Remove Background in After Effects to Clean Up Your Video Content

Why do you need to remove a background in After Effects

You need to remove a background in After Effects when you want the subject to stand out in a new scene. This is often done in movies, ads, or social media clips where the subject is placed in different settings.

Green screen footage is another common case, as it lets editors combine real people with motion graphics or effects. It gives you more control over how the final video looks and directs attention to the subject in a clear and professional way.

How to remove the background in After Effects without a green screen

You can remove a background after Effects with no green screen by isolating your subject and replacing or leaving the backdrop transparent. Here's how this process works:

STEP 1
1. Import the video to After Effects

Open After Effects and bring your video into the Project panel. You can simply drag it into a new composition or select "File," click "Import," and choose "File." After your video loads, drag & drop it into the timeline and double-click it.

STEP 2
1. Remove the composition background

Click "Roto Brush Tool" in the top menu bar and drag the green cursor to trace your subject and create a cutout. Click "Freeze" in the bottom right corner of the timeline to cache the frame. This will lock the subject and remove the composition background in After Effects.

STEP 3
1. Preview and export the video

You can now preview the composition and use "Feather" to smooth out the edges of the selection. You can also decontaminate the edge color or shift the edge to refine the result. Finally, go to "File" and click "Export" to export the video to your device by adding it to the render queue.

How to remove the white background in After Effects

White backgrounds often appear in stock footage, product videos, or animations. In After Effects, you can remove them and replace them with transparent or custom visuals. This allows your subject to blend better with the rest of your project.

STEP 1
1. Import the video to After Effects

To remove a video background in After Effects, launch it on your PC and click "New file" on the home page. Select and bring in your video with a white background and add it to the timeline.

STEP 2
1. Remove the white background

Go to "Effects and presets" in the right panel and search for "Luma key." Select to open it in the left panel, choose "Key out brighter" next to "Key type," and set the threshold to "200." Make sure you toggle the transparency grid under the video preview.

STEP 3
1. Preview and export the video

Preview the video to see if the results suit your needs and click "File." Choose "Export," select "Add to render queue," set the best settings, and click "Ok" to export the video to your device.

How to remove green screen background in After Effects

Green screen footage is common in video production because it makes background replacement simple. After Effects provides built-in tools to remove the green screen with ease. Here's how:

STEP 1
1. Import the video to After Effects

Open After Effects, bring your footage into the Project panel, and drop it in the timeline. Select your clip in the timeline, go to "Effect," pick "Keying," and choose "Keylight (1.2)." This is the main tool for removing green screens.

STEP 2
1. Remove the green screen

Click the eyedropper next to "Screen color" in the left panel to select the green background in your footage. The green will disappear and leave your subject isolated. You can then use "Screen gain," "Screen balance," and "Clip black/white" for smoother edges.

STEP 3
1. Preview and export the video

Enable the transparency grid in the composition panel to confirm the background is clear. Once ready, export the video. You can do this by clicking "File" and selecting "Add to render queue" under "Export." Choose QuickTime with RGB + Alpha to keep transparency, or add a custom background layer before exporting.

Now that you know how to remove background in After Effects, you may wonder what makes an online tool a smarter choice for handling video backgrounds. Let's find out!

Why choose an online tool to remove video backgrounds

Although you can remove the background in After Effects, the process is a little challenging. That's where online tools offer unique advantages that simplify the process for many users.

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1. Accessibility and ease of use: Online tools don't require installation or powerful computers. You can instantly access them directly from a browser, which is why they are more convenient for beginners or those working on multiple devices.
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2. No green screen needed: Many online editors use AI to separate the main subject from the background automatically. This means you don't need a green screen or special setup during filming.
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3. Speed and efficiency: Online tools process videos quickly, which saves time compared to manual editing in advanced software. With automated background removal, you can finish edits in minutes rather than hours, which is ideal for social media content or marketing videos with tight deadlines.
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4. Flexibility and compatibility: Most online editors support multiple video formats and sources, which include uploads from devices, cloud storage, or direct recording. This means you can easily work with different types of content without extra conversion steps.
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5. Integrated editing options: Besides background removal, online tools often include features like overlays, transitions, filters, text, and audio editing. This allows you to complete your project entirely online without switching between different software.

Among online editors, CapCut Web stands out for its combination of AI background removal, chroma key tools, replaceable backgrounds, and advanced editing features. It offers the simplicity of an online platform with powerful tools that make background editing faster and more creative, whether for social media, presentations, or personal projects.

