How to Remove Background From Video (4 Methods)

Here's how to remove background from video: use chroma key for green-screen footage, or use automatic cutout, rotoscoping, or AI masking for footage without a green screen. The right method depends on how you filmed the subject and how much control you need over the edges. Check hair, motion blur, and areas where the subject and background have similar colors before exporting.

Pick a method by your footage

If you have a choice, shoot on a green screen. Every other method is fixing something you could have avoided on set.

Method 1: Green screen and chroma key

Chroma key removes one color from the picture, usually green or blue. Nearly every video editor has it, including iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and CapCut.

Shooting it well matters more than the software:

• Light the screen evenly. Shadows and hot spots turn into patches that won't key out.
• Keep the person at least a meter or two away from the screen so green light doesn't bounce onto their shoulders and hair.
• Don't wear green. Don't wear a shade close to your screen's color, including clear glasses with reflections of it.
• Record at a high bitrate. Heavily compressed video has blocky edges that key badly.

In the editor: put the green-screen clip above your new background clip, apply a chroma key or green screen effect, pick the green with the eyedropper, then adjust the tolerance and edge softness until the outline looks natural.

Method 2: CapCut automatic cutout

CapCut can cut out the main subject without a green screen.

1. Add your clip to the timeline and select it.
2. Open the Cutout options and choose the automatic removal.
3. Put a new background clip or image on a track below.

It works best when the person is clearly separated from the background, in good light, without fast motion. Check the edges around hair and hands. Parts of this feature are behind CapCut's paid plan, and what's free changes, so check the current plan details.

Method 3: Rotoscoping with Roto Brush in After Effects

Rotoscoping means separating the subject from the background frame by frame. After Effects' Roto Brush does the heavy lifting with AI, and you correct it.

1. Open the clip in After Effects and double-click the layer to open it in the Layer panel.
2. Select the Roto Brush tool and paint over the subject on one frame.
3. Step forward and correct frames where the edge slips.
4. Use Refine Edge for hair, then place a new background below.

Budget time for it. A good result on a 30-second clip can still take a while, because fast motion and hair need frame-by-frame fixes.

Method 4: Magic Mask in DaVinci Resolve Studio

Resolve's Magic Mask (in the Studio version, which is a one-time purchase) tracks a person you've marked and keeps the mask on them through the clip.

1. In the Color page, open the Magic Mask palette.
2. Draw a stroke on the person and click forward-track.
3. Use the mask as a key to isolate the subject, then add a background on the Edit or Fusion page.

Resolve's free version doesn't include Magic Mask.

Why edges look bad, and how to fix them

• Halo around the subject: shrink or choke the matte by one or two pixels, and soften the edge slightly.
• Flickering edge: the matte is changing every frame. Add a small amount of temporal smoothing, or reduce the sharpness of the edge.
• Green spill on skin or hair: use a despill control. Most chroma key effects have one.
• Transparent patches inside the subject: the subject's color is too close to the key color. Lower the tolerance, or change the clothing and reshoot.

Replace the background of a talking video in BlitzCut

If your goal is to put different footage behind the speaker, BlitzCut's Background panel supports a video background and subject-position controls. This recording shows the speaker over a dog video, with controls for moving the subject within the frame. The background video loops with its audio muted.

This demonstrates background replacement, not a transparent-video export. Check the subject edges throughout your clip before exporting. You can also remove silence and add captions to your talking-head video in the same app.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I remove the background from a video for free?

CapCut has free automatic cutout for many clips, and DaVinci Resolve's free version includes chroma key for green-screen footage. For most people, filming against a plain green wall and using the free chroma key in their editor gives the best result at no cost.

Can I remove a video background without a green screen?

Yes. Automatic cutout tools, rotoscoping with Roto Brush, and AI masking in DaVinci Resolve Studio all work without one. Expect rougher edges around hair and fast motion than you'd get from a green screen.

How do I remove the background from a video on iPhone?

The Photos app can lift a subject out of a still image or a paused frame, but it can't cut a subject out of a whole video. For video on iPhone, use an app with automatic cutout, such as CapCut, or shoot on a green screen and use an editor with chroma key.

What is the best background remover for video?

For clean results, a green screen with a good chroma key. For speed, CapCut's automatic cutout. For control without a green screen, After Effects' Roto Brush or DaVinci Resolve Studio's Magic Mask.

What's the difference between removing and replacing a background?

Removing leaves the person on a transparent layer. Replacing puts something behind them, such as an image, a video loop, or a color. Most editors do both in one step by putting a new clip on a track below.

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