I’m working with dedicated 5+ year old graphics card, basic lighting, and no green screen. Despite these limitations, I’ve managed to remove backgrounds from my YouTube videos.

But before I discovered that there are many ways that I can remove a background, and that background removal doesn't need to be removed in real time...I just recorded my videos as the best of my abilities, keeping my office background as tidy as possible. My first attempt at background removal involved buying a green cover from Shein, using two hangers to set it up, and applying a Chroma key. While it worked, I no longer use this method. It required too much setup.

For my video recording, I'm working with OBS and Logitech Brio 500 webcam.

1. OBS Background Removal

Download OBS Background removal from https://github.com/locaal-ai/obs-backgroundremoval.

  • Install the plugin
  • Add Video Capture Device and select your webcam. R
  • Right click the source, choose Filters, and add a Background Removal filter.
  • Adjust the settings to achieve the best results

While this plugin is straightforward, I found it tricky to perfect. It often cuts off parts of my head or doesn’t cleanly remove the background.

2. Zoom Background Removal + OBS

Zoom video conferencing app has a background removal feature. You can use it with OBS as a middleman without directly connecting your webcam. I’ve found Zoom’s background removal algorithm to be slightly better than OBS’s plugin.

Important thing to know is that I needed to open Zoom first and then OBS. With my Webcam, there's only one program at a time that can control the camera. If I open my OBS first, then Zoom can't turn on the camera.

  • open Zoom and start a new meeting
  • Ignore the audio popup, zoom is being used only as a webcam middleman app.
  • Right click in the zoom meeting screen and click to adjust Background & effects.
  • Choose either to blur the video or replace the background with an image.
  • Open OBS, and in your scene, add a Window Capture
  • Choose Zoom app
  • Zoom needs to be in full screen, otherwise you won't see it in OBS

3. Post-Processing with Kdenlive

I use Kdenlive for editing of my videos, it's free and it has lots of options. One of the options I tried for background removal is rotoscoping effect.

That is, I record my video and don't worry what's in the background.

Then while I'm editing the video, I use the rotoscoping tool to select what I want to see and everything else kdenlive will remove. I can then choose any kind of image to replace the background in another layer.

Other advanced video editing tools should have a similar tool. Rotoscoping, look it up.

4. Adobe Express vs After Effects Background Removal

The easiest method I’ve found so far is using Adobe Express, which required minimal effort on my part. All I had to do was upload my video to Adobe Express to remove the background. Here's the result: https://www.adobe.com/express/feature/video/remove-background.

Then I added another background and here's the result https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN6cd9cd4qc

However, this method has some limitations. It only works with videos up to 2 minutes long and doesn’t always perfectly remove the background while keeping the subject intact.

For a more advanced approach, I used Adobe After Effects with its rotoscoping tool. This method worked like a charm. Unlike the rotoscoping tool in Kdenlive, After Effects dynamically removes the background, meaning it adjusts automatically as I move or change posture.

There you have it, four methods to remove a video background without the need for high-end equipment or a green screen. I also explored Canva and vidIQ, and while both tools do an okay job, they have notable limitations in how effectively they handle background removal.

For the most reliable results, I recommend using a rotoscoping tool. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Adobe After Effects or Kdenlive. Any software with a rotoscoping feature that can dynamically follow the subject’s movements will do the trick.