Sometimes you need to increase volume of video or audio file. Our video editor has four methods of changing volume: by applying effect to object, by changing "Audio volume" properties of object, scene or project.

Difference of these methods consists in area of applicability of effects. When you add "Volume" effect, you can change volume only of a part of object. When you change object volume, you change volume of all audio material.  When you change scene or project volume, you change volume of all objects on the scene or of all objects in the project accordingly.

Let’s review the first variant of volume changing. After you added video or audio object to the scene, you need to open effects add mode. For this purpose you may make a double click on the object or open a tab with object name on timeline:

After that we shall add effect using menu "Audio effects->Gain->Volume". You can change volume of the object by changing "Audio volume" parameter of the object:

Sometimes you need to remove background from an image. Our video editor supports two removing methods: by chromakey and by mask. Removing by chromakey is faster than by mask, because mask sets a big range of colors to be removed. That’s whey it’s difficult to remove background by mask in video; but at the same time when you work with static images this method is worth using. To know how to arrange removal by chromakey refer to section "How to remove background in video". In this section we shall review method of background removing by mask.

We shall add an object to the scene the same way as in example with video:

and the next mask in project resources (a part of original image):

After it we should add effect of background removal "Video effects->Transparent->Background remover" to original object and set it. We set work mode by mask "Mode: By chromakey mask" and specify the mask in "Chromakey mask". We obtain the following result:

As you can see, practically whole background is removed except for several regions. This fact is resulted from "Mask resize factor" influence. For removing background not the whole mask is used but its reduction copy (to accelerate work algorithm). "Mask resize factor" sets reduction level of the original mask, and "Resize mode" is the algorithm of its size. Therefore if we reduce "Mask resize factor" to twenty, we shall have the following picture:

As we can see that the background is entirely removed.

Other parameters of effect have similar work principles as work by chromakey, i.e. they set subspaces of removed colors which remain unchangeable, and border colors with calculated translucency coefficient. For more information about these parameters refer to section "How to remove background in video". If you're struggling to follow this tutorial, there are some great 3rd-party apps out there to help you remove image background within a couple of clicks. Consider trying them as well.

A picture-in-picture video effect (or as many people call it, “PiP”) is one of the most popular ones. And you see it on TV all the time! News, TV shows, sports programs – PiP videos are widely used for different purposes. So, if you’re trying to find out how to create one, you in the right place. You’ll be able to do it within 10 minutes or probably even less.

The truth is, this effect is so easy to replicate, you can use practically any non-linear video editor. We’ll show you how to do it in VSDC because it’s completely free and already well-known as an easy-to-use pip video editing software among the beginners. So, let’s get started.

First, if you’re on Windows, download VSDC to your computer. If you’re on Mac, this tutorial isn’t for you, unfortunately, and we recommend you considering iMovie as a picture-in-picture video editor for your OS.

Now, let’s go ahead to the process of actual editing. When you launch the program, start a blank project and import the two objects you want to have in the scene. Use the round green “Add object” button from the top menu. These can be videos, images, or a mix – depending on what you have in mind for your little movie.

Once the objects are added to the scene, you can drag them around, resize them, and place them any way you want. Just keep in mind that by default the object you add first will serve as a background, while the second object will stay in the front. If you’ve mistakenly added them in the wrong order – no worries, you can just click on any object with the right mouse button to change the order.

Click on the Preview button to make sure everything looks the way you wanted. You’ll see that both videos will be played simultaneously. And basically, this is it. Now you know how to apply the famous picture in picture video effect so go ahead and play around to get the hang of it! If you want to learn more, below, we’ll show you a couple of settings you may try along the way.

How to set up object appearance time for a picture in picture video

As you probably have guessed, there is no limit to how many objects you’ll have placed in the scene – it’s all up to you. You may want, however, to fine-tune the way the front pictures appear – especially if they are supposed to stay temporarily in the scene or change one another. Here is how to do it.

Your video objects are placed on the timeline, below the working area. Left-click on the one you want to work with and drag it to the moment it is supposed to appear. For example, in the illustration below, Video #2 will appear exactly 2 seconds after Video #1 starts playing.

Note that you can also set up the exact duration of the front object. Once you click on it, you’ll see the Properties window on the right. “Object drawing duration” is where you decide how long it will stay in the scene.

