How do Green Screen Apps Work
Green Screen Apps as the name suggest replaces the Green Background with a custom video or a custom background. These apps detect a single color and cut those color pixels out of the video. The key to getting a proper green screen replacement is to have uniform lighting on the green screen. You can even use any other color instead of a green screen. It just has to be uniform. Following is a good example of a uniformly light green screen. For more clarity about green screens basics, watch the following video.
Read: 10 Best Free Stock Video Sites For Personal And Commercial Use
Green Screen Apps For Android And iOS
1. Chromavid
Chromavid is not a green screen video editor, rather a live green screen app. With ‘live green screen app’, you can check if the green screen setup is perfect before you start the shoot. Usually, we set up our green screen, record an image or short clip. Transfer it the PC and then process it to analyze the green screen setup. Chromavid cuts the process here. It lets you assess your green screen setup live. You have to choose the color of your screen. Usually, it’s a ‘green’ color but you can also choose between blue, red or yellow. Next, you have to choose a dummy image. Now, Chromavid will let you assess your green screen live. You can either record the activity or just have a live preview of the green screen replacement. Due to its instant share option, Chromavid can also be used as a social media utility. Suppose, you are making a green screen YouTube video or commercial and want to share a short glimpse of things on Instagram or Snapchat. You can quickly edit the green screen of the same setup and post it to Insta. Chromavid is a great utility rather than a full green screen editor. The replacement process is pretty straight-forward & slick but I would have loved the option to replace the green screen of existing videos. Features
Live green screen replacement Works for the green, blue, red and yellow screen.
What’s missing?
Green screen replacement for existing videos Video Editing Tools.
Download Chromavid (Android | iOS)
2. PowerDirector
PowerDirector is a popular video editing tool for Android (sorry iOS users). My favourite thing about PowerDirector is that it brings the desktop’s video editing layout to smartphones. The app UI is a full-fledged editing screen with the video timeline at the bottom. At the top-right, you have the media preview whereas on the left you get the editing tools. PowerDirector lets you choose the color that has to be replaced in the video. You can choose the hardness of the chroma keying by moving the Denoise slider. You can play with the Denoise and Color Range value to perfect the Chroma Keying. In my testing, PowerDirector leaves few traces of the color around the edges of the subject. PowerDirector is an all-around video editing software for mobile but it leaves a watermark on the footage. You need to upgrade to the premium variant to remove the watermark. The premium version is subscription-based starting from $4.08/month. Features:
Chroma Keying & Denoise option. Full-fledged video editor.
What’s missing?
Inbuilt Camera & Audio Recorder. Maximum Output is 720p for the free version.
Download PowerDirector (Android)
3. Kinemaster
Kinemaster is another popular mobile editing application for creators. Unlike PowerDirector, Kinemaster is available for iOS and iPad devices as well. The app UI is similar to that of PowerDirector with the timeline at the bottom and controls to the left. I would rate Kinemaster as better when it comes to Chrome Keying. The only drawback Kinemaster has is that it doesn’t have a custom color picker. You have to choose from the range of colors available. It’s not a drawback but makes me browse the entire RGB model to pick my color. It would make choosing color much easier if it had a color picker tool.
After keying in your color, Kinemaster gives a whole set of options. You can choose the detail of the subject in the green with the help of a Highlight/Shadow curve. You can choose the opacity and harshness of the chroma keying with the help of the slider. Also, you can enable mask which gives you a Black & White view of the video. This helps to edit the harshness and opacity of the chroma key better. Kinemaster is the epitome of mobile video editing apps. The only downside is the free variant is that you get a watermark on the exported video. This could be removed by upgrading to the premium variant which starts at $4.10/month. Features:
Full-fledged video and audio editing Maximum output is 4k Inbuilt Store for Free Power Pack & Overlays.
What’s missing?
Color picker for chroma key.
Download Kinemaster (Android | iOS)
4. Stop Motion Studio
Stop Motion Studio is a novel app on this list. It is less of a green screen replacement and more of a stop motion creator. We have a Step-by-Step guide for Stop Motion, you can go through it for better clarity. Stop screen Studio gives you a live preview of the green screen replacement while clicking the photo itself. So, you can ideally arrange your shot during the click itself. This cuts down the additional process of coming back from editing and correcting the picture. You can also directly export the video to YouTube or save it to memory. However, the highest export resolution is 720p. The green screen feature is however paid and you will have to shell out $1 to get it. With the green screen feature, you can create stop motions on a green screen. Below is an example of stop motion created on a green screen. Features:
Stop motion creation Green-Screen Removal
What’s missing?
Support for existing images
Download Stop Motion (Android | iOS)
Read: How to Make Stop Motion Video on Android and iOS – A Step by Step Guide
5. Green Screen by Do Ink
Green Screen by Do Ink would be my most recommended green screen editing app for iPad & iPhone. It’s a paid app and you have to shell out $2.99. In case you have an iPad Pro, you should try LumaFusion ($19.99). It’s a powerful editing tool and you can have a short glimpse of it in this video. Coming back to ‘Green Screen by Do Ink’, to apply the green screen replacement, you just have to drop your video in the middle layer. It automatically cuts out the green color and you have a solid black background. You can fix the hardness of the green screen or choose custom colors as well. The sensitivity slider under Chroma menu lets you increase or decrease the hardness. Green Screen by Do Ink has the most intuitive interface but lacks some advanced video editing features like Transitions, color filters, etc. To solve this problem, you can export the output of Green Screen and then provide it finishing touches in iMovie. iMovie is available for free on the Apple App Store. Features:
Intuitive UI with 3 layer timelines Chroma Key Selection Free to use.
What’s missing?
Advanced Video Editing Features like Transitions, Color Effects, etc.
Download Green Screen by Do Ink
Final Words
Chromavid is a fantastic green screen utility. It is a must-have if you deal with lots of green screen videos. For a full-fledged green screen video editor, PowerDirector or Kinemaster is the ideal choice. If you just want to remove the green screen, iMovie on iPad or — on Android would be a good pick. Anyways let me know which app you would prefer in the comments below. For any issues or queries, ping me on Instagram, we can catch up there. Also Read: Best Stop Motion Apps for Android (Not Time Lapse Videos)
