Green-Screen Videos: Simple To Make On TikTok

Audiences often marveled at the special effects used to make movies in the 20th century. Most people had no idea how Hollywood filmmakers were able to create cinematic marvels like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Star Wars.

The introduction of CGI (computer-generated imagery) in the 1990s made movie effects even more spectacular, but because computer technology was becoming commonplace, it was somewhat easier for laymen to understand how they were produced.

“Green screen” production techniques had been used since the early 1900s (often with a blue screen), but the arrival of digital cameras and affordable editors in the 1990s made it a snap for home filmmakers to create green-screen videos that digitally put almost any background behind the subject of their movie — and just as easy for everyone else to understand how it was done.

These days, you don’t even need special equipment to create a green-screen video. You can make one on TikTok in seconds.

Making a Green Screen Video on TikTok

The social media platform’s editor has a robust green screen effect that not only lets TikTok users change the background of their video, but also makes it simple for them to superimpose images or other videos on top of TikTok content or change some of the foreground details.

Here’s how to get started with the app’s green screen.

1. Tap the “+” icon at the bottom of the home screen to open the TikTok video creator.
2. Click the effects icon immediately to the left of the red “Record” button, and then tap “View all effects.”
3. When the popup window appears, choose “Tool” from the scrolling menu at the top of the window, and then tap on the “Green Screen” icon at or near the top.
4. You’ll then see a scrollable row of all of the screenshots and photos in your camera reel. Choose one, and poof! You’re now filming in front of the beautiful sunset you shot last week, or the screenshot of your phone screen you mistakenly captured and didn’t delete.
5. If you’d like, you can move your position on the background by dragging your face to the desired location with your finger, or make yourself smaller or bigger by using two fingers to expand or contract your image.
6. Record your video, add any other text, filters, effects, and sounds that you’d like — and you’ve got a green screen masterpiece ready to become your next TikTok post.

That’s just a quick tutorial, of course. There’s a lot more you can do with the green screen tool; play around and have fun!