It's not just explosions or getting on actors' nerves that green screen's handy for. 

A recent report by The Weather Channel brilliantly demonstrates the technology's unique ability to realise immersive-yet-informative viewer experiences. 

The report visualises a residential street during a storm flood at various levels of severity, showing viewers at home what they could face during the then-impending Hurricane Florence.

You're no doubt desperate to know what sorcery brings effects like this to life. 

Fear no more.

Green screen (also known as chroma keying) is the process by which a single colour within an image is isolated and then made transparent, meaning a different image or video can be placed underneath the first layer to make it appear they're part of the same scene rather than a series of separate elements composited together.

With a green screen, then, the background green is made to disappear, giving you the freedom to do what you wish with the remaining part of the image.

Chroma keying doesn't have to use green though: in theory, any colour can be used. Blue is a common alternative if the colour green can't be avoided elsewhere in the image - and it's this avoidance that's key.

Because chroma keying removes all traces of a given colour from your image, you need to ensure that colour isn't found in any elements you want to keep on-screen. Keying green when someone's flaunting their shiny new green suit means it'll disappear along with the background (although maybe that's for the best).

Green has the helpful advantage of being a colour not commonly found in clothing, being the colour furthest from human skin tones, and having the highest degree of luminance across the colour spectrum (meaning video cameras are most sensitive to green, and hence the cleanest key is often produced using this colour).

So, next time you see an action hero narrowly escape an exploding building you'll be wise to the trick, and when you get the call-up to film in front of a green screen, remember to leave your Incredible Hulk outfit at home.