In the past few years, online learning has expanded, and the need for creative ideas to capture attention in lessons has emerged. This is where a powerful tool, the green screen, also known as chroma key technology, comes in. What was once a technology for Hollywood is now available for teachers, trainers, and content creators looking for a creative and engaging way to present educational videos.
What is a green screen?
A green screen is a solid panel, usually green, that allows the user to substitute the standing footage for any digital image, slide deck, or simulation of any environment. With some creative video editing or even the use of some video streaming software, a user can warp themselves from a mundane and plain home office to a digital classroom, a laboratory, or even space, and remain motionless.
Advantages of Using a Green Screen in Education Videos: Enhanced Engagement
The use of static video lectures has been known to easily lose the attention of students. In the process of animated and creative presentations, a green screen is a big plus. Eager students can watch animated presentations, and as a multitude of geography assignments, students can “accompany” the user in front of a giant world map.
Professional Appearance
Having a polished background makes you and your videos seem more polished and credible. However, with a green screen, even with setups as simple as your house, your videos can look as if they were filmed in a professional studio.
Assist Students Who Benefit from Visual Learning
For some, having visuals in their work makes learning easier. With a green screen, you can place a number of different visuals like charts, diagrams, slides, and 3D animations in real time against a backdrop, solidifying your teachings.
Easy on the Wallet
No more building intricate sets or shelling out big bucks on props. All you need to do is digital backdrops. This makes content creation a lot easier and, in turn, saves a lot of time, money, and effort.
Works With All Subjects
No subject is off limits if you want to use green screen videos. A math teacher can illustrate problems and equations on the screen, a science teacher can place students in front of virtual science labs, and a language arts teacher can transport their students to a different country and place of culture.
How to Use Green Screen for Online Education
Set up the screen.
You can use a green fabric, a collapsible screen, or even paint a wall.
Just remember to set the backdrop. Having the backdrop smooth, even, and lit is key in order to avoid shadows.
Lighting is key
Lighting properly sets the background while overlaying the screen and distinguishes you from the background.
Bright soft light serves to mitigate the risk of capturing shadows, which can prove detrimental to the process of chroma key editing.
Use the Right Software.
Some popular options I would recommend include OBS Studio, Camtasia, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and Adobe Premiere Pro.
Video conferencing apps like Zoom also integrate some basic green screen tools.
Choose Relevant Backgrounds.
Use simple backgrounds that relate to your topic. Avoid complex images that can distract from the core content of your lesson.
Develop Practice Presentation Skills
Adjustments and graphics should be remembered. Nodding, with one’s eyes fixated on the camera, while flowing through the content, helps deliver a polished final product.
Most Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Including animated and complex backgrounds that easily distract learners from the lesson.
- People wearing green clothes, which can result in some parts of your body not being visible.
- Having dim light that creates uneven shadows, which impacts keying.
- Adding too many visual elements to a video and distracting from the actual material and teachings.
Utilizing a green screen when recording online teaching sessions has many benefits, including increasing the quality of the videos, increasing the attention of students, and keeping the professionalism of the videos. This tool helps capture the attention of students and aids in making a lesson more understandable and easier. There is an equipment cost with some of the technology; however, it is undoubtable that green screens are valuable to any lesson an instructor is recording for students, especially when the instructor is recording videos with the hope of inspiring students.
