How to Use the Green Screen Effect in Adobe Premiere Pro Beta with Ultra Key

If you just downloaded Adobe Premiere Pro Beta and want to use a green screen, you might have noticed things look different. Panels have moved, buttons are not where you remember them, and it can feel confusing. I figured it out so you do not have to. In this guide, I will walk you through how to key out a green screen using the Ultra Key effect in Premiere Pro Beta, explain what moved in the interface, and share a few quick tips to get a clean result.

What changed in the Premiere Pro Beta interface

In the beta, Adobe shifted a few panels that many of us rely on. The biggest change you will notice is:

• The Effects Controls panel, which is usually on the left, may show up on the right.

• The Effects panel, which lists all your video and audio effects, may be on the left when you expect it on the right.

You can move these panels to wherever you like. Just click and drag the tab of a panel to dock it where it makes the most sense for your workflow. If things are really out of place, you can also go to Window, Workspaces, and either choose a workspace like Editing or reset the current one. The goal is to get the Effects panel and the Effects Controls panel visible at the same time so you can drag an effect and then adjust it without extra clicks.

Getting your clips ready on the timeline

Before you grab the green screen effect, set up your timeline correctly. You need at least two layers of video.

• Import your background footage or image, such as a room, a landscape, or screen capture. Place it on Video Track 1.

• Import your green screen clip. Put it on Video Track 2, directly above the background. The clip with the green background must be on top so it can be keyed out and reveal the background beneath it.

If your audio is part of the green screen clip, keep it linked. If not, you can mute it or add a separate audio track.

Finding and applying Ultra Key in the Beta

Ultra Key is still the best built in tool in Premiere Pro for keying out a green background. It is easy to miss in the beta if your Effects panel moved, so here is how to find it.

1) Open the Effects panel. If you cannot see it, go to Window and enable Effects.

2) In the search bar inside the Effects panel, type ultra.

3) You will see Ultra Key under Video Effects in the Keying category.

4) Drag Ultra Key from the Effects panel onto your green screen clip on the timeline.

You should now see Ultra Key appear in the Effects Controls panel for that selected clip. If you do not, click the clip once to make sure it is selected.

Keying out the green color with the eyedropper

With Ultra Key added, the most important step is telling Premiere which color to remove.

• In the Effects Controls panel, find Ultra Key and look for the Key Color setting.

• Click the eyedropper tool next to Key Color.

• Click directly on the green area of your clip in the Program Monitor.

Right away, Premiere will remove that shade of green and reveal the background. If your green screen lighting is consistent and your subject is not wearing green, you will see a good result immediately. If not, do not worry. You can refine the key with a few standard adjustments.

Fine tuning the key for cleaner edges

Ultra Key has several sections that help you control the result. Here are the most useful ones and how to approach them.

• Output: Keep this on Composite. If you switch to Alpha Channel, you can see the matte as black and white. White is solid, black is transparent. This view is helpful while you adjust the key.

• Matte Generation:

  a. Transparency controls how much of the background is removed. Raise it carefully if parts of the green are still showing.

  b. Highlight and Shadow help balance brighter and darker areas of the green.

  c. Tolerance and Pedestal can help with uneven lighting. Use small changes and check the composite view often.

• Matte Cleanup:

  a. Choke tightens the edge to remove thin halos.

  b. Soften smooths the edge so it does not look jagged.

  c. Contrast and Mid Point can help separate the subject from the background in the matte.

• Spill Suppression:

  a. Spill is that green tint on the edges of your subject. Increase Spill suppression to neutralize it.

  b. Desaturate and Range can help reduce leftover green while keeping skin tones natural.

Work slowly and toggling between Composite and Alpha Channel views. The goal is a solid white subject and a pure black background in the alpha view, then a clean edge with no green fringing in the composite view.

Positioning, scaling, and adding overlays

If you are adding a Subscribe Now button, lower third, or any overlay, stack it on a higher video track above your keyed clip. You can then use the Motion controls in the Effects Controls panel to scale and position your subject and your graphics. Keep your subject on the top track if the overlay is meant to sit behind them. Otherwise, put the overlay above the subject.

Quick tips for better green screen results

Even though this guide focuses on the Premiere Pro Beta layout and Ultra Key setup, your footage is the foundation of a good key. Here are a few best practices.

• Light the green screen evenly with soft light. Avoid hotspots and shadows.

• Separate your subject from the background by a few feet to reduce green spill.

• Light your subject with a key and a rim light if possible to help edges read cleanly.

• Do not wear green or reflective materials near green.

• Shoot with a higher bitrate and minimal compression artifacts when possible. Clean footage keys better.

• Use a fast shutter and keep motion blur under control to avoid fuzzy edges on fast movement.

What to do if you cannot find a panel

In the beta, it is easy to close something by accident. To restore your layout:

• Go to Window and check Effects and Effects Controls to make sure they are enabled.

• If the Program Monitor or Source Monitor disappeared, enable those as well.

• Go to Window, Workspaces, and choose Editing, then Reset to Saved Layout if things still look off.

• You can always drag panels to rearrange them. The tab for each panel can be docked to either side of the screen.

Putting it all together

The workflow is simple once you know where things moved.

• Place your background on Video Track 1.

• Place your green screen clip on Video Track 2.

• Open the Effects panel and search for Ultra.

• Drag Ultra Key onto your green screen clip.

• In Effects Controls, use the eyedropper on the green background.

• Clean up the key with Matte Generation, Matte Cleanup, and Spill Suppression.

• Add any graphics or buttons on higher tracks, then scale and position everything.

That is it. You now have a clean green screen effect inside Premiere Pro Beta without hunting around for missing controls. If this helped, consider subscribing so you do not miss future tutorials. Leave a comment if you ran into something different in your beta layout or if you want more deep dives on Ultra Key settings.

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