Can You Make Your Own Green Screen?

If you are a streamer or vlogger and don’t want to spend money purchasing green-screen for streaming or gaming, creating YouTube videos and etc., you could definitely, you can make your own.

There are different ways to make your own green screen. These are:

Purchasing a fabric cloth
Buying a colored poster board
Make a green screen with paint

Fabric Cloth

All you need is some equipment such as a green or blue piece of cloth, a camera, some lights, and the right video editing software.

Here are the simple steps to take when making your own green screen

Step 1: Purchase a Cloth

The first step to owning a green screen is purchasing a piece of cloth such as muslin material. Just make sure the fabric is heavy and a bright shade of green to avoid being too reflective. Although, you can choose a blue screen kindly remember it can cause problems especially if you wear blue clothes or have blue eyes. Therefore, for ensure you are on the safe side it is better you purchase a piece of green cloth instead of blue.

Step 2: Cut the Fabric into the Desired Size

Ensure you cut the fabric depending on your desired size. For instance, if there is no much movement required, a 4’ x 6’ fabric will be okay. For a medium one, you can go for the 5’ x 7’ or 6’ x 9’ for a wider one. All in all, make sure the fabric is large enough to cover your entire subject.

Step 3: Create a Frame out of PVC Slightly Bigger than the Fabric

Just make sure the frame is slightly bigger than the fabric to enable the fabric to stretch appropriately. This prevents the fabric from getting any wrinkles thus making it easy to stream or shoot your videos. So, for example, if your fabric is 4’ x 6’ then let your fame be 5’ x 7’.

Step 4: Make Holes Near the Edges of the Fabric

Use scissors to make holes near the edges of the fabric to pass through strong rubber bands or bungee cords.

Step 5: Drill Some Holes Inside the PVC Frame

The drill holes are meant to join the frames to form a strong square used to hold onto the green fabric.

Step 6: Bend the Rubber Bands or Bungee Cords

Then, bend the rubber bands or bungee cords through the frame and holes you made on the fabric to make it firm and strong.

Step 7: Start streaming or shooting your video

Finally, you are all set to start streaming or shooting your YouTube video. Make sure it is a well and lit room.

Poster Boards

If you don’t have the money or time to make a green screen using a fabric cloth, you can make one with some poster boards. You will require:

At least 6 Green poster boards
6 Foam core board
Tape
Light bulb
Hot glue and a glue gun
Lightweight wood or hard foam
A hook and loop tape

First of all, arrange the poster boards onto the foam core by using a spray adhesive or rubber cement.
Tape two panels together on the backside to make 2 small green screens. Remember, each panel should fold up to the size of a single poster board.
Place the 6 poster boards together on a flat surface with the backside facing up. Glue strip of hook and loop tape to join the boards into one large green screen.
Also, glue the opposite side of the hook and loop tape to a lightweight wood.
After you are done, position the finished poster board in a lit room and start streaming.

Note that: You should avoid any poster board that has a glossy surface since it reflects too much light. When this happens, it becomes difficult to key in post.

Paint a Wall

A great option for anyone who has a spare wall or room, you can paint your wall or even the floor green or blue for a simple setup. The wall or floor must be smooth and flat to avoid inconsistent lighting and the paint should be matte or matte enamel finish.

So, what is the difference between the two paints? With matte paints, although they don’t reflect light they are hard to clean. As for the matte enamels paints, they are a bit glossier, therefore more reflective. Nonetheless, they are more durable and easier to clean.

Keep in mind, the best part of painting a wall is that it is long-lasting thus saving you time and money.