“Green-Screening”, or more accurately chroma keying, is a process where footage shot against a colored screen (green or blue) is edited with the background removed. In the older days of film, the blue or green channel of physical film was simply replaced with a different background. In more recent years, we can film ourselves against a green cloth (without wearing any green of course), click a button, and we’re instantly transported to another world. Using creative animation, stock footage, and more 3D effects, anyone can transform mundane performances into rich, vivid stories unfolding in bold, new worlds.

I’d like to start with the screen itself. While the towering canvases and walls of Hollywood may not be in your budget, I can’t emphasize enough how simple it is to create your own green screen. Should you not want to order a moderately inexpensive sheet (I recommend the Neewer Green Screen and Stand Kits around $30 USD), any plain-colored bedsheet should potentially do the trick. You’re looking for an even color—ideally not transparent (or else you should also put a black sheet behind it)—and a method to hang it up.

Consider your apartment deposit when thumbtacking or taping your screen or use clothespins to tightly stretch your screen to the desired size. You generally want to cover your entire frame, as well as some extra area just in case. If you can, also place your subject farther from the screen to avoid shadows falling on the screen while getting a sharper image too! If you’re worried about room size, see if you can make differently-angled shots with your screen instead of one wide shot. With a higher aperture value (~f3.0+), you can get a sharper image and ideally a better key! Just be sure to adjust your backgrounds as if you were really filmed in those different angles. All of these small tips help us avoid Spill, where the green color from the screen wraps around the edges of your subjects. Should this happen, utilize any Spill Suppressor plugin in your editor and/or try to keep your subject distant from the screen (Thanks Dacian Grada).