now button at the top-right corner of the page.
  2. Click the Windows tab or the Mac tab depending on which type of computer you use.
  3. For a Windows computer, click Download 32-bit for a 32-bit operating system, or click Download 64-bit for a 64-bit operating system.
  4. Once the LightWorks setup file finishes downloading, do the following:
    • Windows - Double-click the setup file, click Yes when prompted, select a language and click OK , click Next , check "I accept" and click Next , click Next three more times, enter a random number, and click Install . Click Next and then Finish when the installation completes.
    • Mac - Open the LightWorks DMG file, click and drag the LightWorks icon onto the Applications folder shortcut, and verify the software if prompted. Follow any other on-screen instructions as they appear.
  5. To do so:
    • Windows - Double-click the red LightWorks icon on your desktop.
    • Mac - Click the LightWorks app icon in your Mac's Dock, or click Spotlight
      Mac Spotlight
      , type in lightworks , and double-click the lightworks result.
  6. It's a link in the upper-left corner of the window.
  7. In the pop-up window that appears, do the following:
    • Enter a name in the "Name" text field.
    • Select Mixed rates from the "Frame rate" drop-down menu.
    • Click Create .
  8. It's near the bottom-left corner of the window.
  9. Click the green screen video that you want to use, then hold down Ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) while clicking the image or video that you want to use as the background.
    • If you don't see the files that you want to use, click the Places button at the top, and then select the folder in which your files are stored.
  10. It's in the lower-left corner of the window. This will import your files into LightWorks.
  11. This option is at the top of the LightWorks window, just right of the LOG tab.
  12. Right-click the horizontal track section at the bottom of the window, click Tracks in the drop-down menu, and then click Add video in the pop-out menu. You will see a "V2" track category appear on the left side of the window.
  13. Drag your green screen video into the "V1" section of the track area and drop it there, and then drag the background image or video file into the "V2" section.
    • If you're using a background video, the video should be the same length as your green screen video.
    • If you're using a background image, you'll need to click and drag the image's left or right edge to extend it to be the length of the video.
  14. It's at the top of the LightWorks window.
  15. Right-click the "V1" track at the bottom of the window, click Add , click the Key category, and then click Chromakey in the menu.
  16. It's in the Chromakey panel next to the word "Saturation."
  17. This will select any matching color as the item to replace with your background image or video.
  18. Click and drag the "Remove spill" slider that's on the left side of the page to the right. Doing so minimizes the amount of green that you'll see due to inconsistent color in your green screen.
  19. It's the triangle button below the video.
    • If you need to adjust the green screen some more, do so on the left side of the window.
  20. To do this, click the EDIT tab again, right-click the track section, and then select Export . Click YouTube , uncheck the "Upload to YouTube.com" box if it's checked, and then click Start in the bottom-left corner. This will convert the project into a playable video file.
    • Exporting may take several minutes to several hours based on the video's size and resolution.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

