Green Screen Software: A Guide to Choosing the Best One
So, you've started on your journey to bring more professional visual effects to your video productions. You've gone out and purchased a green screen and a lighting kit to light it with, but now you need to find a good green screen editor. Or perhaps you are just beginning your purchasing decisions and want to know what the best chroma key software is before you spend any money on equipment. Whatever your scenarios, this post will help you make the right decision.
What is Green Screen Software?
To remove the green screen from your video so you can put a new background in, you need special software. Green screen video software comes in the better video editing software packages. There are also plugins that can be purchased separately. These tools make it easy to select the color of your screen and remove it from the shot.
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How to Choose the Best Software
With explanations out of the way, it's time to get down to deciding which green screen video software will the right one for you. Because everyone's needs and desires are different, we can't simply tell you which software is the best. However, we can give you some tips that you can use while looking over your options to help you narrow down the list and find a product that fits your goals and personality.
Budget friendliness
The most important part of any purchase is deciding whether you can afford it. Thankfully, you can get high-quality chroma key software in affordable packages these days. But if you want the best of the best, the type of software used by the largest Hollywood studios, it's going to cost a lot more. Figuring out what you can afford will let you quickly narrow down the list.
Other features
If you plan on creating the next effect-laden masterpiece, you'll need green screen software that comes with plenty of features beyond simple chroma key capabilities. On the other hand, if you are only going to be editing talking-head style interviews or other simple videos, you won't need much in the way of additional features. There's software to suit all kinds of needs, and an essential part of finding the best green screen software for your purposes is figuring out what your needs are.
Third-party reviews
Third-party reviews can be a great way to get a feel for what other people's experience with a piece of software is. Keep in mind that user reviews tend to be written entirely by people who love or hate a product. Therefore, they can present a rather binary view of the product's value. However, professional reviewers will have some experience with video editing, know what they are looking for, and be able to provide a balanced review of the product. If you can find professional reviews for the products you are interested in, pay particular attention to them.
Trial
There are many different green screen video editors out there, and each is likely to approach chroma keying in a slightly different way. Make sure the tools have a trial version available. Before you download the trial, shoot a green screen video to test it with. Don't just download one; you want to test under the actual conditions you'll be working in. Then, download a trial for all the software that interests you and try their chroma key features.
Conclusion
Green screen effects are no longer something that only big-budget movies can afford to do. Nearly everyone has the resources to make their green screen videos today. Using affordable yet powerful video editing software like VideoStudio, you'll be creating your own professional looking green screen videos in no time.
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