Green Screen w/ FCE?

Hey guys,
I just moved up from imovie09 to Final Cut Express. I want to make my next video w/ green screen but am unsure whether FCE can do what I want. The tutorials on youtube only show people using green screen w/ a still picture as the background. For example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxcnEmpPV98
I would like to use the green screen where there is motion/video going on in the background where the green screen would be. Is this possible on FCE? If so, how do I do it?
Thanks,
David

davijyu wrote:
... I just moved up from imovie09 to Final Cut Express. I want to make my next video w/ green screen ...
have you read and watch my demo here ..
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=12159421#12148360
iM09's green-screen is drop-dead-simple and superb in quality. I'm actually not able to re-enact same quality with the many 'knobs & sliders' in FC/e Color-Key ..
but I'm a FC/e beginner.. used to one-click-only solutions ..
@Tom:
heard this trick often, but my example is done withOUT an 'empty', plain-green frame .. my 'secret' is an UNeven! background. esp. when using a 'painted', computer-generated green, it needs flaws. many paint-apps, as Pixelmator or Photoshop/e offer a so-called 'cloud' filter - use two slightly diff. greens - done.

Similar Messages

GREEN SCREEN WITH FCE

Hi guys! I don't have the Final Cut Express yet, I work with iMovie, but I need to do some videos of a talking head and change the background. Is that possible with FCE? Can I shoot green screen effects with this program?

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Can I shoot green screen effects with this program?
Indeed you can.
Understand that FCE has a significant learning curve. You'd be wise to invest in some instructional material. Two excellent choices:
Final Cut Express Editing Workshop by Tom Wolsky (frequent contributor to this forum)
Apple Pro Training Series-Final Cut Express by Diana Weynand
Each is $25-30 on Amazon.

Can you crop, resize and move a clip using green screen?

This is what I'm trying to do:
Film an outdoor shot of a mountain in the distance, then film myself in front of a green screen pretending to climb. Crop that "climbing clip" ...reduce the size, and move it so it looks like I'm climbing the mountain.
I'm hoping this is possible with the express version of Final Cut... even better if it was possible with iMovie HD.
Thanks!
Spence

Hi Spencer,
Yes, you should be able to do it in FCE. You would have to play with the green screen clip in wireframe mode in the Canvas to resize & move it. Probably can't be done in iMovie.

Can Final Cut Express 3.5 work with green screen video?

Forgive my lack of technical terms but I am interested in my next FCE project being a bit more technical with some animations done in front of a green screen. Can FCE "erase" the green so I can overlay it to another background and or movie?
Cheers,
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi Lori.
In case you need some more practical advice:-
FCE has several different filters built in for Green and Blue Screen work.
FCE can also be used for animation and compositing.
For all the information you could ever want on the subject click on this link (and all the other links contained therein):-
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=449563&tstart=0
Ian.

Using green screen

I know that I've seen several threads in this discussion before about using green / blue screen but I haven't come accross one that actually tells you how to work with it once you've shot. I made a green screen which looks pretty good if i do say so myself, but I don't know what to do once I've shot the footage and imported it into FCE. Can somebody please post the steps I need to take or a link to a website that would help? Thanks a lot,
Alex
iMac G4 1.25 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.5) 768 MB RAM

Hi Alex.
I have just copied and pasted an answer I gave in October. It should get you started. As it says, try out the Blue/Green Screen filter first - it's easier than the Chromakey.
I have done a bit of Blue Screen work.
My Blue Screen is around 6'x 9' and cost around £3 (or $5).
It is a large medium-blue bedsheet I bought at the local market!
You can pay many hundreds of pounds for a proper one but mine seems to work as well as a friend's professional model.
All you do is pin it to a wall etc.and film the person or object, you want superimposed, in front of it.
You should try to avoid wrinkles although I have used mine when terribly creased and it has been OK.
Shadows are deadly, so I usually film outdoors on a cloudy day or in the shade.
Why outdoors? The subject needs to be brightly lit. If the camera has to boost the brightness your results will be unsatisfactory.
All you do then is put your background scene on Video Track 1 and the Blue Screen shot on Video Track 2.
Highlight the BS scene and from your Filters choose either Chromakey or Bluescreen.
You then fiddle around with the various sliders until you get the effect you want.
Many people use the Chromakey Filter but I have had more luck with the Blue Screen Filter and it seems easier to use.
Try it out. It's quite easy and as long as you do it my way it's not expensive!
Ian.
PS Make sure the person or object you are filming has not got a blue shirt etc.!
This is the whole thread if you want to read it - it contains some additional tips :-
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1063234

How to use blue/green screen?!

