Blue Screen vs Green Screen (common difference)
One of the critical components that are used widely for video creation is a blue screen and green screen. So between blue screen vs green screen which one is superior for video production and post-production? There are four common differences that separate blue screen and green screen.
- Less Noise: Green screen gives the best results with digital cameras instead of film. Green screen reduces noise during the keying process.
- Colour Spill: Blue screen is better if you want less colour spill, colour correction is relatively easier on blue screen than green.
- Better Background: The green is a better background colour, as people are more likely to wear blue clothing than green, hence separating subject and background is hard on the blue screen.
- Lighting: Blue screen has a low luminosity, and thus it’s suitable for dark or night-time scenes. Whereas green screen has a high luminosity, making it better for day-time scenes. Since a blue screen requires more lighting, it is expensive to shoot large scenes on it. If you are on a tight budget, a blue screen is not the best option for you.
If you want a completely detailed analysis of which screen is best between blue screen vs green screen, we have written a detailed article discussing the factors. You can read it for more information on the matter.
Multiple factors need to be considered before passing a final verdict. Both screens come with their pros and cons. We are going to discuss their advantages and disadvantages in the article. Make sure to read the article till the end to understand the dynamics of video production. Now, it’s okay if you are new to this topic, we will walk you through it effortlessly.
Blue Screen vs Green Screen: What it is and Why it is used
Before we delve into the differences between the two screen types and what their pros and cons are, why not first understand what exactly is a blue screen and green screen? Let’s get introduced to the ‘screen’ first.
When it comes to making any video content, there are two crucial stages: video production and post-production. Video production, as the name suggests, is a process of filming, recording or producing any video content. Post-production is a process that comes after filming.
During post-production, the audio-video content is edited. There are various tasks involved in it like cutting the raw video, inspecting the audio quality, removing/adding sound, giving visual or sound effects. Many processes are depending upon what you want to achieve, but above are some notable tasks that are performed.
Suppose we are talking about movies, documentaries, TV shows, and reality shows it can take from days to months to get the post-production done. It depends entirely upon the number of tasks we want to perform and the size of the content. We hope you get the idea.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a small YouTube video producer or Vine maker, it is always great to inspect the video content, edit it and improve it before posting the final version. The more efforts you put into post-production, the better audience reception it gets.
Do you know the tech YouTuber MKBHD? If you do, don’t you think how crisp and high-quality his videos are? Well, that’s because he makes sure to put-in efforts at editing.
Chroma Key: What is it
Since we are talking about video editing, let’s take a look at an essential stage in the process: Chroma Key Compositing. What is it? Well, it is a post-production visual effect process that involves the layering of two images or video footage together. For the layering, it uses colour hues, also known as chroma range. If you want to add or remove a background from the photo and video, chroma key compositing is used. It is most prevalent in the news broadcasting, movies and gaming industry.
Since it uses colour hues to replace the background from the subject, you can use any colour as a background, as long as it is distinct from hues of human skin colours. However, the most commonly used colours are blue and green. The human skin colour is easily distinguishable with these two variants. The subject’s colour should not match with the colour being used as background. Otherwise, it can be mistaken as part of the background.
So which background screen should you choose? Look at the pros and cons below for the selection.
Green Screen:
Today’s digital cameras are better at capturing green information than red or blue colours. That’s why you get a clean, better key around the subject filmed. That means fewer noise during editing. If you are on a frugal budget, you are better off with a green screen. Since green is brighter and requires less lighting, you can easily composite subjects into a scene with daytime. Since many tools are by-default set up to remove green information, you can use that efficiency to speed up work.
Green Screen Pros:
- Cleaner key as the digital cameras capture green information better than other colours
- Gives good results with less lighting
- Green is brighter
- Since green is highly luminant, it’s better suited for daytime scenes
- Uncommon colour in clothing, so easy to separate the subject from the background
Green Screen Cons:
- Heavy colour spill: if you expect fine details and accurate edges, it is not a good background. It is known for its heavy colour spill.
- Not suitable for dark or night scenes because of the highly luminant nature of the background.
Blue Screen:
If you are filming anything that requires fine, small detailings, then the blue screen is the best one to use. It has less colour spill than green. It is not as much luminant as green, so great for filming dark or night scenes. The details will be retained after the keying is done. That’s not the case with the green screen.
For example, if you are filming blonde hair, it won’t be able to retain details after keying on a green screen. However, it can be quickly done with a blue screen as it is not high in luminance.
Blue screen Pros:
- Great for fine details and accurate edges since it has less colour spill than a green screen
- It is less luminous than the green screen, making it ideal for filming dark or nighttime scenes.
Blue Screen Cons:
- Expensive lighting: since it needs more lighting than a green screen, it can be an expensive option, especially for those who are on a tight budget.
- The blue colour is standard clothing colour, making it difficult to separate during the keying process.
Final Word
We have laid out the pros and cons of both green and blue screens. Now, it’s up to you what kind of background to select. If you are making simple internet videos, it’s best to go with a green screen as it’s affordable. If you have a big budget and penchant for fine details, get a blue one. There are other hues as well, but it’s safer to go with tried and tested methods.
Once you are done with post-production, tell us how your experience was in the comments. Follow us for more exciting information. If you have any queries, drop them in comments below, we will try to address them in our next articles.
