How to Remove a Green Screen in Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro’s Ultra Key effect removes a green screen by sampling its color. Once the background is gone, you can replace it with another scene or export a transparent clip for another edit.

Screenshots use Premiere Pro 24.1 on macOS.

1. Set up your timeline

Import your green-screen footage. In the Project panel, right-click the clip and choose New Sequence From Clip.

Place the green-screen clip on V2 and your replacement background on V1, with both clips covering the same section of the timeline. For a transparent export, leave V1 empty.

2. Remove the green with Ultra Key

1. Select the green-screen clip on the timeline.
2. Open Window → Effects, search for Ultra Key, and drag it onto the clip.
3. Open Window → Effect Controls and expand Ultra Key.
4. Click the eyedropper beside Key Color, then select a green area in the Program Monitor. An evenly lit patch near the subject is a good starting point.

The replacement background now shows through the keyed area.

The Key Color eyedropper is in Effect Controls, on the left.

3. Refine the matte

Change Ultra Key’s Output to Alpha Channel to see the matte: black is transparent, white is opaque, and gray is partially transparent. Solid parts of the subject should be white; hair and motion blur may retain gray detail.

If the background still has specks or parts of the subject look transparent, expand Matte Generation. Its controls target different parts of the matte:

Switch Output back to Composite to see the result in color.

4. Clean up the edges

Expand Matte Cleanup for rough edges. Choke draws the edge inward, while Soften softens it. A small adjustment can help; too much Choke can trim away hair and fine detail.

For a green tint around the subject, expand Spill Suppression and adjust Spill. This treats green reflected onto hair or clothing without shrinking the cutout.

A light stand or room edge outside the screen can be hidden with an Opacity mask. In Effect Controls, expand Opacity, select the pen tool, and draw around the area you want to keep, leaving room for the subject’s movement.

Play the clip to see how the edges hold up in motion. If the background image needs resizing, use Motion → Scale on that clip.

5. Export your video

With the new background

Leave the background track enabled and open File → Export → Media. Choose H.264 for an MP4 with the subject and background combined, set your export range, and export.

With a transparent background

Hide the replacement background track and open File → Export → Media. In Premiere Pro 24.1:

1. Set Format to QuickTime.
2. Under Video, choose Apple ProRes 4444 as the Video Codec.
3. Click … More to reveal Depth, then choose 8-bpc + alpha or 16-bpc + alpha.
4. Leave Render Alpha Channel Only unchecked. That option exports a black-and-white matte instead of the colored subject.
5. Set Range to Entire Source for the whole sequence, then export.

ProRes 4444 supports an alpha channel; ProRes 422 does not. For other output options, see our guide to creating transparent video.

To preview the transparency, import the MOV and place it above another clip. The lower clip will show through the removed background.

The exported MOV over a blue background.

Common problems

Removing a background without a green screen

For footage shot in a room or outdoors, VideoBGRemover can remove the background with AI. Upload your video on the homepage, then bring the result into Premiere.

For the same workflow in another editor, see our DaVinci Resolve green-screen tutorial. Planning a shoot? Our blue screen vs green screen comparison covers which backdrop to choose.