Fun with Green Screens: Liven up your Content

If you’re looking to liven up your photos or video, there are few better ways to do so than to use a green screen. Green screens offer a wide range of benefits including:

• Flexibility – Green screens give you the ability to shoot different locations without having to physically be in a different location. You can create consistency by choosing specific backgrounds within a series of locations.
• Save Time – Once mastered, setting up a green screen takes very little time. Especially compared to the time spent traveling to multiple locations and setting up equipment. Dedicated green screen rooms reduce time even more. You just need to adjust your lighting and go.
• Branding – Since you can add a wide variety of elements to your work (texture, images, colors) you can make your brand’s identity stand out.
• Re-Use – Green screens have a re-use functionality. Maintaining the original piece allows you to update branding and other textual evidence without having to re-shoot the material. It’s also great for blending videos while making the background seem consistent.

If you’re a fan of creating YouTube content, blogging, or building your Instagram fan base, you need to try a green screen. Once you give it a try you’ll be captivated by how simple and fun it is. The best part is that using a green screen is more accessible and affordable than ever. The video editing technology that exists now doesn’t require fancy background material in a specific shade of green. Heck, some don’t even require the background to be green (but most do). Try out these suggestions if you want to give a green screen a try.

There a few different ways that you can create your own green screen:

• Backdrop Method – This is likely the easiest of the options. There are many stores that offer backdrops for green screens at affordable prices. You can get a 6’x9’ solid muslin backdrop in green from Amazon for $15. You don’t have to have the backdrop equipment either. Just DIY a way to hang your cloth on a wall. I have used Blu-tack (the adhesive putty) with a tack through it with great success and minimal hole punctures.
• Backdrop Method (Bedsheet) – It is possible to use a green bedsheet as a backdrop which can be more affordable if found at a discount. Be sure that the bedsheet is not sheer and, ideally, 100% cotton.
• Construction Paper – For one-time use green screens you can tape pieces of green construction paper together on a wall. Use double sided tape when connecting sheets together.

• Chromavid – (IOS, Android) This is an easy to use app for shooting photos and video using a green screen background. The app effortlessly allows you to choose a background before shooting your content. The best part about this app is that your background does not have to be green! The app allows you to choose between red, green, blue and yellow. You can upload your own backgrounds to be used or use ones provided by them. The app does not allow you to edit your photos or video however. You will need to export to a different application if editing is required.
• PowerDirector – (Android) This is a full video editor with everything you need to go from shooting to posting. In addition to the green screen functionality you can edit audio tracks, add texts/images and edit the video timeline. This app is best suited for those who want to do a lot of posting on the go. It’s an easy to learn app with PC functionality in the palm of your hand.
• Green Screen Studio- (IOS) This is a great tool for changing the background on photos and video. It allows you to easily remove the background from selected content and replace it with what you want. It is not a video editing tool and does not come with any additional functionality. You would need to edit the content before/after changing the background in the app.

All of the above apps have a premium feature that you can subscribe to but it is not necessary to use the primary functions of the apps.

Don’t be intimidated by green screen technology. It’s easy to use and a lot of fun to master. You can pose with a Mandalorian, sip tea on a mountain top or fall infinitely through time and space with a few swipes and button presses. Whatever your fancy, a green screen can help bring it to life.