You Can Always Tell When Green Screen is Bad

If you're looking for a technical breakdown of why some green screens are better than others, this is the video for you.
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There is something endearing about terrible green screen. Like an extra staring into the camera or an in-frame boom mic, bad green screen is an imperfection that reminds us that films are made by humans. And humans invariably make mistakes.

Like all visual effects, good green screen is unnoticed green screen. It’s tricky to spot in films like The Wolf of Wall StreetShutter Island, The Revenant, and even some that don’t top bill Leonardo DiCaprio. But others aren’t so lucky. And when green screen effects are bad, you know they’re bad. But what is it, exactly, that makes “bad green screen,” and why is it so obvious?

The following video from professional explainer-of-complex-things Tom Scott efficiently lays out what makes green screen “bad” and why we’re able to instinctually spot it. The video explains essentials like match lighting, color balance, shutter speed match, and what a chroma key is. If you’re looking for a technical breakdown of why some green screen effects are better than others, this is the video for you.

You can watch Why You Can Spot Bad Green Screen” here:


Who made this?

Tom Scott is a London-based YouTuber who — broadly — makes videos on how stuff works. His info-taining videos unpack scientific phenomena and smooth out everyday enigmatic wrinkles, from how neurosurgeons navigate inside the brain during surgery to what garlic bread tastes like after it’s been sent to space. You can follow Scott on Twitter here. And you can get lost (and learn something) on his YouTube channel here.

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Meg Shields: Based in the Pacific North West, Meg enjoys long scrambles on cliff faces and cozying up with a good piece of 1960s eurotrash. As a senior contributor at FSR, Meg's objective is to spread the good word about the best of sleaze, genre, and practical effects.