PiP video editing: how to make the objects in the front appear smoothly

Finally, let’s see how to add a more professional look to the picture in picture video. We suggest checking out the set of video effects and transitions. The most popular and naturally-looking way for the front video/image to appear and disappear is probably fading but feel free to experiment with other effects and transitions as well.

To apply a particular effect to the object – say, you want it to “fade in” – click on the object and go to the Video Effects tab. Proceed to Transparency – Fade In. The effect will be applied automatically.

Now that you’ve got the idea, we hope you’ll create awesome videos using the picture-in-picture effect and VSDC Video Editor. Drop us a message on Facebook if you have any questions!

If you didn’t quite catch it from the text instruction, here is a detailed video how-to for you. Enjoy!

People often need to remove a background from a video and replace it with a nice picture or another video. Technically, there are 2 ways to do it. The first and the most popular “background remover” is Chroma Key. It’s a tool that automatically detects a solidly colored background and instantly removes it from the video. The second way is masking, and it is often applied when the background you want to remove is not a one-tone smooth solid green wall.

Masking involves a lot of manual editing, and therefore, requires more skills and PC resources. Chroma Key, on the other hand, is very user-friendly and efficient. So, we definitely recommend using it whenever you need to change your video background. Now, let’s see how to do it in VSDC Free Video Editor.

How to remove a background from a video using VSDC

Once you download VSDC Video Editor to your PC, launch the program and import the video with a solid color background.

Once the video is placed on the timeline, you need to apply the Chroma Key effect to it. Go to “Video effects” in the top menu, choose “Transparent” and proceed to “Background remover”. Note, you won’t immediately see the green color erased from the scene, but you’ll notice a new layer on the timeline, called Background Remover1. Right-click on it to open the Properties window (if it hasn’t opened automatically). See the illustration below.

In the Background removal settings, you’ll notice “Chromakey color”. Use the eyedropper tool to get the color directly from the scene. To do that, just click on the eyedropper icon and then click anywhere on the video background – the software will automatically detect the color that needs to be removed.

Sometimes even after you remove the background from the video, there is a thin green colored border left around the object. That usually happens when the background color is not even, or the lighting is poor which creates noticeable shades and highlights.

If there is a whole large area that hasn’t been removed, you can use the option called Add additional color. If it’s a thin line around the object, go ahead and adjust the following parameters in the Properties window:

• Min brightness threshold (usually this parameter needs to be increased).
• Min chromaticityU threshold.
• Min chromaticityV threshold (usually this parameter needs to be increased).

There is no universal combination of a perfect setup for this because each video is different. So, we suggest you manually play around with these parameters checking the result in real-time on the working area.

If you’re using VSDC Pro, you can switch to the HSL mode for higher precision. To learn more about HSL, read this tutorial.

How to remove background from a video and replace it with an image

Now we’ve got to the most interesting part – changing the video background. Here is what you need to do:

Step 1: Click back on the Scene 0 tab on the timeline.

Step 2: Click the green round “Add object” button in the top menu.

Step 3: On your PC, choose a video or an image you want to replace the background with.

Step 4: When you do that, the new background will be placed in the front of the scene – so right-click on it and choose Order – One layer down.

Step 5: Adjust the result if needed by moving or resizing the objects.

How to remove background from a video with minimum hiccups

The magic of Chroma Key is impressive, especially when you use it for the first time. And to help you make the whole process as smooth as possible, here are three tips:

1. Avoid changing the size or the resolution of your original video. If you do that, the neighboring colors may get mixed, and once you remove the background, some objects will get the color tone of the removed background.
2. Try to use an evenly coated background and arrange a decent light when shooting. The smoother your video background color is, the easier it will be for the software to detect and remove it entirely.
3. The object you’re shooting should have a maximum contrast with the background. In other words, if the background is of green color, avoid wearing green because your clothes are likely to be erased from the video just like the background. Dark colors typically work best, while any color containing green in it might eventually get blended.

If you’d like to learn more about shooting a perfect green screen video on a budget, we talked about it in this green screen software tutorial. You may also find some inspirational ideas for your project there.

Hopefully, this was detailed enough for you to be able to remove the background from the video yourself now. Feel free to message us on Facebook if you have any questions!

And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel where we share new video editing tricks every week.