How to Chroma Key in Windows Movie Maker

I searched for a program to add images with the use of a technique called chroma key. I have a You Tube Channel called SoldierBoyX which covers news and political topics not normally covered in the larger media outlets. I wanted to produce a professional looking news program. This meant using chroma key to add images into my videos. Chroma Key is the technique of having a neutral color removed from the background of the subject being filmed in order to add images or background footage. This technique is used by weather men to project the weather map onto a green screen on a wall. The weather man does not see the projection, but the viewers can see the map.

Chroma Key, or green screen can be difficult to do. My You Tube channel is low budget and I was looking for the least expensive way to do Chroma Key in my videos. After much research, I found free video editing software called WAX 2.0. WAX 2.0 is video editing software which has the ability to do Chroma Key. However, I use Windows Movie Maker to edit my videos and had trouble converting the files and using both programs to make a video. I wanted to know if it were possible to Chroma Key in Windows Movie Maker. Turns out it is possible.

I would like to warn readers that this technique is not meant for professional video editing, but for You Tube, it works just fine. First, you need to copy the code that I provide at the end of this article. Next, open a note pad file. Paste the code into the note pad file and save it under the folder File>Save As, and navigate to C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared\AddOnTFX. If the folder "AddOnTFX" does not yet exist in the shared folder, you must first make the folder. If you don't know how to make a folder yet, maybe video editing should not be something you should be fooling around with. When saving the note pad file, make sure to go to file type and chose "all files" from the drop down menu. Then type the file name, "bluescreen.xml" into the file name box. After you do this you are ready to make a blue screen movie.

The next step is to film your movie. You must have a "true blue" paper or cloth behind you. Also, make sure not to have any blue on the subject you are filming. Make sure the Chroma Key blue screen is well lit. There must be as little shadow or color differentiation in the screen itself. Make sure that you do not use the automatic white balance on your camera, as it can cause discoloration. Adjust the color manually by holding a white sheet of paper in front of the camera and adjust it to the right even color.

After filming the video, it is time for editing. Let's say you want to film yourself in front of a beach. Find a picture of a beach, or even a video of the beach. Import it into your Windows Movie Maker time line. Next import your Chroma Key recorded video into the time line. Make sure that the screen is blue. Movie Maker will not do any other color. Also, make sure that the item in the time line that has the blue Chroma Key is to the right of the clip or picture that it will be added to.

After adding your Chroma Key clip to the time line, go up to transitions. You should see the second choice to be "blue screen". Drag the transition on to the Chroma Key clip. When you do this, the clip will automatically be nudged to the left a few seconds. You will see the transition item on the timeline labeled as "blue screen". If you want the Chroma Key clip to be extended into the full run time of the clip, you can extend the length of the transition. Also, make sure not to extend the transition beyond the length of the clip or picture you are adding it to. This sill cause the Chroma Key clip to appear to the left of the other clip, and will cause the blue screen transition to disappear. You will have to copy the audio of the clip you are adding the Chroma Key to if it has audio, then paste it in the audio or music section. Then mute the original audio. The blue screen transition causes the original audio to slowly fade out.

Once you have made it this far, you should be able to make it the rest of the way. Getting the videos just right will take a lot of trial and error. Be patient as this is not the perfect solution. I did find however, that it is an effective way to Chroma Key without shelling out hundreds of dollars for professional editing software. I hope this information was helpful. If it was helpful, feel free to pass this article along to your friends who might be interested if learning how to chroma key. The code will immediately follow this paragraph, and a link to my first video I made with Chroma Key will also be linked to as an example.

Get the Windows Movie Maker Bluescreen Code here:

docs.google.com/View

My first video made with Chroma Key:

www.youtube.com/watch