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Add Green Screen Effects in Final Cut Pro

Liza Brown
Liza Brown Originally published Aug 02, 22, updated Jan 17, 24

No matter the type of video you are shooting, the background of the video plays a major play. The background determines how eye-pleasing the frame of the entire video looks. A beautiful background enhances the video content while a distracting background can deteriorate the video outlook. You do not need to be in exotic locations or have eye-catching backgrounds in reality while shooting a video thanks to the use of the green screen effect.

Once you shoot a video with green screen background, you can replace the green screen with anything you want. You will need a video editor to replace the green screen, and Final Cut Pro is the most widely used video editor among Mac Users. We will illustrate how to add green screen in Final Cut Pro and get any background for your recorded video. We will also recommend an alternative watt to add green screen effect to your video.

In this article
  1. How to add green screen on Final Cut Pro
  2. Alternative Way to Add Green Screen to Videos
  3. Green Screen Video Tips to Use

Part 1. How to add green screen on Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro is the most popular professional video editor among Mac users. The learning curve is slightly steep, but once you get used to Final Cut Pro, you can take your recorded video to the next level with profound editing. The most important part of adding green screen effect to a video is shooting the video with a proper green screen in the background. Once you have successfully recorded your video, here are the steps on how to add background to green screen Final Cut Pro.

Step1 Launch Final Cut Pro and go to File> Import> Media. Select the video file with green screen background from your storage to import the file into FCP. Similarly, you should import the video or photo with which you want to replace the green screen.

import meida final cut pro

Step2 Drag the video clip with green screen background (called foreground clip) to Timeline and place it to Primary Storyline. Drag the replacement video (called background clip) below the foreground clip in Timeline.

green screen final cut pro

Step3 Select the foreground clip and click on Effects button present at the extreme top-right corner of the Timeline.

Step4 From the Effects options, select Keyer effect. If you cannot spot it immediately, you can search for it from the search field.

select keyer effect final cut pro

Step5 Drag and drop Keyer effect to the foreground clip. The effect detects the green screen and replaces it with the available background clip.

drag and drop keyer effect

Step6 You might have to adjust the Keyer effect settings to get the green screen effect perfectly. Go to Inspector Window and click on Sample color and fine-tune the available settings to get it correct.

adjust keyer effect settings

Step7 Once you are satisfied with the effect, go to File> Share> Export File and save the modified video.

share export video final cut pro

Part 2. Alternative Way to Add Green Screen to Videos

Final Cut Pro is a professional but highly expensive video editor. The learning curve is not very suitable for amateur video editors. That is why if you are looking for a better alternative way to add green screen to videos, we recommend Wondershare Filmora. Filmora is a popular video editor that is available for Mac and Windows users. The user interface is extremely intuitive, and adding green screen effect is super easy. Here are the steps on how to add background to green screen effect.

Free Download
Free Download

Step1 Download and install Filmora on your computer. Launch Filmora and click on New Projects.

Step2 Under Project Media folder, Drag and drop the video clip with green screen background as well as the photo or video with which you want to replace the green screen.

Step3 Drag and drop the video clips on the Timeline. The video with green screen should be at the top while the replacement video or photo should be below it.

drag drop green screen video filmora

Step4 Double-click on the green screen video clip on Timeline. Go to Video>Basic and turn on Chroma key option.

turn on chroma key filmora

Step5 Adjust the different parameters such as offset to get the effect perfect and click on Ok button.

adjust chroma settings filmora

Step6 Play the video and if you are satisfied with the result, click on Export button to save the modified video file.

Part 3. Green Screen Video Tips to Use

We have already stated that replacing green screen in your video with an eye-catching background is the easiest part. On the contrary, shooting the green screen video is the most important part. If you shoot the video perfectly, replacing the background accurately in the video editor becomes super easy. Here are some important tips to use while shooting green screen video.

Distance – There should be enough distance between the subject and the green screen background so that the subject does not cast a shadow on the green screen. This distance is also important to place lights in between so that the green screen is perfectly lit for a great video shooting session.

Quality – You should opt for a high-quality green screen cloth for the background. This means the green screen should have a solid color instead of light and dark patches here and there. Besides, you should ensure that there are no wrinkles on the green screen.

Otherwise, when you will apply green screen effect through the video editor, the transformation will be uneven. You have to spend a lot of time adjusting the parameters to cover up uneven patches in the background.

Lighting – The way you set up your lights plays a major role in shooting green screen video perfectly. The light falling on the green screen will light up the screen evenly so that there are no light and dark patches. Transforming the green screen in the video editor will become that much easier.

You should focus on soft and even lighting for the entire green screen, and you should check through your camera to ensure the lighting is perfect. Sometimes, you can place lights behind the subject if the subject is staying stationary throughout the video. Otherwise, you can place the light above the subject for even distribution.

Aperture – The settings of your camera are equally important to smoothen out the green screen in the background and focus on the subject sharply. That is where aperture comes into the scene, and you need to use low aperture while shooting green screen videos. Low aperture opens up the camera lens, and the green screen turns softer in the background. The subject stands out while the background turns uniformly green.

Shutter Speed – While shooting a green screen video, you should keep a high shutter speed to prevent motion blur and uneven background. If the subject stays fixed throughout, the shutter speed should be double the frame rate. If the subject is moving throughout, the shutter speed should be around 4 times the frame rate such as 1/100.

ISO – The last thing you want in a green screen video is grainy footage. Your life will turn upside down editing the video and getting the green screen effect perfectly in any video editor. ISO determines the sensitivity and thereby, the grainy effect in your video. When the ISO is too high, the chance of getting grains in the video is high. It is better to use a native ISO for green screen effect, but you need to check with a sample recording and adjust if required.

Conclusion

We have answered how to add background to green screen Final Cut Pro. You can replace any green screen in your video with any video or photo for the background of the video. If you do not have Final Cut Pro or you find the steps slightly complicated, we recommend you to use Wondershare Filmora for instant green screen effect and quick adjustments for the best outcome.

Liza Brown
Liza Brown Jan 17, 24
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