Remove the background from a video

Green Screen finds the person in your recording and removes everything behind them - no physical green screen needed. It runs on your Mac and makes a new copy, so your original recording is never changed.

Remove the background

1. Choose Enhance > Green Screen… (⇧⌘G), or press Green Screen in the Enhance rail.
2. Choose an Edge finish:
   • Crisp, best for clear outlines;
   • Natural, a balanced edge for hair and shoulders - start here;
   • Soft, more forgiving for movement or difficult lighting.
3. Press Generate Green Screen. Rooster renders every frame on your Mac, which takes a while for a long recording, and applies the result when it finishes.

For the best edge, light yourself well and avoid a background close in colour to your clothes.

Put something behind you

With the background gone, the canvas shows through. Click an empty part of the canvas so nothing is selected - or press the back arrow at the top of Adjust - and Adjust shows the scene's own settings. In its background band, press the plus button to add a colour, or the picture button to add an image. You can also put another layer underneath the speaker in the Layers list there.

Blur the room instead

To keep the room but soften it, use Enhance > Blur Background… instead. It has the same edge finishes. Apply it before Green Screen, not after: once Green Screen has removed the room there is nothing left to blur, and Rooster says so.

Change or remove it

Select the main recording and open Adjust. The Effects band lists Green Screen with a button to adjust it and a bin to remove it, which brings the room back.