Using Green Screen Feature

I just started using imovie, R11 and wanted to know how to: 1) either move and resize objects inserted using the green screen feature or 2) how do I get rid of the green screen on a video and use the picture in picture feature?
Thanks

I obviously have not decribed what I need correctly. I want to add a video clip with a green screen, on top on another video. I go thru all the steps, and the "green screen video" that was just added, works fine on top the original video. But, I cannot find a way to resize or move the "greeen screen figure" just added around to where I want it. As an example, can I insert a figure of a man/woman and resize much smaller, and stick the man/woman anywhere on the screen in the original video?
I can do the resizing and moving the figure when I use "picture in picture", but the green around the figure from the green screen comes out black. Is there stand alone software that will take a video make with a green screen, and exchange the green with transparent background? This feature works great for items that have a transparent background, but I am having trouble finding ones I want on line

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Has anyone actually got the Green Screen feature to work?

Has anyone actually got the Green Screen feature to work? I've been trying for about 8 hours, absolutely no success. I have followed the iMovie Help instructions and the examples on the internet, over and over again. I've tried every imaginable variation on the instructions. Nothing from my green movie shows up. The green in my video is pure green - 100% green, 0% red and 0% blue. Yet the non-green images in the video aren't getting displayed at all. Several other people have mentioned a similar problem on these forums and they are all "unanswered". Is that because this is an unsolvable problem? Is it an iMovie bug? Sigh. I'm a big fan of Apple but stuff like this gives them a bad name.

After several more hours of diagnosis I have identified some conditions which can make Green Screen slightly work (but not much). The condition is as follows. The green screen clip must be carefully dropped at the beginning of a video clip, such that at least the first two seconds of the green screen clip (no less, but no more or the clip will become attached to the previous clip and then it's broken again) are displayed over the PREVIOUS video clip. But the green screen will not work on the previous clip, only on the second clip. So you will always lose the first two seconds of the green screen video. It took me a lot of experimenting to discover this anomaly.
Clearly this is a bug, but since not all users on the internet experience this bug, (some online videos shows that Green Screen actually works as advertised) it's most likely related to the video card driver. My video card is an ATI 4870. If you have such a card, there's probably no hope that you can get this feature to work unless Apple fixes the driver or possibly the iMovie application, or you use my tricky workaround.

Trying to composite from Lightwave 3D using Green Screen

Regards,
I am trying to do a simple picture crawl across the bottom of my video. First I tried using a transparent.png file that was 2240x540 and using the ken burns effect cropped it to move across the screen. This worked to an extent. The only problem is that imovie scaled the resolution to match the horizontal measurement of 960 pixels. leaving the image in a very low resolution. On that looked horrible.
Second try: I own a copy of Lightwave 3D 9.6. I love this program! I figured I could output video that had the crawling photos across the bottom, with green screen as the background. I output it in Apple Intermediate Format for ease of import. and when I place my crawl as a b-role/green-screen the entire image disappears.
Does anyone know what I am doing wrong. I would love to figure this out so that I can composite my 3D animations on top of my imovies. I love the simplicity yet accuracy of the new iMovie 09. I just want to figure this out.
Any help would be appreciated.

The green screen feature is designed to work with camcorders, so my advice would be to make sure you are using a frame rate like a camcorder (either 29.97fps or 25fps for Pal.
Also, a perfect green background doesn't seem to work very well. Try a gradient or shades of green like a real greenscreen would have (i.e. shadows, imperfections).

IMovie "green screen" feature has serious problems.

I precisely followed the iMovie "help" instructions to make a green screen effect for what should have been a simple iMovie project... a 10-second video tagline for closing titles on a much more extensive project.
According to iMovie help, it should have been easy (and maybe even fun). It wasn't. Five hours of my life melted away forever. The iMovie "green screen" feature has serious problems. Remember that old Mac advertising campaign that said "It just works"? Well, it doesn't. Shame on Apple and the iMovie development team.
See low-resolution QuickTime movies and more details here:
http://www.art101.com/101temp/imovie_madness

Folks,
I ran into the same issue (I named it "transparent green screen", I hadn't a better name).
I spent about a week to solve this problem, since I needed it to build a marriage slideshow.
The tools & Config:
iMovie 09, iPhoto 09, Adobe After Effects CS4
Mac OS X 10.6.2, MacBook Pro 13" 2.26 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM
The Solution for the "transparent green screen":
I created a movie in AE, and put a green background into it. It was the pure green color.
When I imported the movie into iMovie I just got the "transparent green screen", not the real effect.
I some cases, by changing the background images, I could get the green screen to work, but it was kind of random. Which made it harder to solve it.
I thought it could be because of AE, some incompatibility. I went to Youtube and downloaded a green screen video (a woman dancing in a green background). I inserted the video into iMovie, and it worked just fine, all the way.
Then I tried to match the green color I was creating digitally with the Youtube video's green color. It didn't work either. The "transparent" effect was there again.
But when I looked at that Youtube video, I noticed that the green color was not pure. Because that green background was made in the real world, it was not pure, there were some shades of green.
Well, I just replicated that into the digital world. Modified my video's digital green background. From pure green to a gradient green, but very subtle, almost imperceptible. Just to replicate the "imperfection from the real world".
That was it. Solved. Maybe iMovie 09 needs that imperfection to work well. Using "pure greens" might confuses it.
Please do your tests. And let me know your results.
Regards and greetings from Brazil.