HI
I'm a new user to FCE so i maybe sound like a noob, but how do you use the methods of blue/green screen thing. !?
thx

"I understand from Wolsky's book that you really can't deal with HD green screen in Final Cut Express 3.5."
Really? I said that? There is one particular problem with HD material in FCE in that that AIC color space is 4:2:0. There is no color smoothing filter for this. I believe Graeme Nattress has one for this. There is a color smoothing filter for DV NTSC standard definition, which is 4:1:1. DV PAL has the same problem BTW, as it's also 4:2:0.
Aside from that the chromakeyer works decently with well shot material. For a really high quality key you should look to third party software.
There is no difference between 3.5 and 4 in this regard.

Best Chroma Key "Green Screen" ???

Okay...
Need to purchase the BEST (or really good) "keying" software out there (specifically for green screen). Is it "Primatte"? or?....or?....or?.... what?
And (ready for stupid question).... does Color Finesse do keying as well ? And does it do it as well as others if it does ?
Many thanks for your input. Have to purchase quickly.

Hello Andrew.
Just checking, but I assume you know that FCE contains Blue/Green Screen, Chromakey and Lumakey etc. filters?
I have used the Blue Screen filter in the past, coupled with a cheap blue 9'x 6' bedsheet and produced some very realistic results!
Ian.

If you haven't already, why not give "blue/green screen" a try?

Legacy FCP and FCE could always do blue (or green) screen but FCP X makes it a real doddle to get a good key.
For my test I simply used a very cheap blue bedsheet fastened to a wall and without more ado filmed myself babbling for a couple of minutes.
The resulting clip was imported into FCP X and the Keying Filter was added.
There are numerous adjustments you can make, but none of these was necessary as the result was automatically OK.
Here are frame grabs showing the original bedsheet and the final result with a street scene superimposed.
You can click the images to enlarge and examine the edges which look pretty clean........... especially considering the the lack of time and expense incurred!
Obviously anybody can achieve the above results with no effort, so take a look at this short video from Vimeo showing how some of the special effects in "The Great Gatsby" were achieved.
For a visual feast I suggest downloading it and playing on an HD TV.
https://vimeo.com/68451324
Now hasn't that pro clip inspired you to try blue/green screen ........... or maybe it's completely demoralised you?

Ian R. Brown wrote:
just a few years ago, this would be the worst 'color key' ever!
it is really impressive, how the automatics 'know' what is you, what is not.
now, add aside you a trackermarker, and you can create pans, camera movement etc .....

Inserting green screen person into scene

Is there any technique to use when you insert a person that you have shot on green screen into a scene to make it appear more real? When I do insert them, they appear to be in front of the scene, just wondering how to make them look like PART of the scene.
Thanks
ruez

ruez,
I shoot and edit green screen footage all the time. Early on I realized that FCE or FCP could not give me the results I needed. I purchased a third party program called dvMattepro3. Check it out at dvgarage.com and see if it could work for you. The demo is free to download and try before you buy. For me the $199 price was worth every penny. There may be other solutions, but this is fast and really easy use.
Good luck

Keynote..chat GREEN SCREEN background trick...

I noticed that with LEPORDS new ichat (video) you can place a movie or image in the background, when will this effect make ti to FCP and iLIFE??
This just about kills off Avid, ok, not really but if its in iCHAT it should be in iLIFE and FCP/FCE. Yes?

