I’ve already showed you the basics of green screen videography with pre-recorded footage in iMovie or PremiereHow to Do Green Screen Video in iMovie and Adobe PremiereHow to Do Green Screen Video in iMovie and Adobe PremiereTechnically known as chroma-keying, green screening is the process of masking a video using color - removing specific parts so you can overlay one video on top of another. An obvious example is the weather,...Read More, so you could superimpose yourself onto any video or background. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could use this green screen effect for a live broadcast – like on Google Hangouts, or Skype?
“Yes indeed it would be, James” – is the answer you’re looking for there, and you’re in luck because I’ve been having a go at doing that very same thing. Read on to join the cool kids club as we play with live green screen broadcasting on Mac or Windows.
10 Best Green Screen Software. Here’s your list of best green screen software. Light Works; Wax; OBS Broadcaster; XSplit Broadcaster; iMovie; Virtual Dub; Open Shot; Video Pad Editor; Blender; VSDC Video Editor; So, these were some best green screen software that we have handpicked for you. Though there are tons of green screen software these are best in the business.
The Best Green Screen Software And How to use Chroma Key Effect For Video Production 1.ActivePresenter ActivePresenter has been known as one of the most professional video editing programs for screen-casting purposes.
What Is The Best Green Screen Program
The Green Screen Photo Software Bundle Lite from Westcott is a ready-made green screen package that includes a 5 x 7' cloth green screen backdrop and the easy-to-use Illusions PhotoKey Lite software.
No idea what Google HangOuts is? Tina fills you in on how to use HangOuts to chat with friendsHow To Use Google+ Hangouts To Meet With FriendsHow To Use Google+ Hangouts To Meet With FriendsGoogle Hangouts is a key feature of Google+. If you are not using Hangouts already, you are missing out! Maybe you haven't yet joined Google+. Well, if you do have a Google account, then joining...Read More, and 5 reasons HangOuts are cooler than Skype5 Reasons Google Hangouts Are Cooler Than Skype For Video Chats5 Reasons Google Hangouts Are Cooler Than Skype For Video ChatsHangouts is Google's take on chat rooms. Like many times before, Google has turned a good idea into something incredibly useful, while preserving simplicity and ease of use and thus making it fantastic. In this...Read More; read those, then come back and wow them all with your green screen skills.
Mac OS X: CamTwist (Free)
CamTwist is remarkably useful considering it’s completely free. Unfortunately, it’s also about non-user-friendly as they come. Upon first launching the app, you’ll be greeted with this interface, which is only slightly less intimidating than a spreadsheet from the 80s. First, hit CMD-P to open up the preview window.
The premise of CamTwist is that you add input sources, and effects, and end up with a composite video you can then feed into other applications – a DIY webcam, if you like.
Double-click on a video source – your webcam would be an easy place to start at – then double-click some effects to add them. Effects stack, though your results will vary of course depending on what you choose. I quite like this “dot screen” and “earthquake” effect.
Now, onto our green screen. For this we’ll need a background source – your desktop is probably the easiest for testing, but you could also use a pre-recorded video source (I could only get .MOV formats to work), another webcam, or just a slideshow of images. Double click to add your chosen source to the scene.
Next, highlight Webcam and select the PIP (picture in picture) button from the bottom of the list. This will overlay your webcam onto the scene. To setup the Chroma-key, select the PIP Webcam from the Step 3 column to open the settings screen.
Check the box next to Chroma key, and choose the colour. The easiest way to find the colour is using the magnifying glass in the top left of the colour popup. Adjust the threshold to tweak results – as you can see above, mine turned out pretty badly thanks to poor (uneven) lighting.
Green Screen Software
One caveat here: CamTwist won’t work with 64-bit applications, which the latest Flash player and most web browsers are – so if you’re unable to find the virtual CamTwist video source in Hangouts or otherwise, you’ll be stumbling up against this issue. To get around this, you should try running the app in 32-bit mode by right clicking on the application and checking the relevant box. If that doesn’t work, the CamTwist developers suggest installing an older version of Flash also – 10.3 should be fine – which also still runs in 32-bit.
Hopefully someone will deal with this 64-bit incompatibility at some point.
Windows: SparkoCam ($20)
I can’t find a free solution do to this on Windows, but SparkoCam is the cheapest and also lets you use a DSLR camera as a live video input source, which is fantastic and will give you far better quality than a webcam – this alone makes it worth the price, I think.
Start by selecting your video source on the initial screen. To use a DSLR, plug in the supplied USB cable and switch the camera to video mode. You might want to disable auto-focus, or you’ll end up with annoying scratching sounds as its tries to focus every 3 seconds.
To add the green screen, move over to the Effects tab (next one along). Select a background first or you won’t know when it’s working. By clicking on Detect the app was able to automatically add the right colour, and the quality of the screening was actually real good – no tweaking necessary this time. Unfortunately, it’s slightly limited in that you can only use a static background image – you can’t broadcast your desktop, or overlay on top of another video.
