Want to create a sense of excitement? Smooth, immersive blur effects are a powerful way to do it. That’s where Premiere Pro motion blur effects come in. With motion blur, you can add cinematic effects to moving objects in Premiere.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to add motion blur in Premiere Pro. It’s a fast and easy process, and it works with all kinds of videos and graphics. If you move footage using keyframes, you can add a motion blur effect in Premiere Pro.
Let’s learn how to use a motion blur effect with Premiere Pro, step by step!
How to Add Motion Blur in Premiere Pro (Step by Step)
Built-in effects in Premiere Pro let you add motion blur with ease. It’s a quick animation trick that audiences will love to watch.
Motion blur in Premiere Pro really gives you the appearance of speed. This is where Premiere Pro motion blur effects come in.
To demonstrate, let’s use this race car stock footage from Envato Elements. It’s a good example of a video that you might want to animate in Premiere Pro. Download it today, and we’ll use it to learn how to blur in Premiere Pro.
Let’s get started.
1. Add an Adjustment Layer
To add Premiere Pro motion blur, find a section of your footage that you want to blur. Then, create an Adjustment Layer. An Adjustment Layer sits atop footage in Premiere. Changes and effects you add to an Adjustment Layer will display on the video clip beneath.
To add an Adjustment Layer, be sure that you have the Project panel open. To open it, you can go to Window > Project. Then, on the File dropdown, click New > Adjustment Layer. Click OK on the menu box that appears.
In the Project panel, your newly added Adjustment Layer will appear. Click and drag it onto your Timeline and drop it right above your video.
Pull on the edges to trim it to exactly overlay the portion of the clip where you want to add Premiere Pro motion blur. Now, let’s look at how to add motion blur in Premiere.
2. Apply the Directional Blur Effect
Premiere Pro motion blur can be added with the Directional Blur effect. To add this, launch the Effects panel from the Window dropdown.
On the Effects panel, go to Video Effects > Blur & Sharpen > Directional Blur. Click and drag the Directional Blur effect onto your Timeline. Drop it atop your Adjustment Layer. The effect will be applied. It’s how to blur a video in Premiere Pro with ease.
3. Create Blur Length Keyframes
To add a motion blur effect Premiere Pro, launch the Effect Controls by going to Window > Effect Controls. Then, click on the Adjustment Layer in your Timeline. The Effect Controls are visible now, just to the left of your video preview in the Program Monitor.
Jump to the first frame of your Adjustment Layer. Then, open the Directional Blur dropdown on the Effect Controls panel. Click the stopwatch icon beside Blur Length. This creates a motion blur keyframe. Jump to the final frame of the Adjustment Layer, and this time, click Add Keyframe just to the right of Blur Length.
Now, add a third keyframe a few frames after the initial keyframe. This time, choose a value higher than 0.0 for Blur Length. I like to use 15 or 20, as these will create dramatic Premiere Pro motion blur.
Finally, add a fourth keyframe a few frames before the end of the Adjustment Layer. Apply the same Blur Length value that you chose in the prior step.
4. Maintain Focus on the Center of the Shot
Just like that, you’ve learned how to blur in Premiere Pro! But if you play the video back, you’ll see that the entire frame has blurred. To add true Premiere Pro motion blur, it’s a great idea to maintain focus on the center of your shot. The area around the edges will stay blurred, really delivering the look of speed and motion blur.
With the Adjustment Layer selected in the Timeline, return to the Effect Controls. This time, go to the Opacity group. In it, click on Create Ellipse Mask. When you do, you’ll see a circular area selected in the center of your video. Within this, we can control the focus.
Click to check the box beside Inverted. Then, in the Mask Feather section, choose a value. It pays to go high here, so let’s use a value like 350.
Now, play back your video and watch what happens. You’ve learned how to add motion blur in Premiere Pro. You now have the illusion of speed, but the central focus of your video remains crisp and sharp.
The blurriness around the edges is your Premiere Pro motion blur. It’s a cool and dramatic effect that you can add to your videos with ease.
The Top Source for the Best Adobe Premiere Pro Templates (With Unlimited Downloads)
Adobe Premiere Pro templates help you build amazing videos in moments! The ultimate source for these premium templates is Envato Elements. At Elements, you’ll find thousands of these premium designs to choose from. More are added daily, so your options are constantly expanding.
The Elements offer is powerful: unlimited downloads. For a flat monthly rate, you can download and use as many premium Adobe Premiere templates as you want.
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Embrace premium Adobe Premiere Pro templates from Elements and you will enjoy:
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Start Using Premiere Pro Motion Blur Effects Today
In this tutorial, you learned how to blur in Premiere Pro. When you add a Premiere Pro motion blur, you can help your footage look more realistic. Footage featuring motion will look more natural. Your audience will feel like they were really there.
Knowing how to add motion blur in Premiere Pro is a key skill, and it’s amazingly easy to do. You’ll find yourself using it every time you edit a motion video. So, what are you waiting for? Start using Premiere Pro motion blur effects today. You – and your audience – will be thrilled by the results. Get started now.