How to use a green screen in your videos
Last updated 2026-11-10
To use a green screen, hang a smooth green backdrop, light it evenly and stand well in front of it. In editing, a chroma key picks that green and turns it transparent, so a new background shows through. Adjust tolerance, softness and spill until the edges look clean. In Woven Video, a Mac editor, open Mask, choose Green Screen and Pick the backdrop.
What a green screen and chroma key are
A green screen is a plain green backdrop you shoot in front of. Chroma key is the editing step that finds that color and makes it transparent. Whatever sits on a lower layer then shows through, so the person appears to stand in a new place.
Green is the usual choice because skin and hair have little green in them, so the key picks out the backdrop and leaves the person alone. Blue also works, and it is the better pick if someone is wearing green. Most editors offer a chroma key, so the same shoot works wherever you edit.
How to shoot a green screen
A good key is made on set. Time spent on lighting and distance saves far more time in the edit than any slider.
- Light the backdrop evenly. Use soft light from both sides so there are no bright patches or dark folds. An even color is easy to key. A patchy one is not.
- Light the person separately. A light on the person that does not hit the backdrop keeps each one clean. Match the direction of the light to the scene you will place them in.
- Stand well away from the screen. Keep at least a few feet between you and the backdrop. Standing close lets green light bounce onto your hair and shoulders. That glow is called spill.
- No green on the person. A green shirt, green glasses or a green prop will go see-through along with the backdrop.
- Smooth out the backdrop. Pull the cloth tight or use a painted wall. Wrinkles make shadows, and shadows are a different shade of green.
- Keep the camera steady and sharp. A fast shutter keeps moving hands crisp. Motion blur mixes the person and the green and leaves a ragged edge.
The key settings and what each one does
Every chroma key has the same few controls. Change one at a time, look at an edge at full size, and stop as soon as it is clean. Pushing a slider further only eats into the person.
Black, white and grey don't key at the default settings, because they have little color to pick.
| Setting | What it does | If the key looks wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Key color | The color that becomes see-through. It starts as a standard green. | Pick the actual backdrop on screen, since no cloth is the exact green. For blue, pick the blue. |
| Tolerance (starts at 30) | How far from the key color a shade can be and still disappear. | Raise it if green is left in shadows and folds. Lower it if the person is going see-through. |
| Softness (starts at 20) | How gradually the edge fades from solid to see-through. | Raise it for a natural edge and fine hair. Lower it if the edge looks blurry. |
| Spill (starts at 50) | Removes the green tint on the person's edges. | Raise it if the hair, shoulders or glasses look green. |
Green screen or a subject cut-out?
A green screen is not the only way to remove a background. A subject cut-out picks the person out of ordinary footage with no backdrop at all. Use the one that matches the footage you have.
| Compared | Green Screen | Subject cut-out |
|---|---|---|
| Needs a backdrop | Yes, one flat color | No, any footage |
| Where it runs | On the Mac, so there is nothing to wait for | A quick preview on the Mac, the clean cut-out in the cloud for video |
| Credits | None | A video uses credits. A photo is free |
| Best for | Footage you shot for it, with even light | Clips already filmed, or where you cannot set up a screen |
Common mistakes
Almost every failed key comes from the same short list.
- Uneven light. A bright patch next to a dark fold needs two different settings, and no single setting fixes both.
- Standing too close. The person picks up a green edge that no key can fully remove.
- Wearing the key color. The shirt vanishes. Check clothes and props before you shoot.
- Pushing Tolerance too far. The person starts to look thin and eaten away at the edges. Back off and use Spill instead.
- Wrong lane order. The keyed clip must sit above the background. If it sits below, the background hides it.
Use a green screen in Woven
Green Screen is in the Mask tab, under Cut out, and it works on a video or a photo. It runs entirely on the Mac, so it needs no internet and no credits, and there is no cloud step to wait for. The key color starts as green, and you can pick another color on the canvas, so a blue screen works too. Black, white and grey do not key at the default. You can also ask in chat and the agent sets the key for you.
Ask in chat
- Key out the green screen on this clip and put the city B-roll behind me.
- Key out the blue backdrop and put my slide recording behind the person.
- There is still a green edge around my hair: turn up Spill and Softness a little.
- Put the keyed clip above the background so the background shows through.
Or do it by hand
- 1Put the background below. Put the clip that should show through on a lower lane, and the green screen clip on a lane above it. Higher lanes cover lower ones, so the keyed clip must be on top. Ask in chat to move a clip to another lane.
- 2Open the Mask tab. Select the green screen clip. Its tabs are Crop, Style, Mask and Animation. Open Mask.
- 3Choose Green Screen. Under Cut out, click Green Screen. A Key panel opens with Key color, Tolerance, Softness and Spill.
- 4Pick the color. Click Pick next to Key color, then click the backdrop on the canvas. Esc cancels. Pick a mid-tone part of the screen, not a bright patch or a shadow.
- 5Tune the edge. Tolerance starts at 30, Softness at 20 and Spill at 50, each from 0 to 100. Raise Tolerance until the backdrop is gone, Softness for a natural edge and Spill to remove the green tint.
- 6Check the result. Step through the clip and look at the edge around the hair and hands at full size.
Common questions
Shoot in front of an evenly lit green backdrop, then chroma key that color in your editor so a new background shows through. In Woven, open Mask, choose Green Screen and Pick the backdrop.
Chroma key is the effect that turns one color transparent so another picture shows through. It is how green screen and blue screen footage get a new background.
No. Green Screen runs on the Mac, with no cloud step and no credits. A subject cut-out of a video is the one that finishes in the cloud on credits.
Yes. Click Pick next to Key color and click the backdrop on the canvas. A blue or another strongly colored backdrop keys the same way. A black, white or grey one doesn't key at the default settings, because it has little color to pick.
Raise Spill to remove the green tint, and Softness to blend the edge. If it persists, shoot again with the person further from the screen.
Not always. The Subject cut-out in the same Mask tab picks a person out of ordinary footage with no backdrop. A green screen gives a clean key when you can shoot one.
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