Completely White screen when using green screen

I have successfully used the Green Screen feature in the past but I am having some problems with it now. When I drop a Green Screen clip onto a back ground the play back shows no image and the screen is completely white. What is happening and how do I correct it?

Many thanks for this - I had checked them previously, but switched off, unplugged everything and then reconnected - all up and working again. Best Rgds

What has happened to the green screen feature in version 9.4? Where did it go?

I have a shiny new desktop Imac and tried to access the green screen feature in Imovie that works fine on ver 9.2 that I have installed on my laptop, only to find the option no longer exists. Did they remove it??

It's part of the 'Advanced Tools' in iMovie. I think Advanced tools is turned off in a new iMovie install. To turn it on:
Go to the iMovie Menu > Preferences > Show Advanced Tools (make sure the box is checked)
When the advanced tools are turned on, you will see Green Screen appear as an option in the pop-up menu as you drag one video clip from your Events Library on top of any clip in your Project timeline.

How to use Green Screen option?

Sorry this is such a general question, but I have very limited internet access here at work (can't even access Google) and I would like to figure this out before I leave for the day so I can grab what I need on the way home.
We are making weekly comical "newscast" type videos, and we have been using PhotoBooth to make it look like we are in a news room.
I would like to stop using PhotoBooth (due to the obvious extreme limitations in video/audio quality) and use the green screen option in iMovie 09.
Would anybody be so kind as to give a brief couple of paragraphs on the best way to accomplish this?
I have seen the option pop up when inserting a clip on top of another, but which one is the footage/image to replace the green area... the original clip or the overlayed clip?
And is there a specific shade/type of green that works best? Or can I just pick up a dozen yards of general "crayola" green fabric to cover a wall?

I have tried but haven't had much luck. Although I am having a problem with Snow Leopard and iMovie right now. That may be affecting my success. Here are the instructions out of iMovie help.
To use green-screen effects to superimpose video:
Record video in front of a solid green backdrop, and then import it into iMovie.
When you record, for best results do the following:
Use a pure (highly saturated) color of green for the backdrop.
The best color of green to use is often called “chroma key green” in paint and cloth.
Make sure the subject doesn’t have any green clothing, and don’t include anything green in the shot, other than the backdrop.
If possible, use multiple lighting sources to eliminate shadows on the subject being recorded.
Include a moment at the end of the recording with the subject out of the frame. This indicates to iMovie what should be left out when the video is superimposed.
Choose iMovie > Preferences, click General, and then make sure Show Advanced Tools is selected.
In the Event Browser, select video that you recorded in front of the green backdrop.
Drag the selection directly over a clip in your project (video, solid color, or animated background clip), and release the mouse button when the cursor displays a green plus sign .
Choose Green Screen from the list of options that appears.
The green-screen clip appears with a green border around it above the video clip in your project. You can drag it to a different spot to reposition it, or drag the ends to lengthen or shorten it.
To more effectively mask areas of the green-screen clip, select the clip in your project, in the viewer click Cropped, and then drag the handles at the top of the viewer to more tightly enclose the subject of the video.
Anything outside the highlighted area in the green-screen clip is removed from the picture. Be sure not to crop out areas that the subject moves into at any point during the green-screen clip.
To produce a better-quality effect, double-click the green-screen clip in your project to open the inspector, then select “Subtract last frame.” iMovie uses information in the last frame to determine what to subtract from the finished clip.
Selecting “Subtract last frame” works only if you included a moment at the end of the green-screen footage with the subject completely out of the frame.
To watch the clip, click the Play Clip button in the viewer.

Can you use imovie's green screen feature to make things invisible?

Hi,
i have a GoPro, and am making a mount that will give me a 3rd person view while i snowboard.
Like this: https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/333/633/7ac3cbc3da3b7b2c948f36e6018ea460 _large.png?1357825021 (but home made)
However, the tube will be in video, it would be great if i could edit it out...
I was hoping that i could paint the arm of the mount green, and use the green screen function to edit it out in post. like the skate boards in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654lUYIhYk0
I have looked around online, and it seems that the green screen function in iMovie sems limited to just backgrounds...
Any advice?

