Use Greenscreen on Windows Movie Maker

The Green Screen is an essential technique used for creating a successful movie in most major producing companies today. With a Green Screen, there is no need to travel to Paris to film a scene in front of the Eiffel Tower. There is no need to fly all the way to Egypt to film a scene in front of the Great Pyramid. With Green Screen, the possibilities are endless. People who make movies as a hobby, like you, may think the Green Screen can only be mastered by professionals; but that's where you're wrong. When you've finished reading this article, you yourself will feel like a movie-making professional. All you need is Windows Movie Maker, a large green cloth, clothing that isn't green and a video camera. A tripod is optional.

Steps

  1. Set up a large green cloth on a wall. Make sure the colour isn't too dark or bright. It should be a lime sort of green.
  2. Set up your camera either on a tripod or some other kind of support.
  3. Film your movie for however long you like. Remember NOT to wear any clothes with the same green colour as your Green Screen.
  4. Insert your camera cable or memory card into your computer. Saving the video to your computer is a good idea, in case you accidentally delete it on your camera.
  5. Open Notepad from the Accessories on the Start Menu.

    (If you are using Windows Vista or later, be sure to open Notepad as an Administrator.)
  6. Copy and paste this code into it: <TransitionsAndEffects Version="1.0">
    • <Transitions>
    • <TransitionDLL guid="{C5B19592-145E-11D3-9F04-006008039E37}" >
    • <Transition name="Greenscreen" iconid="11">
    • <Param name="KeyType" value="0" />
    • <Param name="RGB" value="0x00FF00" />
    • </Transition>
    • </TransitionDLL>
    • </Transitions>
    • </TransitionsAndEffects>
  7. Save it as 'greenscreen.xml' into the folder: C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared\AddOnTFX
  8. Open Windows Movie Maker. Go into the transition section, and there should be a transition called Greenscreen.
  9. Import your video of the Green Screen into Windows Movie Maker.
  10. Get the picture or video that you want to replace with the green.
  11. Drag the Green Screen video into the timeline first, and then drag in the replacement background.
  12. Drag in the Greenscreen transition in between the two clips and stretch it to the length of both clips. This merges the two clips together.
  13. Watch your video to check if it is okay. There may be some blotchy bits if the green background isn't good enough, and there may be some parts on yourself that are see-through because you are wearing a similar colour to the background.
  14. Have fun exploring the different ways of Green Screen. You can also use a Blue Screen, but the code you wrote into Notepad is not capable of detecting blue. For your information, the real name for Green Screen is Chroma Key.
    • There are advanced editing programs such as Final Cut Pro that have built in codes and can replace any background colour at all.

Tips

  • To make it look like you are flying, simply get a steady box or chair and cover it with the same colour green as your background. Stand on top of it while filming, and when you use the green screen effect on Windows Movie Maker, it will make it look like you're floating in mid air!
  • To make any of your body parts disappear, just cover or paint them with the same colour green as your background and film yourself. When you use the green screen effect on Windows Movie Maker, it will make it look like that part of your body is missing!
  • As best as can be found it works only on version 6 of Movie Maker. Version 7 does not recognize the xml plugins.

Things You'll Need

  • Green Screen - For best results, use a lime green, not too dark or light.
  • Camera - Of course you can't make a film using green screen if you don't have a camera!
  • Memory Card or Camera Cable - You need this to connect your film to your computer.
  • Windows Movie Maker - This article is specifically for Windows Movie Maker 1.0, but it works for older and earlier versions as well.
  • Tripod - This is optional, but if you have one I recommend you use it to steady the camera.
  • Non-green clothing - without this, parts of your body will be see-through. You need this unless you are using the see-through effect mentioned in the Tips above.
  • Boxes or chairs - You'll need this for the 'Flying' effect mentioned in the tips above!

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

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