TikTok is all the rage right now, and its green screen effect is one of the most popular augmented reality tricks creators use to increase viewership. Now Snapchat has leveled the playing field by making it easy to access your own green screen effect.
Green or blue screens are commonly used during filming when you want to replace those colors with something else, such as a different video or still image. While any color can work as a background , bright greens or blues are the norm because they don’t show up in most skin tones. If the object you want to cut out of the frame is a different color from the background, any color will do.
Advanced machine learning technology eliminates the need for a specific color or a narrow range of colors to effectively separate the subject from the background. This refers to Snapchat’s green screen effect, so you don’t need a physical green or blue background to “cut out”yourself and superimpose your image over another live video or still image.
You’ll get better results with a solid color or a narrow range of colors behind your selfie photo or video that is far from the color of your skin, hair, and clothing, but it’s amazing how well green screen effects work without it. To try it on your iPhone or Android phone, please update Snapchat to the latest version for the best experience, then select one of the options below.
Option 1: Use director mode
Snapchat released a new feature called “Director Mode “on October 27, 2022 that turns on the green screen effect right in the options list. It is available on iOS and is gradually rolling out to Android devices. If you’re on Android and don’t see it yet, skip down to option 2 below to see another Snapchat green screen feature with even more control.
With the camera open, tap the star camcorder icon (third from top in the left screenshot below) in the toolbar to open director mode. Then tap the Green Screen option in the Director’s Mode toolbar (fifth from the top in the right screenshot below).
In the green screen, you’ll find a carousel of images and videos from your camera roll. Swipe to select the photo or video you want to use as the background and your face will stay in the foreground.
Unlike the standard camera mode, the shutter button in director mode only shoots video. Press the shutter button to start recording, then press it again to stop. Your clip will appear in the timeline below. And you can keep shooting and adding clips to the timeline until you’re ready to edit it.
Option 2: Video and photo lens with green screen
If you don’t have Director Mode yet or want to try Snapchat’s other green screen option, tap the yellow zoom icon on the bottom toolbar to access Lens Explorer. Then search for “Snapchat green screen”to narrow down the green screen filters provided by Snapchat and not by the creator community.
You are looking for a lens called “Green Screen Video & Photo “so search for it and click on it to open the AR lens in camera view. You can use the link I included above if you can’t find it.
As with director mode, you can select an image or video from the film roll carousel. Scroll to find and select the image or video you want to use.
This lens gives you a set of five configurations that are not currently available in director mode, and you can find them via the toolbar on the left side of the screen. Starting from the top, your options are:
- Mask: The image you choose takes up the screen and masks your face except for your eyes and mouth.
- Vertical Split Screen: Your image occupies the top half of the screen and the camera image occupies the bottom half.
- Horizontal Split Screen: Your image occupies the right half of the screen, while the camera image remains on the left half.
- Picture in Picture: Your image will appear in a smaller rectangle. You can move it around the screen, change its size and orientation with touch gestures.
- Standard: Your image occupies the background with your face cutout in the foreground.
You are now ready to take a photo or video! You can use the toolbar on the right to add additional effects such as text. However, you won’t get a timeline like you would in Director Mode or when using the regular Snap camera to upload or record a video, so you’ll only be able to capture one image or video clip.
When satisfied with the result, you can click “Save”to upload it to your local gallery, “Next”to share it with others on Snapchat, or “History”to add it to your story.
For faster access to the green screen effect next time, tap the Favorites (heart) button. You’ll then see it at the top of the Lens Explorer screen with all your other favorite lenses. You can also tap your profile icon on the camera screen to access your profile, then scroll down and select “Favorites”where you’ll also find it available.
So which is better?
Director’s Mode certainly gives you quicker access to Snapchat’s green screen effect and lets you shoot videos with a timeline for editing. However, if you want more configuration effects and a photo option, you’ll need to take extra steps to access the AR lens.