How to Remove a Video Background in PowerDirector
Key out a green screen, or let PowerDirector cut the subject out of an ordinary shot.
Updated Aug. 29, 2026 · 5 min read
In a hurry? Use the background removal quick guide instead.
PowerDirector has two ways to take the background out of a clip, and which one you use is decided by the footage rather than by preference. If you shot against a green screen, Chroma Key removes it by color and gives you the most control. If you did not, Chroma Key has nothing to key on, and AI Background Remover separates the subject instead.
- Shot on a green screen: Edit > Video > Background > Chroma Key, then pick the color with the eyedropper.
- Any other background: same tab, switch on AI Background Remover and choose Transparent or Blurred.
- Either way, the background goes on track 1 and the clip you are keying on track 2.
Removing a Background in PowerDirector
Prefer to watch? Here is the whole thing in under three minutes.
Which Tool for Which Footage
The fork is worth getting right before you start, because the two tools live in the same place and only one of them will work on your clip.
| Your footage | Use this |
|---|---|
| Shot against a green or blue screen | Chroma Key. It removes a color range you pick, and you can tune the range, the edges, and add more colors when the screen is lit unevenly. |
| An ordinary background | AI Background Remover. There is no color to key, so PowerDirector separates the subject from the scene instead. |
| You want the background softened, not gone | AI Background Remover in Blurred mode, which keeps the scene and pushes it out of focus behind the subject. |
Set Up the Two Tracks
Put the background clip on track 1 and the green screen clip on track 2. PowerDirector renders higher-numbered tracks on top, so the green screen clip is the one you key, and the background shows through it. Track 1 sits higher in the timeline while rendering underneath, which is the part that trips people up.
Key Out a Green Screen
Select the green screen clip and click Edit. On the Video tab, open the Background tab.
Choose Chroma Key in the left sidebar. It opens the Advanced Overlay Editing panel, which is where all of the keying controls live. It confirms with OK when you are done.
Click the eyedropper in the lower section, then click the color you want gone in the preview window. The matching range turns transparent and whatever is on the track below comes through.
Judge the Edges Properly
Edges are hard to assess against a busy background. The eye icon at the lower right switches the preview to a black matte, which is the honest view: anything still clinging to your subject shows up immediately. The menu beside it zooms the preview so you can work close in.
Color Range widens or narrows how much of the picked color goes transparent. Too narrow leaves green patches; too wide starts eating the subject.
Denoise works on the edge itself, sharpening it and clearing the stray pixels that a key leaves behind.
If the screen was lit unevenly, one color range will not cover it. Click + to add another color to remove and tune each one separately. Then click OK to close the panel and keep the settings.
No Green Screen? Use AI Background Remover
With an ordinary background there is no single color to key, so Chroma Key cannot help. PowerDirector says so directly rather than letting you find out by trying.
Switch on AI Background Remover on the same Background tab instead. It separates the subject from the scene rather than removing a color.
It cuts out people, and only people. The panel says so above the two mode tiles: only human figures can be cut out. For a product shot, an animal or a vehicle this tool has nothing to find, and a green screen with Chroma Key is the route that works.
Transparent cuts the background away entirely, leaving you free to put anything behind it on the track below.
Blurred keeps the original scene and throws it out of focus behind the subject. It is the option to reach for when the location is worth keeping and you only want the subject to come forward.
Edge Thickness and Edge Feather sit under both modes and control how hard the cut-out line is. Blur Degree is listed with them but stays grayed out until you choose Blurred, since in Transparent mode there is nothing left to blur.
The Result
Subject separated from the scene, with the old background either replaced or softened behind it. The edge is where this either convinces or does not, which is why the matte view and the two edge sliders are worth the extra minute.
Haven't got PowerDirector yet? PowerDirector takes a background out two ways, and one of them works without a green screen. Worth knowing before you buy fabric.
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