Green Screen in DaVinci Resolve 20 (FREE): Fast and Pro Shooting and Keying Tips

Mastering green screen keying in DaVinci Resolve involves proper setup and utilizing three key methods: the 3D keyer, the Delta Keyer in Fusion, and an advanced Delta Keyer workflow with clean plates and matte control.

• Optimal green screen setup with separate lighting and specific camera settings is foundational for successful keying.

• DaVinci Resolve offers a 3D keyer for quick results and a powerful Delta Keyer in Fusion for advanced control.

• Utilizing clean plates and matte control nodes in Fusion provides the cleanest possible key with fine detail and spill management.

Efficient and professional green screen keying in DaVinci Resolve begins with optimal shooting conditions, including subject-to-screen distance, separate lighting, and correct camera settings like 4:2:2 chroma subsampling. The software offers multiple keying methods, starting with the simple 3D keyer on the Edit page, progressing to the powerful Delta Keyer in Fusion for greater control, and culminating in an advanced Fusion workflow integrating clean plates and matte control for the cleanest results. Each method addresses different levels of detail and complexity, providing tools for spill suppression, garbage matting, and fine-tuning edges.

Green Screen Setup & Capture

• 00:00:20 Achieving an effective green screen key starts with proper setup: the subject and green screen should be at least six feet apart and lit separately, ideally with five lights (three for the subject, two soft lights for the screen). Capturing footage with 4:2:2 chroma subsampling is recommended, and all camera auto-settings (exposure, white balance, focus) must be disabled. Recording a few seconds of the green screen alone is also crucial for later clean plate use.

Basic 3D Keyer Method

• 00:01:14 The most straightforward green screen keying method in DaVinci Resolve uses the '3D Keyer' on the Edit page. After applying the effect to a clip and enabling 'open effects overlay' in the viewer, use the pick tool to select the green screen area by drawing over it. Adjust 'despill' to remove green fringing and use 'matte finesse' and 'key adjustments' for fine-tuning the subject's details and the key's strength. A 'garbage mat' can be employed to remove unwanted objects outside the keyed area.

Delta Keyer in Fusion

• 00:03:22 For more precise keying, the Fusion page utilizes the 'Delta Keyer,' which first requires placing the camera footage into a 'Linear' color space via a Color Space Transform (CST) sandwich. The Delta Keyer works by selecting a background color with an eyedropper, with the option to view a black and white alpha channel for optimal selection. Adjustments in the 'matte' tab, such as 'low threshold,' 'blur,' and 'clean foreground/background,' refine the key, while the 'fringe' tab handles green spill, typically using a 'medium' spill method and adjusting 'fringe gamma'.

Advanced Clean Plate Keying

• 00:06:30 The most advanced keying method, also using the Delta Keyer in Fusion, incorporates 'clean plate' and 'matte control' nodes for superior results. A clean plate, which is footage of the green screen without the subject, helps the Delta Keyer isolate finer details; it can be created using a 'time stretcher' node or, if the subject is always present, a 'trails' node to generate a composite clean plate image. The 'matte control' node provides additional spill suppression and fringe controls (gamma, size, shape) to meticulously refine edges, especially for motion blur, ensuring a professional and clean key.