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YEEELP....Creating Green Screen Effect


NaimaRich

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Attempting a Chroma Key affect (First time ever!)....

 

I'm not even able to drag video to the "Overlay" track. SIGH.

 

If I hit the overlay button to upload image, it won't let me upload my video clip.

 

I filmed a "green screen" clip that I placed in the timeline aleady.

 

But I'm not able to get the other clip in the Overlay.

 

Do you have a clue what's wrong?

 

ALSO:

 

I want the overlay animation footage to appear behind the person speaking on the

green screen. How do I do this?

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Hi

 

From your post I get the impression that you are trying to put your "green screen" film on the sequence line which is incorrect. Your background (animation footage)goes on the sequence line and the "Green Screen" foreground object (your person speaking)on the overlay track. This is how I suggest you proceed. (It's a bit long so you might be best printing it out.)

 

Under normal circumstances you film a normal background clip (your animation in this case)against which you will place your "green screen" object/person.

 

So the first thing is to open VP and then add ("Add Media") your background clip (your animation) to the media list. From there you drag it to, and drop it onto, the sequence track. (You can add it to the sequence in a variety of ways but drag/drop is simpler.)So far this is a simple normal film.

 

Now you will need your foreground "Green Screen" clip. This can be filmed against any reasonable background colour. i.e you could use the side of a coloured building, or a single coloured sheet. It doesn't have to be pure green (or even green) but it should be reasonably uniform to work well. (Even white will work but not too well as faces have white areas.) Try not to get other items in the shot that have a different colour and its also best if the subject doesn't have anything clothing on that is near to the colour of the background or it will disappear also in the final result. (They won't become naked however :rolleyes: )

 

So, create your clip,(your person speaking) add it to the media list and then drag/drop in onto the overlay track. Align with your sequence clip and wait while VP registers it. By default it will probably appear in the preview window (on the right) as a little image at the centre bottom.

 

IMPORTANT....One thing to note however.- Your person speaking will be silent as the overlay track is only a video track, it has no associated soundtrack. To get around this right click this particular clip in the media list and select to "Save audio track as a separate file". This will put the sound file in the media list from where you can drop it onto Soundtrack 1. You will have to match it up with the overlay at the end.

 

Now,Left click the overlay track clip so as to select it and the image will appear in the left preview window with the controls beneath it. You may have to scroll the preview window to the right to show all the controls.

 

Now click the centre square of the arrow matrix to centre the overlay image and then adjust the size slider so the overlay image is full size. (I am assuming it is the same size and shape as your sequence line video clip.) Now the only image you should see in either preview pane will be the overlay image. This is because it is fully opaque and it covers the sequence line video clip.

 

So, in the left hand preview pane,click the green chroma key button followed by the colour square. Select a colour that is closest to your chosen background colour. As you have the image present on the screen you can make a reasonable guess as to the closest shade. You can also, if you wish, create a new colour or adjust a selected shade by clicking the "Personalised colour" bar and then using the colour matrix that appears. Whichever way you select your colour-Click OK.

 

Next. Set the Opacity to 100% to ensure your "subject" is not a ghost image.

 

Now you can adjust the "Foreground" slider towards the 100% end and as this is done the colours in the overlay that correspond to your selected colour gradually become B/W checked squares. This indicates which parts of the overlay have become transparent. By adjusting both background (the sequence line)and foreground (overlay) sliders you can see what effect you are getting in the right hand preview window. However you will have to click OK after each adjustment to see the effect you have achieved.

 

With care you can totally remove the overlay background colour leaving your subject appearing in the foregound of the sequence clip.

 

If you can't totally remove the background chroma colour from your overlay try selecting a slightly different chroma colour and try again.

 

You will now nee to adjust the soundtrack that you added to soundtrack1 so that it matches (synchs) the overlay image. You can do this by zooming in and then gently dragging the track left or right. A bit fiddly but not too difficult.

 

Nat

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Thanks so much Nat,

 

I paid $69 for the VideoPad...but I don't seem to have all of my control buttons.

I don't have a "Video/Image" upload feature. I simply have "Image."

 

Apparently something is very wrong. I refuse to PAY Videopad for help. So I am waiting

on their helpers to contact me.

 

Naima

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Hi Naima

 

"So I am waiting on their helpers to contact me."

I don't think they will on here... :unsure: So I'll do my best.

 

I haven't mentioned "Video/Image upload" in my post so I am not clear about what you are referring to. Where exactly do you have "Image"?

 

What VP version are you using and what buttons do you think you are missing? I cannot see why it might be much different from the version I use which is V2.41. The version number appears in the border at the bottom left of the screen.

 

Note that you cannot add an image or video clip to the overlay track unless you have a video already ON the sequence line, (although it will appear in the left hand preview window.)

 

Do the procedure in the order I have suggested in my post. i.e. Load your clips to the media list using the "Add Media" button, (situated on the tool bar at the top left of the screen. When they appear in the media list window,(you may have to click the little tab marked "Media List" immediately beneath the "Add Media" button,) add your background video to the sequence line by dragging and dropping it there and then add your overlay video to the overlay track in the same way. Then you should be ready to continue as in my previous reply.

 

Nat

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Nat,

 

Somehow I have Version 2.22

 

I downloaded it for 14 day trial a few weeks ago, then purchased it

about 2 weeks ago. I really am regretting it.

 

When did they start selling your 2.41 version? I feel like I'm being

screwed big time by Videopad.

 

I've done the process just as you said....I just don't have a way to upload

the OVERLAY video. It only allows "Images"..not video. sigh.

 

Naima

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Hi

 

Oh dear..you have an older version.. :( v2.41 has been out for a while.

I am sorry to say that as far as I remember v2.22 doesn't have an overlay feature so the chroma key option is not an option.

You will have to contact NCH and see if you can get it upgraded to the latest version. I really don't know why, particularly when you payed, you weren't upgraded to the latest full version as a matter of course. That would seem logical to me.

 

I think that the quickest way forward is to download 2.41 from here (or eleswhere...search Google).......

 

http://downloadall.net/16945/videopad-free-video-editor-free-download

 

This is the unlicensed basic free version 2.41 has the functionality you want (plus lots more) but, as with the other free versions the output formats are limited.

 

You should download the file vpsetup_v2.41 which you then open to install the software.

 

 

Nat

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Nono49

 

Probably better to start a new thread with this question, but yes, you can alter the video that you have placed on the overlay track.

However the normal "Split" button only works for clip on the main sequence line and its associated soundtrack.

 

If you left click the video that you have placed on the overlay track, it will preview in the left hand screen, along with the green time track and its red and blue In/Out markers. By adjusting these you can effectivly isolate a section of the overlay clip. (However, unlike the same feature which is present when you preview a main sequence clip or a clip from the media list, you cant save the isolated section as a new clip or drop onto the overlay track as there is no green down arrow amongst the overlay controls.)

The changes you make to the In/Out points are directly tansferred to the overlay.

 

Probably the easiest way is to simply drag the ends of the overlay left or right. This effectively shortens it and isolates the section you want (monitoring the result in the left hand preview window) and then, once VP has registed the changes, drag the shortened overlay along the track to the position you want relative to the main clip. In fact it's pretty much the same as using the red/blue markers.

 

Nat

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