When you know how to green screen in Premiere, you can replace a background with a more exciting one. It opens up a new world of possibilities in your videos. With the skill of how to do green screen in Premiere Pro, your productions can take place anywhere!
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to key out green screen in Premiere Pro. This lets you remove a green screen background in order to add a custom background. Then, we’ll learn how to add video to green screen Premiere productions.
Let’s look at how to do green screen on Premiere Pro.
How to Remove Green Screen in Premiere Pro
It’s easy to learn how to do green screen on Premiere Pro videos. But it pays to understand why it’s worth learning. What are the advantages for you? Why is a green screen useful?
The advantages are many:
- Creative flexibility. Learning how to do green screen in Premiere Pro boosts creativity. Want a backdrop of crashing waves, but you’re in your studio in Kansas? A green screen is the solution. Capture footage, then replace the background.
- Easier production. Filming on location is a real challenge. Learning how to remove green screen in Premiere saves you time. Actual filming can be handled in a studio. Location footage or stills can be added later.
- Precision editing. With a green screen, you can edit your background and subjects individually. Thus, it’s much easier to control lighting, contrast, and more.
Learning how to do green screen on Premiere Pro is a powerful skill. You’ll find yourself creating stunning videos faster than ever before. Let’s discover how to add video to green screen Premiere projects, step by step.
1. Launch Effects and Effect Controls
To learn how to remove green screen in Premiere, you’ll need to perform some quick setup tasks. Two menus will control the process: Effects and Effect Controls.
First, let’s look at the basic Premiere Pro layout. To demonstrate, I’ve sourced a stock video clip from Envato Elements that you can download today. It’s shot with a green screen background, which we’ll remove in the tutorial.
At the top of the screen, notice the video preview. This section of the screen is called the Program Monitor. Below is the Timeline. Notice that I’ve placed the video on the uppermost video track, V3. This becomes important, and we’ll look at why later.
Now, let’s launch the Effects panel. You can find it on the toolbar menu in the upper right of your Premiere Pro screen. Or, you can launch it by going to Window > Effects.
You’ll also need to open Effect Controls, which is a panel that appears to the left of the Program Monitor. Again, you can do this by going to Window > Effect Controls.
2. Apply the Ultra Key Effect
Premiere’s Effects panel holds a powerful tool for green screens: Ultra Key. It’s how to remove green screen in Premiere with a single click. You’ll now want to apply it to the green screen in this clip.
To find Ultra Key, open the Video Effects folder on the Effects panel. Then, from the Keying folder, find Ultra Key. To apply the effect, click and drag Ultra Key over the video clip in your timeline.
You won’t see an immediate change on the video itself. But you will see the effect appear in the Effect Controls panel to the left.
3. Remove the Green Screen
Now, let’s look at how to key out green screen in Premiere. On the Effect Controls panel, locate the Ultra Key dropdown. From the listed options, notice the small eyedropper icon. This is the Key Color chooser. What it does is let you select a certain color hue to remove from a video. In this case, of course, this will be the green screen.
Click on the Key Color eyedropper once. You’ll see your cursor transform into the eyedropper. Now, move it over the green screen preview shown in the Program Monitor. Hover over an area near the middle of the green field, and click once.
Just like that, the green screen will vanish! You’ll now see a black backdrop. But this isn’t a solid - it’s actually empty space in the video. To this space, let’s add our own custom backdrop to bring the green screen effect to life.
4. Add a Custom Backdrop
Remember how the green screen clip is placed in an upper video track? Well, that’s because of layering. To add a backdrop, we’ll want to place a video (or still image) beneath this clip.
That way, the new background will fill the empty space filled by the green screen that we removed. But it won’t cover up the subject of the video - the woman with a phone, seated at a desk with her computer.
Now, let’s place a custom backdrop on the video track just below the clip we edited. Remember, this can be another video. Or, it can be a still image. Here, let’s use the Rocky Canyon With a Waterfall clip from Envato Elements.
To add it, simply click and drag the footage onto the track below, V2. Optionally, you can use the Crop tool as well. This ensures that the background has the identical runtime to the video itself.
5. Preview the Finished Video
Last but not least, always be sure to preview your finished video! To do that, click and drag the Playhead in the Timeline to the beginning of your clip. Then, hit the Spacebar on your keyboard.
Watch as your video plays. As you can see, the green screen has been keyed out. It’s replaced by the custom background of your choice! In moments, you’ve transformed generic studio footage into an incredible scene with a beautiful background.
You just learned how to add video to green screen Premiere Pro projects. It’s an immeasurably useful tip that you’ll find yourself using over and over again. It’s an easy way to elevate your video game, while boosting your creative control.
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Envato Elements is the best value for creatives in 2023 and beyond. Join today and explore the vast library of creative content.
Use Green Screen in Premiere Pro Today
In a few steps, you’ve learned how to green screen in Premiere Pro. It’s a simple process that gives you creative tools. Learning the Ultra Key feature is the best method for how to do green screen in Premiere Pro. Then, adding a custom background is as easy as dragging and dropping in more footage.
Imagine the creative possibilities that await your video productions. What will you build and share with your audience? The options are limitless. You just learned how to do green screen in Premiere Pro, and now it's your turn to try.
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