CapCut Web: Top pick over After Effects for background removal

Unlike After Effects, which can be complex for beginners, CapCut Web's video background remover allows anyone to isolate subjects from the composition background and create professional videos in minutes. It also has a Chroma key option, so you can quickly erase the green or blue screen and replace it with a preset, a scene, an image, or another video. It’s perfect for social media creators, online marketers, or anyone wanting to swap or remove backgrounds without extra software.

Key features of CapCut Web's powerful video background remover

• AI-powered background removal: CapCut Web uses AI to detect and isolate the background automatically. This feature works even with videos that don't have a green screen, which saves you time and effort while giving clean results.
• Chroma key feature: For videos filmed with solid color backdrops, the Chroma Key tool lets you remove the background with precision. You can adjust intensity and shadow to ensure the subject remains sharp and natural-looking.
• Replaceable background options: After removing the background, you can set the backdrop to blur or add a preset, images, or videos behind your subject. This allows you to create different scenes, promotional videos, or engaging social media content easily.
• Supports various upload sources: CapCut Web accepts videos from your PC, mobile device, and even cloud storage, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and an upload link. This way, it's easy to work with different sources without extra steps or conversion processes.
• Advanced editing tools: Beyond background removal, CapCut Web offers tools like trimming, speed, transitions, overlays, filters, and text effects. You can also adjust the color with AI, crop and auto-reframe the video, retouch the subject to fine-tune the beauty in different aspects, and turn on camera tracking.

How to remove the video background in CapCut Web

With CapCut Web, you don’t need green screens or extra software to remove the background from your videos. This works well for social media videos, presentations, or any clip where you want the subject to stand out. Here are the three quick steps you can follow:

STEP 1
1. Open "Remove background"

First, go to "CapCut Web" and sign up for a free account. You can use your Google, Facebook, or TikTok account. It also lets you sign in through your CapCut Mobile app. After you access the home page, click "AI tools" and hit "Remove background" to open the tool.

STEP 2
1. Remove the video background

Drag & drop your video or click "Upload" to bring it in from your device. After your video is in, CapCut Web starts working on it automatically to remove the composition background using the "Auto removal" option. You can also toggle on the "Chroma key" to pick the green or blue color from the background and remove it.

STEP 3
1. Export the video

After that, you can go to the "Background" to blur the backdrop, add another solid color, or overlay a preset. You can also use an image or another video in the background. Finally, click "Export" to share on social platforms or hit "Download" to set the resolution, frame rate, quality, and format, and click "Export" one more time to save it to your device.

Conclusion

In this article, we've explored why you need to remove background in After Effects and discussed three step-by-step methods to get this done for composition, white, or green screen backdrops in your video. We've also shared the advantages of using an online tool and why it can be a smarter choice. CapCut Web is a great alternative because it gives you AI background removal, chroma key, background replacement, and full editing tools right in your browser. It’s much simpler than professional software but still delivers high-quality results. Try CapCut Web today and create videos with clean, customizable backgrounds in just a few clicks.

FAQs

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1. Can you export an MP4 after removing the background in After Effects?

Yes, you can export an MP4 with a transparent background in After Effects, but it requires using the Adobe Media Encoder instead of the built-in Render Queue. If you're looking for a simpler way, CapCut Web is a great option. It handles background removal using AI or chroma keying and lets you export directly to MP4.

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1. Is there a way to remove the grey background in After Effects?

Yes, you can remove a grey background in After Effects by using tools like Color Range or Keylight to key out the grey, or by applying the Roto Brush tool when the background shares tones with the subject and simple keying doesn’t work. These three methods can be effective but often require fine-tuning and extra time. A simpler option is CapCut Web, which uses AI or chroma key features to remove backgrounds quickly and then lets you export the final video directly in high resolution.

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1. Do I need plugins in After Effects to remove backgrounds?

You don't necessarily need plugins to remove backgrounds in Adobe After Effects. The software already includes Keylight, Lume key, and the Roto brush tool, which are designed to handle green screens, solid colors, or even complex backgrounds. CapCut Web, on the other hand, goes beyond just removing backgrounds. Along with its AI and chroma key features, it offers ready-to-use background templates, text and sticker overlays, and audio editing tools. These extras let you not only clean up your footage but also style and complete your video in one place, all while staying in your browser.