Use a green or blue screen (chroma key) in your video projects is a great way to introduce a professional and great look to your video productions. Having the ability to change your subject’s background in post-production will give you limitless options when it comes to your final product. There are a wide variety of chroma key backgrounds to choose from that will give your video production a polished look similar to larger video productions.

The basic idea of green screen production is simple: set up a green screen, shoot your talent in front of it, then remove the green in your video editing software and replace it with your chosen background in post-production. However, getting a precise key from your footage can be a trial and error process that could cause frustration if the original footage is not shot correctly.

Here are a few easy tips you can use to help make your green screen background production as seamless as possible:

1. How to choose a chroma backdrop

   A. Whether you use green or blue (the most common chroma-key colors) is up to you. A clean key can be achieved with either color, but you will want to take into account the color of clothing your talent will be wearing and also make sure nothing in your scene closely matches the color of the background color you are trying to remove.

   B. Use paint or Dropping cloth and try to remove as many wrinkles or variations in the color of your background as you can. The more consistent your background color, the easier time you will have removed it in post-production.

Can I clean the Chroma Backdrop cloth if it gets dirty?

Try to keep your Chroma keys as clean as possible - the less you have to clean them the better. The GREAT feature of our fabric Chroma Key screens/backgrounds is that they are washable. If it's a small spot - try to spot wash it with warm water and a mild detergent. If it's large or a tuff stain - go ahead and put it in a washing machine. Now don't try that with seamless paper! Also - make sure you don't use a detergent that has bleach in it.

1. Illumination

   A. This is probably THE most important aspect of a good green screen video production. Having a well lit, the consistent background color is key (no pun intended) to be able to remove the background seamlessly from your shot.

   B. Set up a series of lights that illuminate your backdrop consistently and try to reduce the number of hotspots on the backdrop. Outdoor or fluorescent lighting is a good option because it is a diffused light that spreads evenly across your backdrop.

   C. Light your subject well using diffuse lighting as well. Also, a backlight that illuminates the back of the subject will help to create a clean edge for your video software to work with.

2. Setting up Your Scene

   A. Place your subject a minimum of 4 steps from your backdrop. This will eliminate shadows from falling onto the green screen and will also help to minimize the color spill. Color spill occurs when the reflected green from your backdrop “spills” onto your subject and causes the color of clothing or skin to change hue to match the background. This can cause problems for your color key software and results in rough edges on the final production.

3. Camera Setup

   A. Try to shoot your video with the best HD camera you have available. If possible, use a camera that allows you to make manual adjustments to the ISO/Gain, shutter speed, and white balance. The ISO/Gain controls should be set to a low setting. This will require more light but will give you the cleaner video with less noise and artifacts to deal with.

By following this way of techniques, you should be able to create a clean shot that will allow you to easily remove the chroma key from your background. Now you can replace the green screen with a virtual set background or other video backgrounds. Have fun!