Everyone is right. Green-screen technology has been around a long time. Professional results can be achieved with minimal money and effort. Honestly, there is very little difference between a professional green screen and some cloth or paint you can get at any local store. As long as you use the basic principles (minimize spill off the background (green screen), keep a solid shade of color in the background, and keep the background color out of your subject - i.e., no green shirts in-front of the green-screen) and you'll do fine. Do some searches for green-screen tips, it's rather simple.
Honestly, if you're in the LA area, surely you know of someone who has access to some sort of studio. If not, local collages are a great place to start. I know for a fact that CSU Northridge has a huge green-screen studio that is RARELY used! Even though it is a horrible setup, it is constantly available and absolutely free. Networking never hurts, well... rarely. Responsible networking.
Hope this helps buddy and good luck with the music videos

Really Important Car/Green Screen Scene

Okay, I'm in my teenage years (so that means low-budget), and I'm making a movie (well, series of short movies, shall I say "series?"). There is a car scene, and I have a green screen. iMovie isn't doing anything for me right now, it won't even let me edit the size of the videos anymore. So, I'm considering buying Final Cut Express HD. Will that let me use the Chroma Keyer Effect (green screen effefct)? Before I made the switch to Mac, I was using Sony Vegas on Windows. That was a 50-100 dollar program that had the green screen effect. I never really used it though. Now, that I'm making my series, I decided to get an iMac. I need to know if Final Cut will let me do everything I need for this car scene. Also, what will I need to know to shoot it. I know I'm going to have to shoot the road passing by, but I don't know if it'll fit the background of the car scene. I'm afraid one will end up being too up close, making everything look bigger. Please help me, I'm just a beginner, and I really want to make it big one day.
~Anthony
Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi Anthony,
Yes, Final Cut Express has effects for chroma key and green & blue screen. They do essentially the same job except the chroma key effect gives you more detailed controls; it's also more challenging to use. They all work really well, although you will find different people prefer one or the other depending on their experience and what they are trying to do with it.
As Ian mentioned, if you have one of the new Intel iMacs you should wait until the universal version of FCE is released.
As far as what else you need, you will need a green or blue background which could be either fabric or paint. Whether you choose blue or green depends on which color is less likely to be in the other elements of the shot that you are keying, although most people nowdays seem to be using green. I got a Botero fabric green screen from B&H Photo in NYC that was not expensive and it works great. They have many different screen colors & sizes as well as paint.
I recommend that you get a copy of Tom Wolsky's book Final Cut Express Editing Workshop. It's worth every penny.
There are also a number of very good articles on chroma keying on Ken Stone's Final Cut website

How do i use my own image with keying (or green screen)

how do i use my own image witrh keying (or green screen)

Put your sky clip on a layer below the clip you want to key. One or the other will be a connected clip. Apply the Keying filter to foreground clip (the one with the green screen). The green will be seen as transparent and the sky will show through as the BG. Adjust as necessary in the Inspector.
Good luck.
Russ

Please answer once and for all the boot green screen

I have searched everywhere for an answer since my issue.
Relevant info:
iPhone 3GS.
iTunes version 10.7.0.21 (2012-09-12).
Doesn't matter what system I have since this is related to an iPhone device.
Fully charged battery before proceeding with the update.
Updated the iOS 5.1.1 of the iPhone to iOS 6.0 through required update recommendation of iTunes.
Never been abused, jailbroken, serviced or dropped. (never had issues until the update)
Once completed the updated process of iTunes and iPhone was done with the internal installation, the iPhone rebooted with a green screen/hue and the apple logo was still original color "silver". It loaded up to the iPhone Configure screen still with green color screen/hue.
I pressed on the power button for 5 seconds and slide "slide to power off" and the iPhone turned off. I waited about 15 seconds and pressed on the power button to turn the iPhone back on, hoping no more green screen/hue and the apple logo was still original color "silver" but returned to the original green screen/hue and the apple logo was still original color "silver".
Failed!
It still showed green screen/hue and the apple logo was still original color "silver" and booted to the iPhone Configure screen still with green color screen/hue.
Remedies tried after searching the internet:
Hard Restart/Reset.
DFU Mode. (even tried a restore process with iTunes again *so much time wasted to obtain the iOS download again*
Recovery Mode (even tried a restore process with iTunes again *so much time wasted to obtain the iOS download again*
Recovery from Backup is denied because previous version was iOS 5.1.1 and iTunes refuses the process so (even tried a restore process with iTunes again *so much time wasted to obtain the iOS download again*
Left the iPhone at the Configure screen until battery drained and then plugged it back into the USB port of system until it charged long enough for the iPhone to boot yet again green screen/hue and the apple logo was still original color "silver". It booted to the iPhone Configure screen which is still the green screen/hue and I left it charging until battery icon top right showed full.
Now, can someone give a straight answer while staying on this topic about this issue, please?
*I can understand if the apple logo was green then it could be a screen issue but it is not the case.
All help is greatly appreciated even if you took the time to read all of this but did not answer.
Thank you!