The Bottom Line
Best Green Screen Photography Software For Mac
Green screen video is just great fun, live or pre-recorded. It can be a bit fiddly getting drivers to work correctly for CamTwist, especially considering that running an older version of Flash can be a serious security risk, but with enough tweaking you should get there in the end and the forums are full of users ready to help.
So… any ideas on how you’ll use green screen? Share your thoughts in the comments, below.
For more tips and advice on using Google Hangouts, Bakari gave some advice about using it for online meetingsTips On Planning & Holding Effective Meetings With Google HangoutsTips On Planning & Holding Effective Meetings With Google HangoutsWith today's Internet technology, holding online meetings can be both efficient and cost-effective especially if you pre-plan them and make use of time-saving tools. For the last couple of months I've participated in online meetings...Read More, and here are some creative ideas to get more out of HangOutsGet More Out Of Google+ Hangouts With These 5 Creative IdeasGet More Out Of Google+ Hangouts With These 5 Creative IdeasGoogle+ Hangouts are a pretty cool tool - one which we've put to good use here at MakeUseOf. Whether it's to hold editorial meetings or to host our own Podcast, Technophilia, we're big fans of...Read More.
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Can these apps be used for other live web meeting platforms like Zoom or Skype? If not, is there a suggestion for an app that can do so?
https://obsproject.com/ - Free and has a lot of addons created by a community.
The Green Screen is the 'Chroma' option when adding a webcam to the broadcast.
sparkocam keeps crashing or it black and white with big lines through it, when i try to put video in background ...i am using logitech hd pro webcam c920...
Hi, I can't get this program to work with an actual green screen, I have messed around with the settings and the only way I have found close is to have a background image selected as a scene and with green screen selected, but that will only put a live image into one of the preloaded scenes in a designated area of that image or if it is an image I have loaded it will only put me in a small box like seen on skype, I can not get a live image in full screen with an active green screen background, ie background image/scene selected - green screen selected - live view. if anyone knows if this is possible then let me know. Thanks Dave
Is Sparkocam compatible with google hangouts?
Yes, it just makes a virtual webcam.
Hello is it possible to do this with a nikon d5100 camera?
You would need to check the specific software, but if it has a USB port my guess would be yes. Both have demoes to test, I believe.
Green screen is such an amazing luxury to have. It can allow you to have any background of your choosing without actually having to go to that location. If you have a green background of any sort, you’re going to need a green screen video software to help you edit that background.This list contains nine of the best green screen video software programs for you to use. Though there is free software out there, some can be rather costly. So if you’re looking for a free green screen program, try looking for Free Green Screen Software.
Related:
Movavi Video Editor
123VideoMagic
AVS Video Editor
WeVideo
Magix Movie Edit Pro
The Best Background You Can Get…Without Actually Being There
If you want to make a video with outstanding and interesting background but don’t actually want to go out just to film or set the scene up with actual props, the green screen video capture software will help you make the desired background for you, albeit virtually.
The green screen video software has a lot of features that can prove useful for video makers everywhere.
Even if the videos are of different formats (AVI, MPEG, MPG and WMV), they can still be edited with the green screen video software.
The software can be used for photos as well as videos.
Green screen video allows images to be published in different formats (BMP, GIF, JPEG or PNG).
Many types of image formats can be used as your virtual backdrop.
The software gives the option to mask video/image with the video filter.
Speaking of green screen videos, there’s another software that allows you to edit video backgrounds called Chroma Key Software. It functions very much like a green screen but plays a different role.
Wax
Green Screen Wizard Full for Windows
Best Green Screen Software For Mac
iMovie for Mac
Green Screen Lite for Android
VideoPad Video Editor – Most Popular Software
What Are The Uses of This Software?
The green screen video software helps directors and videographers make backgrounds or props that aren’t physically possible to capture in real life, such as in a fantasy setting. Green screen also helps save time by taking away the need to make the props to complete the setting.
You don’t need to make things real to make them interesting or flashy. The green screen video software will make your videos and photos that much more interesting and diverse without having to put too much effort. The software can make it easier for you to design your video the way you intended it to be designed without actually having to travel far in order to film in the actual location.
Green Screen Program Software
You can save funding for a certain film since you don’t have to buy props. Making a video with the right mood and atmosphere requires believable objects and an even more believable setting. This means you would have to buy the objects and equipment you need just for one video. After that, they’re useless. Save yourself some cash and use virtual editing by using a green screen.
Well, what do you think? Isn’t green screen video software a convenient thing to have? Hopefully, this list helped you find the perfect software you need for your videos.
Speaking of videos, if you’re interested in making an animated film or adding animations to a video, then a Video Creation Software will be the software you need.