Background remover · Mac and iPhone
Remove the background from a video without a green screen
A cluttered room behind you is the fastest way to make a good take look homemade. Zella cuts you out of it with on-device AI and puts you somewhere better.
It all happens on your device. There is no green screen to buy and nothing is uploaded, so unreleased footage stays yours.
- Mac and iPhone
- Free, with Pro export extras
Quick answer
To remove the background from a video without a green screen, use Zella's on-device AI on Mac or iPhone: it separates the person from the room with no green screen and no upload. Replace it with a blur, a solid colour, your own image or video, or one of 40 built-in scenes (20 still, 20 animated). On iPhone it can run live while you film; transparent-background export (ProRes 4444 on the Mac, HEVC with alpha on iPhone) is part of Zella Pro.
How to do it in Zella
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Step 1: Choose when to do it
On the Mac, set Remove under Background in Studio Settings before a webcam take, or click Remove Background in the editor's sidebar. On iPhone, pick Cut out or Replace live in the viewfinder, or tap Remove background in the editor afterwards.
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Step 2: Pick the new background
Choose a blur, a solid colour, your own image or video, or one of the 40 built-in scenes. On iPhone, removal lands on a soft bokeh backdrop by default, and you can switch from there.
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Step 3: Stage yourself on it
Position and scale yourself on the new scene. On the Mac, Studio Glow adds a soft backlight and a contact shadow that grounds you on the background.
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Step 4: Check the edge
Scrub through any fast movement. On the Mac, Defringe cleans colour halos off the cutout so edges stay crisp on solid backgrounds.
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Step 5: Export
Export MP4 or MOV for a finished video. To take the cutout into another editor, use transparent-background export with Zella Pro, which writes a .mov with alpha.
Why do it this way
Built for movement on iPhone
Two on-device vision models must agree on every frame and the edge tightens where you move, so gestures do not drag the room with them. On export, the thin edge around you takes its colour from you, not the wall.
40 scenes, or your own
20 still and 20 animated backdrops ship with the app, alongside blur, solid colours and your own image or video.
Take the cutout anywhere with Pro
Transparent-background export writes a real alpha channel, ProRes 4444 on the Mac and HEVC with alpha on iPhone, so the cutout drops onto any layer in another editor.
What you need
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later (Apple Silicon or Intel), or iPhone on iOS 18 or later
- On Intel Macs, background removal uses the GPU and can run slower; iPhone runs it on the Neural Engine
- Free on every tier: removal, replacement and all 40 scenes, no watermark, exports up to 2 minutes at 1080p
- Zella Pro ($89 once, Mac and iPhone) for transparent-background export, longer exports and 4K
Questions
Do I need a green screen?
No. Zella separates the person from the background on your device, from ordinary footage, on the Mac and on iPhone's Neural Engine.
Can I remove the background after recording?
Yes, on both. On the Mac, Remove Background in the editor's sidebar mattes the person out; on iPhone, tap Remove background in the editor. iPhone can also do it live while you film.
Is my video uploaded for background removal?
No. The segmentation runs on your device and nothing is sent anywhere.
Can I export with a transparent background?
Yes, with Zella Pro: ProRes 4444 with alpha on the Mac and HEVC with alpha on iPhone, both written as .mov files. Removing and replacing the background is free; only the transparent file needs Pro.
Related tools
Read the manual