How to remove the background from a video
Last updated 2026-11-10
To remove the background from a video, cut the person out so everything around them turns see-through, then put a new clip, photo or color on a lane behind them. A clean cut needs steady light and contrast between the person and the wall. In Woven Video, a Mac editor, select the clip, open the Mask tab and choose Cut out, Subject.
What background removal is, and when to use it
Removing the background means separating the person from what is behind them, so the area around the person becomes see-through. Whatever you place on a lower layer then shows through. The old way was to shoot in front of a green screen. A subject cut-out does the same job from ordinary footage, with no special backdrop.
It is worth the effort when the original background is the problem, or when a new one would make the video better.
- Talking head over B-roll. Put the speaker in front of the footage they are describing, instead of cutting away from them.
- Product and creator shots. Move someone out of a messy room and into a clean, branded or on-topic scene.
- A plain backdrop. Replace a grey wall or an office with a solid color, a gradient or a photo.
- Blur only the background. Keep the person sharp and soften everything behind them. This is a cut-out with a blurred copy underneath.
How to get a clean cut
A cut-out is only as good as the footage you give it. Most rough edges come from the shot, not the tool. A few minutes of setup saves a lot of fixing.
| Factor | Do this | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Lighting | Even, soft light on the face, and a separate light level on the wall | Hard shadows on the wall that run into the person's outline |
| Contrast | A wall that differs from skin, hair and clothes in color and brightness | A beige wall with a beige jumper, or black hair against a dark room |
| Hair | Light the hair from behind or the side so it separates from the wall | Loose, thin strands against a busy backdrop |
| Motion | A steady camera and a fast enough shutter that the edges stay crisp | Fast hand waves, which smear into the background |
| Distance | A few feet between the person and the wall | Leaning on the wall, so the person and the backdrop touch |
| Clutter | One person, framed clearly, with nothing held in front of the face | Crowds, reflections and glass that show the old background through the person |
What to put behind the person
The new background does two jobs: it adds context, and it must not fight the person for attention. Choose something quieter than the person, and give it room.
- B-roll. Footage of what the speaker is describing. A slow shot works best, so the person stays the focus.
- A photo or screenshot. A product image, a map or a slide. Make sure it has an empty area where the person will stand.
- A solid color or gradient. The cleanest look, and the easiest to read on a phone.
- A blurred copy of the same clip. Keeps the original light and color, and is the fastest way to isolate a person.
- Big text. Place a word behind the person for depth. See text behind a person in a video.
Common mistakes
Most bad cut-outs are caught by pausing on a still and looking at the edge at full size.
- A halo around the person. A thin bright or dark outline means the edge is too loose. Tighten the cut until it goes.
- A hard, cut-paper edge. A little feathering softens the edge so the person sits in the scene. Too much looks like a glow.
- Mismatched light. A person lit from the left in front of a scene lit from the right looks pasted on. Pick a background whose light roughly matches.
- A busy background. Detailed footage behind the person pulls the eye away from them. Pick a calmer shot or blur it.
- Cutting out the wrong person. With two people in the shot, check who was cut out. Choose the person yourself rather than trusting the default.
Remove a video background in Woven
In Woven, the Subject cut-out is in the Mask tab. It needs no green screen. For a video, the Mac draws a quick preview on the canvas straight away, and the clean cut-out finishes in the cloud. It uses your Woven credits, and you need to be signed in with a Woven license. Export waits for the finished cut-out, and Woven only cuts the parts of the clip your reel actually uses. For a photo, the cut-out is made on the Mac at once, with no credits. If your footage has a green backdrop, use Green Screen instead, which runs on the Mac. You can also ask in chat and the agent sets the cut-out for you.
Ask in chat
- Cut out the person in my talking-head clip and put the beach B-roll behind them.
- Blur everything behind me but keep me sharp.
- Cut out the woman on the left, not the main speaker.
- Tighten the edge of the cut-out a little and soften it slightly.
- Cut out the person in this photo and put the city clip behind it.
Or do it by hand
- 1Stack the clips. Put what should show behind the person on a lower lane, and the person's clip on the lane above it. Higher lanes cover lower ones. Ask in chat to move a clip to another lane if you need to.
- 2Open the Mask tab. Select the person's clip on the timeline or canvas. A video or photo has the tabs Crop, Style, Mask and Animation. Open Mask.
- 3Choose Subject. Under Cut out, click Subject. A light runs round the tile while it works, and the canvas shows the quick preview straight away. A red mark on the tile means the cut-out needs you, so click it to show the problem in Activity.
- 4Choose the person. In the Person row, Main cuts out the main person, Everyone cuts out every person, and Pick lets you click one. For Pick, move the playhead onto the clip, click the person on the canvas, and press Esc to cancel.
- 5Tune the edge. Under Edges, Tighten pulls the cut in (it starts at 25) and Feather softens it (it starts at 0). Both go from 0 to 100. Invert, set to On, swaps the cut-out so it keeps everything except the person.
- 6Or put a group behind them. To put photos or B-roll behind a person and leave their clip whole, put the photos or B-roll in a group on a lane above the person's clip. Select the group, open Mask, choose Subject, pick the person's clip in Subject in, and turn Invert On. The group now shows everywhere except where the person is, so they stand in front of it. With Invert Off, the group plays inside the person's outline instead.
- 7Watch Activity. Open Activity in the toolbar to see the cut-out working. It tells you if you need an internet connection, need to sign in or are out of credits, and lets you try again.
Common questions
Cut the person out so the area around them is see-through, then put a clip, photo or color on a lower lane. In Woven, select the clip, open the Mask tab and choose Cut out, Subject.
No. A subject cut-out works on ordinary footage. A green screen is still the cleanest route if you can shoot one, and Woven has Green Screen in the same Mask tab for that case.
Both. The Mac draws a quick preview straight away, and the clean cut-out for a video finishes in the cloud on your Woven credits. A photo is cut out on the Mac at no cost, and Green Screen also runs on the Mac.
Yes. In the Person row, choose Pick and click the person on the canvas, or choose Everyone to keep both. If Woven cannot find the person you picked at some moment, that part follows the main person and tells you.
Yes. Blur a copy of the clip on a lower lane and cut the person out of the clip above it. The blur guide shows the steps.
Usually the footage: low contrast with the wall, a shadow touching the person, or fast motion. Re-shoot with even light and some distance from the wall, then adjust Tighten and Feather.
Export waits for the finished cut-out. The canvas shows only a quick preview until then, so check Activity and wait for it to finish before you export.
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