Green Screen Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make – Part 1

Howdy Readers!

I love playing around with iMovie and making spacey or goofy YouTube videos. Last week I made a new video sharing things NOT to do if you want to use a green screen.

On Christmas day I took some of my funky get-ups to our family gathering, plus ten yards of green fleece fabric I got at a huge discount on Cyber Monday.

My relatives were good sports and we had lots of laughs, but gusty winds messed up my plans, and a comedy of errors ensued. I got some good footage out of it, though, enough to share some tips with you about the mistakes I made so you can avoid making them, too.

I like the contrast of how the professional green screen studio looks compared to my setup. I used the cockeyed clip of my green screen on purpose (with my sister bringing me a chocolate martini) just to exaggerate the difference of a pro’s equipment and my amateur, beginner attempt.

Have you ever tried using a green screen? If so, got any tips for us? If not, do you think you’d want to maybe try this someday? I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

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22 Responses to Green Screen Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make – Part 1

  1. Bish Denham says:

    It’s nice that you get your whole fandamly involved. I don’t even have a video camera! And I’m not sure if I’d know how to use it if I did!

  2. Diana Beebe says:

    Awesome tips, Lynn! Your family is pretty awesome to play along like that.

    I haven’t tried a green screen yet. I will keep these things in mind. 😀

    • Thanks, Diana! Yes, my family has lots of goofballs, so I figured they’d be good for getting some wacky, fun shots. I hope you try this some day or even just a vlog or other video. It opens a whole new world of blog posts for us to do!

  3. Phooey bestie! I can’t watch videos on my internet. Dang it anyhow! I’ll email you soon. I’ve been swamped with Christopher Dr. visits, birthdays, and homeschool. Love you.

    • No worries, bestie! The video will still be up whenever you’re able to view them. I know you’ve been super busy. I was wondering how Christopher’s strict new diet is going. Hope it’s getting easier for you, and I hope you’re getting good results at the doctor visits. Love you, too! Hang in there. XO

  4. LOL This was delightful, Lynn. What a bunch of good sports your family is to participate this way. I won’t say I’ll never do this, because once up on a time I said I’d never to FB! Duh! I’m always slow to get on board new things, so someday I might do this. Besides, it sure looks fun. Thanks for sharing.

    • Thanks, Marsha! And you never know what you’ll find yourself getting involved in, so very true, and one day you might find it’s a kick making YouTube videos. Good for SEOs and promoting yourself!

  5. Yvette Carol says:

    Pass on all the tips you’ve got, Lynn, honey. Maria thinks I should start making YouTube videos, and I have no clue. See me, deer-blinking-in-headlights 🙂

    • Yvette – You’ve got lots of irons in the fire right now, but the day is likely to come when you want to make videos, and you can learn about it then. Although all you need is a cheap camera that can take videos, or you can use still pics, or you can use an iPhone. And you don’t have to do green screens or fancy videos either. Simple videos work great, too. Thanks for stopping by!

  6. Reason #137 why I don’t make videos! LOL @ the duct tape – yeah, it’s like the Force – but not with toddlers around!

  7. I never thought of using my own green screen. What a great idea, Lynn! I’m planning on working on a book trailer video next month. I’ve got footage and original music, but have no idea if it will come together like I want it to. But I’m sure it will be fun. I think I should get someone to bring me a chocolate martini too. 🙂

    • Coleen – Those chocolate martinis rock! I can only handle one, though! There are lots of tutorials about green screens on YouTube to learn how to do it. With your awesome photos, you’ll come up with some cool videos. I’m taking an online class from Katie Davis called Video Idiot Boot Camp and I’m learning lots of cool things. You can go at your own pace. I haven’t had much time to spend on it yet, so hopefully by summer I’ll know a lot more. I’m getting ready to make a book trailer, too, and feel the same way you do, hoping it will all come together the way I’m hoping. Still need to find some good music for it. Can’t wait to see yours!

  8. Patricia says:

    Well now, there’s a project that would take waaaay too much of my time. It’s cool and all, but most of my home movies would be on the dog and that would get old real quick.

    Fun stuff though. I like that you’re experimenting and you have such a helpful family.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

  9. Lynn- I have never used a green screen at home, but tried one once at a science museum. I think you did an excellent job with yours and found some ways to disguise the things that went wrong. Learning from your mistakes was helpful, as I wouldn’t have realized these things on my own (natural light made sense to me, but now I can see the downfalls in this situation). You have a wonderful family and I am happy they agreed to help out. 🙂

    Wishing you a happy new year and a fabulous 2014. 🙂

    • Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry I missed your comment until today, more than a month after you posted it. Missed another one, too. I guess January was extra hectic to miss two comments.

      Thank you. I’m glad my mistakes were helpful to you, and I hope you get to try a green screen again someday. I think it’s pretty darn cool that you tried it at a science museum. That must be a pretty good museum to offer something like that. Thanks so much for stopping by!

  10. Haha! Good on you, Lynn. I’ve never attempted a green screen… My experience tells me it’s never as easy as they make it look. But a handy thing to learn. And yours turned out alright in the end! 🙂

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