Excuse the delay in replying...
Excellent! - thanks for that xnav
It work even with the delay set to 0.0 on the iPhone Simulator, but not sure about on an iPhone though.
I think I need to read up about @selector and the performSelector instance method.
I found today another possible solution (but have not tried it out though):
http://simonwoodside.com/weblog/2009/2/5/howto_make_aniphone/
Thanks again

Using Green Screen tool after project roughcut complete

Hi peeps,
I know how to use the Green Screen tool in iMovie but my problem is I want to apply it to a project which I have already edited. So the usual process is drag your background into project then drag your clip from events on top... but I have already painfully edited my project and want to apply a background to it minus the green screens, can it be done at this stage?
cheers,
BB.

Also, try looking up the term "garbage matte." It's relatively simple concept that can be executed using many different tools and levels of sophistication.
Here's my workflow for standard greenscreen work, stuff that isn't too action-oriented, similar to conventional weather presentations:
1. Capture the footage in Final Cut Pro.
2. Seldct the takes.
3. IMport the best takes into After Effects.
4. Apply masking to the video to remove as much unnecessary stuff as possible using as few vertices in the mask as possible.
5. Apply Keylight.
6. Export to ProRes4444.
7. Import back into FCP.
Additional work might be required for wire or rig removal, rotoscoping for movement in front of or behind foreground objects, masking replacement layers to manage stupid costume errors like a green tie, light wrap, spill removal, reflection cancelation, shadow manipulation.

I use green screen editing on vegas alot, is it worth it to buy PS and use it for that application on a chrome book?

I just bought a acer chrome book being told I can utilize PhotoShop on it and keep an easy platform to use. is it worth the trouble using PS for green screen on a chrome book?

We don't really do Green Screen with Photoshop, but it certainly does an excellent job of making transparent backgrounds for still images. It wouldn't be able to do this with video though.

Is there a way to apply all adjustments to a clip when using green screen effects?

I use imovie '11 and I shoot a lot of videos using a green screen. Once I import my videos into imovie, I then place a background image into the project and then I drag the video clip over the background and select green screen. I usually then have to crop the clip so I am centered within the frame, and I also have to adjust the colors manually since sometimes with a greenscreen the colors can be a bit off.
My problem is this, how can I apply all video adjustments that I made to one clip, to all the other clips without having to do each one manually?
Currently when I crop a clip and edit the colors, then I copy it and go to paste adjustments, 'video' and 'video effect' are grayed out, however, it lets me do all the others. Does imovie not let you paste video effects to other clips that are in green screen mode? I tested it with two regular clips that are not in green screen mode and it works fine.

As always there's a trick using copy and paste.
Once you got all the adjust correct on the first clip. Go to Edit > Copy. It's as though you were going to paste it back into the project, only now the trick is to highlight all the clips that also will need these same adjustmust (hold down the Command key, and just click on each one). Then go Edit > Paste Adjustments...>All. That wil apply each of the adjustments to the whole batch of video clips you had highlighted in the previous step.

Can I use green screen on iMovie for iPod touch, Can I use green screen on iMovie for iPod touch

I just downloaded the iMovie app on my iPod 4th gen. And I was wondering how to use the green screen effect if I could. Does anyone have any idea how to do it?

Ask in this part of the forum
iMovie for iOS
You stand a much better chance of getting an answer.

Ability to both use Green Screen and then resize the clip?

Imovie 10 - the Green Screen works great. Place one clip above the other and presto. But then if you want to shrink it and put it say on the bottom corner, there in no way. It looks like you can either use the Green Screen or the PIP but not both.
This is a problem as say clip on is of a field of buffalos. Clip 2 is you in front of a green screen. There is no way to alter the size of clip 2 to fit it into the herd. Clip 2 has the subject way too big. You would have to shoot it from an equil distance from the herd for the two clips to match up. If, after you Green Screen your clip you could then PIP in and adjust the size of the video it would be perfect.
Any suggestions or am I missing something?
And no, I am not bothering herds of buffalos, ....not since the accident anyway.

Thank you for your reply. I saw this solution on another thread and tried the following. Will go into what I found.
The green screen function will only work if the movie is on top of something else. Therefore, when you save it it is saving the file with the background behind it. I tried several.
Then if you import it into your main project, it contains that background and using PIP will certainly shrink it, but again, you can't green screen it....back to step one.
This solution you reference would work if the file contained the subject against a transparent background, but it doesn't, it contains whatever you had to use under it to get the green screen to work.
Sorry if I am missing something. Two days into this and can't believe it can't be done.
Tom

Hey all - I am just learning version 6.0.6 - can't use green screen footage

When I try to use chroma key (edit green screen footage I've shot) the option is greyed out. Thanks for the help!

Sorry to break it to you, but FCP6 is not FCPX. Go to the Final Cut Studio forum with your question.
Er, this discussion showed up as an FCPX discussion when I clicked on it. Not sure why, but i apologize if you posted it correctly in the first place....
Message was edited by: Paul Cuciti

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

Using Green Screen Feature

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