Editing with Shotcut

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  1. Go to https://www.shotcut.org in your browser, click the Click to Download link at the top, and then click your operating system's download link to begin the download.
    • Windows - Click either 64-bit Windows installer or 32-bit Windows installer depending on your computer's bit number. Check your computer's bit number if you don't know whether your version of Windows is 64 bits or 32 bits.
    • Mac - Click macOS below the "macOS" heading.
  2. Once the setup file finishes downloading, do the following:
    • Windows - Double-click the Shotcut setup file, click Yes if prompted, click I agree , click Next , click Install , and click Close when the installation finishes.
    • Mac - Double-click the Shotcut DMG file, click and drag the Shotcut icon onto the Applications folder shortcut, and verify the software if prompted. Follow any other on-screen instructions as they appear.
  3. You'll find it in the Windows Start menu, or your Mac's Applications folder.
  4. Click the Playlist tab at the top of the window, then click the Timeline tab at the top of the window. You'll see a "Playlist" section appear on the left side of the Shotcut window, while the "Timeline" section will appear at the bottom of the window. [4]
  5. Click Open File in the upper-left side of the Shotcut window, select the green screen video and its background by clicking one file and then holding down Ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) while clicking the second file, and then click Open in the bottom-right corner. The file names will appear in the Playlist section.
    • You can use a video or an image as your green screen video's background.
  6. In the Timeline section at the bottom of the window, click the three-line menu at its top-left corner, and then click Add Video Track . Then, repeat this process to add a second video channel.
  7. Click and drag your green screen video from the Playlist window onto the top channel in the Timeline section, then drop it.
  8. Click and drag the background photo or video onto the second channel at the bottom of the Timeline section, then drop it.
    • If you're using a background video, the video should be the same length as your green screen video.
    • If you're using a background image, you'll need to click and drag the image's left or right edge in the timeline to extend to the length of the video.
  9. It should be at the top of the Timeline section.
  10. This option is at the top of the window. A "Filters" menu will appear in the Playlist section.
  11. You'll find this below the "Filters" menu. Doing so will open a list of available filters in the Playlist section.
  12. It's a computer monitor-shaped icon below the Playlist section. This will show all available video filters.
  13. You'll find this in the middle of the Playlist window. Doing so opens the green screen settings.
  14. Click and drag the "Distance" slider to the right until your green screen replacement image or video appears in place of the green screen on the right side of the window.
    • As a general rule, you want to avoid moving this slider over to the "100%" mark.
  15. Click the "Play" triangle below the movie window on the right side of the window, then adjust your green screen as needed. If you can see a large amount of the green screen, drag the "Distance" slider to the right; if you can't see enough of the background, drag the slider left.
  16. Click the File menu, select Export Video... , and then click Export File at the bottom of the menu. Enter your desired file name into the "File name" (PC) or "Name" (Mac) field, and then click Save .
    • Exporting may take several minutes to several hours based on the video's size and resolution.
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  • Question
    Why does a green screen work?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    The bright green screen (or a bright blue screen can work too) allows the filmmaker to easily separate the human or animal actors from recorded video or film and replace the background with anything at all. It works because greens (or blues) differ so much from human skin tones or animal fur colors, making it easy to isolate all the greens/blues and superimpose the actors onto any desired background.
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  • Question
    Is there any software I can use when using a green screen?
    Community Answer
    Most film/photo editing software has a chroma key feature. If you are on a tight budget, there are scripts you can download for Windows Movie Maker at no cost. If you are on a medium budget, software such as Wondershare Filmora would do. If you are recording a high end movie and have a lot of money to spend, you can invest in software such as Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere Pro.
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  • Question
    Can I use a phone camera for this?
    Community Answer
    You can, but keep in mind that your phone will not capture the same quality as a camcorder. Of course, if this is for a low res YouTube video then it will not make much difference.
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      Tips

      • When you're shooting in front of a green screen, it's important to completely separate out the subject from the background. You can use photo or video editing tools to help with the separation and blending.
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      • Never wear any shade of green in front of a green screen, as doing so will cause your clothing to blend into the background.
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      Warnings

      • LightWorks is free to use, but several features (such as the ability to export to a file type like MP4) are locked if you don't own the paid Pro version.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.livescience.com/55814-how-do-green-screens-work.html
      2. ↑ https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/how-to-use-green-screen.html
      3. ↑ https://www.videomaker.com/article/c10/17026-how-does-green-screen-work
      4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpYBj9dByqU

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To use a green screen, set up the screen and make sure it has as few wrinkles as possible. When you're ready to film, stand at least 3 feet in front of the screen to avoid a shadow, and position the camera so that you can see your body and the screen is centered. Then, shoot the video, being careful to stay within the frame and in front of the screen. Upload the video onto your computer and edit the background with a green screen software, like Shotcut or LightWorks. For tips on using the editing software properly, read on!

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