By Richard Blackmon

Want to Jazz Up Your Home Video?

Chroma key is the way to do it. Chromakey is the cancelling out a background color so that you can insert a different background. You can purchase what you need from the auctions below.

How They Do It

The most common example of chroma key (chromakey) is the TV weatherman. He is not really pointing at a giant weathermap when doing his weathercast. He is being filmed in front of a blue or green background. These shades of colors are not normally found in nature. The station software simply substitutes the PC weather map for the green screen.

Using chromakey software, the blue or green color is removed and the weathermap background is substituted for the transparency left after the keying process. Another example of this was the occasional scene on the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway”. They frequently had an actor standing in front of a green screen with something revolting, such as cockroaches or snakes crawling all over the background.

Now You Can Do Green Screening At Home

Software is readily available today that allows you to do green screening on a home PC. I have scenes taped of myself in front of a greenscreen and then using an NLE (Non linear editing software) and putting in a virtual set such as the Taj Mahal, the French Riviera, the Coliseum in Rome in the background.

Green Screen or Chromakey Software

Two examples of the software I use are Ultra CS3 and Visual Communicator CS3. These products were originally developed by a company called Serious Magic. Serious Magic was acquired by Adobe and they are marketed under the Adobe Banner.

Green Screen or Chromakey is fun.
My grandchildren are really impressed by what Papaw can do. You can easily do this yourself.