My objectives on this blog is to show and explain in easy term what are the difference between all the After Effects blur effects and presets. Oct 04, 2017 It is worth mentioning that Adobe After Effects has an integrated motion blur, and CC Force Motion blur, that is perfect when you need blur on clips you usually couldn’t get automatic blur on! For example clips that you rendered out in other animation video production software packages and you left it without its natural motion blur. Learn how to apply the Pixel Motion Blur effect in After Effects to avoid visual strobing when playing back some footage and 3D renders at normal speed.
Motion blur can be a powerful technique when used correctly. Learn how to use and apply motion blurring to your project with these After Effects tutorials.
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Motion blurring has been a part of film and video since the first film cameras began arranging pictures in sequential order to create the illusion of movement. When done digitally, it is often intended to replicate the blur that usually comes from traditional filmmaking techniques. You often see it used artificially in animated projects and high-end special effects.
As a tool, it can convey speed and fast motion. Without it, footage can look unnatural and fake. No matter how you intend to use it, here are some tutorials to help you master some of the different aspects of the art of motion blurring in After Effects.
Simply Enable Motion Blur
At a base level, After Effects is built for adding effects like motion blur. In fact, it’s built right into your default comp panel. If you’re looking to add motion blur to a single moving object, simply turn it on and select it as the YouTuber AR Arts demonstrates in the simple video above.
Add Motion Blur Using Built-In Plugins
Again, After Effects is one of the best programs for adding motion blur and has many resources and functionalities built in to help you easily apply it to your footage. In TunnelvizionTV‘s tutorial, you simply select motion blur and work with it manually. As he shows in the video, it may be necessary to duplicate your composition to mask out the parts you want to remain static.
Add Pixel Motion Blur to Your Footage
In the above video by VideoFort, you can see how to add motion blur in After Effects by using the Pixel Motion Blur effect from the effects panel and simply dragging and dropping to your footage. You can usually work pretty well with the default settings in Pixel Motion Blur, but it also allows you the option to zoom in and add shutter samples to parts that may appear a little too smooth the blur out.
Use CC Force Motion Blur on Your Animation
Similar to Pixel Motion Blur, CC Force Motion Blur is another After Effects effect option. You can dive into a whole Lynda course on what makes the two effects different, but it may just depend on which one works best with your composition. Ignace Aleya shows you (in the video above) how to enable and render out using the latter of the two techniques.
How do you prefer to add motion blur to your projects in After Effects? Let us know in the comments.
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When shooting video or creating animations and motion graphics, motion blur is one of the fundamental elements that creates realism in an image.
It’s also something that you can manipulate for creative purposes, so it’s important to understand how it works. Let’s take a closer look at this visual phenomena.
Motion Blur Explained
When viewing the world around you, you’ll naturally see a blur effect, as objects are moving past at a rapid pace. This is motion blur.
When shooting video and photos, you control motion blur via the shutter speed or shutter angle of the camera. Both shutter speed and shutter angle control how much light connects with the sensor over a specific period of time. When you make adjustments to the shutter, you’ll change the look of your image.
Of course, there are practices to help match the normal motion blur “look” achieved by the human eye. For shutter speed, simply double your frame rate and plug that number into the denominator of your shutter speed. For example, if I’m shooting at twenty-four frames per second, then I’ll use a 1/48 shutter speed (24fps x 2 = 48).
Adjust Motion Blur After Effects
We measure shutter angle in degrees, with 180 degrees being the standard (roughly equivalent to a shutter speed of 1/48 at 24fps). The higher you bring this number, the more motion blur you’ll introduce into your image. Bringing it lower will give you the opposite effect.
Motion Blur in Post-Production
When creating animations or working with motion graphics, you can simulate and make adjustments to motion blur. For example, in Adobe After Effects, it’s as simple as clicking a master motion blur button and then activating the blur for each individual layer. The advanced composition settings in AE give users even more control, allowing adjustments for shutter angle and a handful of other properties.
Again, these tools are important because motion blur breathes life into your image. Leaving it out will lower your production value.
Adobe Premiere Pro users understand the importance of motion blur far too well. Much to their frustration, motion blur is nowhere to be found in this powerful NLE. Even when searching the plethora of tools in their powerful Essential Graphics panel, there’s no option to enable motion blur. Why offer up so many tools for graphics and keyframing when you can’t add and manipulate one of the foundations of motion?
Premiere Pro users needn’t fret, as there’s indeed an option to enable motion blur — just not a straightforward one. And, this option does give users a natural directional motion blur, without excessive keyframing and tweaking.
Let’s take a step-by-step look at how to make it work by animating Premiere’s logo.
How to Add Motion Blur in Adobe Premiere Pro
Step 1: Add the Transform Effect
First, I’ll open up the Window > Effects panel. Next, I’ll navigate to the Video Effects > Distort subfolder. I’ll grab the Transform effect and drop it over my logo clip in the timeline.
Step 2: Animate the Properties
The Transform effect gives me a number of keyframable properties, including many of the same attributes available in the Motion tab of the Effect Controls panel. For this example, I’ll animate the X position, making the logo move from side to side at a quick pace. Once animated, I’m ready to turn on the motion blur.
Step 3: Adjust the Shutter Angle
Activating the motion blur is as simple as deselecting Use Composition’s Shutter Angle, and then setting the Shutter Angle to whatever you want. Again, 180 degrees is the standard. Taking it higher will introduce more blur, while lowering it will reduce the blur. It’s important to remember that you must animate the properties in the Transform effect for the motion blur to work, not under the Motion tab.
0° Shutter Angle
180° Shutter Angle
360° Shutter Angle
Step 4: Create a Preset
Creating a preset will allow you to quickly apply motion blur on future clips — streamlining your workflow. To create one, right- or control-click on the Transform effect in the Effect Controls panel and select Save Preset. Name the preset and add a description, and your motion blur effect will now be waiting for you in the Presets folder of the Effects panel.
There you have it — motion blur inside of Adobe Premiere Pro!
Motion Blur Settings Ae
Cover image via Willy Barton.
Looking for more Premiere Pro tips? Check these out.