Why green screens are green

 

Matrix(1999) production before adding the special effects with the green screen in the background 

Today something as "simple" as a green cloth can get us to move to places unthinkable before the camera. If you use them, you can tell the editing program you use to detect a range of colours and replace them with a transparent layer. Once you have done this you can put anything in it.

The reason the colour green is used is that camera sensors are prepared to capture a greater range of shades of that colour, just like the human eye does. So when using a green screen, the camera can more easily detect all shades of green to make them transparent and leave the rest of the colours intact. In addition, green is the colour that best contrasts with the colour of human skin, improving the image in the camera.

Other times the blue chroma is also used because this colour and green are the furthest from human skin tones. On a colour wheel, blue and green are on the opposite side of where skin tones usually are.

The use of green has been favoured because the blue background can match the subject's eye colour or common items such as jeans.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mentalfloss.com. 2021. Why Are Green Screens Green?. 

The Conversation. 2021. I’ve always wondered: why is a green screen green?.