Video Green screening

[brad jones]

I'm a complete video novice. I've used Windows Movie Maker to knit together video segments and do transitions. I want to now do video overlays -- what I believe would be called green screening. I see that Pinnacle Studio 12 Ultimate does this. Does Adobe Effects do this as well? I'm looking for recommendations on an inexpensive program to use to do this. In reading reviews on Amazon, it seems most video software is bashed more than praised, so it makes it hard to now what to get..... :)

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Brad!

[joshua.toenyes]

Brad-

Look into Final Cut if you are using a Mac, or a combination of Adobe Premier Pro & After Effects for the Mac and PC (I use all Adobe products).

Either way you go, you will have to do a lot of learning to have a good looking final product. Consider using www.lynda.com, or buying some learning software or books on the program that you decide to use.

-Josh

[Eye for Video]

Green screening is not quite as simple as placing your talent in front of a green blanket. Lighting and space between the talent and the screen will be crucial in the success of the software to render the chroma key in the way you would like. So please do some research into the technique before you decide on the software. I’ve seen good jobs done with inexpensive software and bad jobs done with high priced stuff.
But find a place to start and practice… practice… practice…
Then you can tell us about our experiences with chroma keying!
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com

[brad jones]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm looking to use a PC (not Mac), so Adobe products are an option.

Practice and learning are required to do anything successfully. Part of the reason I'm looking for cheaper software is that I know it will take time to learn. Once that process is completed, I can decide if I want to invest larger amounts into software and equipment.

Thanks again,

Brad!