How to Remove Video Background in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (Tutorial)

Introduction

One of my tutorials that many people have found helpful is how to remove a green screen in Adobe Premiere Pro. In this article, I'm going to share some additional background removal techniques for situations where you don't have a green screen, using clips like the video here as examples.

Starting with a Non-Green Screen Background

We're starting with a video clip that does not have a green screen background. Each clip will be different, so I will probably do several examples. In this specific case, we should note a few things:

The background is solid and evenly colored.
There is a decent line of contrast between the subject and the background.
The subject is wearing a white t-shirt, which might blend with white clouds in the background.

I'm going to demonstrate a two-layer approach to achieve a decent cutout when the background isn't a green screen.

Using the Luma Key and Ultra Key

To begin, we're going to use the keying effects in Adobe Premiere Pro, specifically the Luma Key and Ultra Key effects. Here's the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Apply Luma Key

Duplicate the Clip: Place the video clip on Track 1 and hide it. Duplicate the clip and place it on another track.
Apply Luma Key: Go to the Effects panel, drag the Luma Key to the clip. Adjust the threshold and cutoff to balance getting as much of the subject and as little of the background as possible. This step focuses on the luminance or brightness.

Step 2: Apply Ultra Key

Duplicate and Remove Luma Key: Duplicate the original clip again and place it above the Luma Key clip. Remove the Luma Key effect.
Apply Ultra Key: Apply the Ultra Key effect in the Effects panel, then select the key color (eyedropper tool) to pick a color in the background you'd like to remove. Make adjustments in the Matte Generation and Matte Cleanup sections to refine the key.

Step 3: Additional Masking

Create Opacity Mask: Depending on the movement in your clip, you might want to create an opacity mask to exclude extra unwanted background elements. Use the Pen Tool to draw a rough outline around the subject and animate the mask path if the subject moves.

Step 4: Combine Methods

Evaluate and Refine: Stack the Luma Key and Ultra Key layers to combine their effects. Make sure to adjust and combine masks on both layers to clean up any remaining undesired background areas.

Demonstrating the Before and After

For the before and after effect, use the Crop effect from the Transform under the Video Effects folder. Animate the crop from 0% to 100% to show a before-and-after transition.

Conclusion

By combining the Luma Key and Ultra Key methods and refining with masks, you can achieve a clean background removal even without a green screen. While not perfect, this approach offers a quicker alternative to frame-by-frame rotoscoping, which is more suited for After Effects.

If you found this article helpful, check out my other tutorials on my channel and subscribe for more content. I'll cover more examples and specific issues as they arise in different clips. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next tutorial!

Justin Odisho