halodev:
I made a CF/Flex site based on the Flexstore sample app,
using a database instead of XML as the data source; in case you
want to see it:
http://www.timos.com/dg/flex/DilemmaGames.html
At first I had troubles similar to what you describe;
initially, part of the problem was that my hosting company had not
yet upgraded to CF 7.02. One other thing I had to correct: when you
upload to your server, upload the entire ‘bin’ (or
whatever your output folder is) minus the debug SWF.
If it would help with other issues, contact me and I will be
glad to make my project code available to you. Good luck.
Carlos
[email protected]

HDCam to DVCPro HD Green screen---best way to go?

Green screen shoot on HDCam 29.97p. No have HDCam ability. Should I:
-send out for dub to DVCPro HD and then either
-capture by firewire from 1200A Panny deck
or
-from AJA card by HD SDI?
Will either give acceptable results?
Or gonna have to bite the bullet and send tape and a hard drive
somewhere and have HDCam captured to get acceptable
stuff to composite with?
Thanks in advance.
p2

If you dub it to DVCPROHD, that's where the "damage" is done... so won't make any difference capturing thru HD SDI or FireWire quality wise... But stay at 1080... don't go down to 720... as long as that machine of yours plays back 1080... better look into that for sure.
It should still be OK though as far as the green screening ability because it's still in a 4:2:2 colorspace.
That said, If you could capture from the HDCAM via SDI and go to ProRes... you'd be better off in theory.
Jerry
Message was edited by: Jerry Hofmann

Green screen, downlading files and updating programs often stuck at 99%.

Okey so I have got this problem for a 20 days, since I build my own computer. Some videos on youtube and other video stream sites bug out in the way that the video just goes green, and starts fast forwarding. Then I think streams on twitch.tv for example, I cant watch a stream for longer than 20 second and the video gets frozen and the stream needs to be refreshed. And updating games, downloading files often gets stuck at very end of the progress, and it wont succesfully download or update. Im not sure is it about Flash Player/Shockwave Player but if there doesnt come example green screen it may show something like you are missing add-on Flashplayer but when i refresh the page it may run the video fine for some time.
The problem rarely happens at youtube but heres one where it happened Crs Piglet (Vayne) first ever NA Penta - YouTube
Heres video where the video didnt start at all and aswell when it did the screen gone green again and fast forward. (contains adds) http://www.thevideo.me/kmqcwhblzheh
Heres screenshots and one bad quality phone photo album of these problems, green screens, videos stuck, downloading stuck and updating stuck 99-100%. Imgur
Heres my computer specs:
My operating system is:          Microsoft Windows: 8.1 Pro, 64-bit
Processor:                             Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4690K CPU @ 3.50GHz
Graphic card:                         Nvidia GeForce GTX 760     Driver updated to: Geforce Game Ready Driver 347.52.
Memory (ram):                       8GB
Motherboard:                         MAXIMUS VII RANGER
Dont know what else info I could put on about my computer really... I have tried to find answer, like disabling hardware acceleration, deleting flashplayer memory file, safe modes and all kind of tips I as able to find from internet.
And I use mozilla firefox (36.0), but the problems happens aswell in Internet Explorer. I have updated Flash Player (16,0,0,305), my drivers (Geforce Game Ready Driver 347.52), all windows updates, java(1.8.0?), but still cant find the answer why watching videos/streams work well.
Im sorry if I missed some info but ask if theres something.

The green screen means that hardware decoding has failed. It's probably a subtle, intermittent driver bug.
You can disable hardware acceleration in Flash to avoid this while you wait for updated drivers to become available:
Video playback issues

Green Screen w/ FCE?

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