You asked, I answered. With a video, of course. But if you’re like me, I’d much rather read a tutorial than watch one, so here it is.
In this golden age of Huji Cam, it’s no surprise that Gen Y and now Z are enamoured with things that look old – vintage movie, Super 8, and vhs film being no exceptions to this rule. And while some of us are truly dedicated enough to purge the depths of thrift stores for working technology the same age or older than us, most of us will continue to search for a way to replicate the effects of said film and apply it onto the videos snapped by our mobile phones. After all, isn’t that what technology is for? So, if you’re one of the latter people I described above, then boy oh boy, do I have the right tutorial for you.
Okay, and if you didn’t get it from the title of this post, this tutorial will teach you how to apply a soft blur around a central focal point, and on top of that, add a vintage-looking film grain on top. I also use Adobe Premiere Pro CC for my videos… so if you’re on Final Cut or iMovie, then this tutorial probably isn’t for you.
FOR THE SOFT BLUR
STEP 1 • Click the “New Item” symbol and create an adjustment layer.
STEP 2 • Apply the “Fast Blur” effect onto your adjustment layer.
STEP 3 • Under the Effects panel of your adjustment layer, find the Fast Blur module. Click “Ellipse Mask” (which is the circle symbol, if that isn’t clear) and check off “Repeat Edge Pixels” and “Inverted”. Adjust the following parameters to your liking. In the video, I used: Blurriness: 30, Mask Feather: 300, Mask Opacity: 80%, and Mask Expansion: 100
STEP 1 • Click the “New Item” symbol and create an adjustment layer.
STEP 2 • Apply the “Fast Blur” effect onto your adjustment layer.
STEP 3 • Under the Effects panel of your adjustment layer, find the Fast Blur module. Click “Ellipse Mask” (which is the circle symbol, if that isn’t clear) and check off “Repeat Edge Pixels” and “Inverted”. Adjust the following parameters to your liking. In the video, I used: Blurriness: 30, Mask Feather: 300, Mask Opacity: 80%, and Mask Expansion: 100
FOR THE FILM GRAIN
STEP 1 • Download a film grain overlay from my playlist or Holy Grain.
STEP 2 • Drag the film grain over your videos.
STEP 3 • In the Effects panel of your grain, change the “Blend Mode” to Overlay, and adjust the opacity as necessary.
STEP 4 • Copy/paste your grain segment until the grain spans your entire video. Make sure to lock below layers as to not mess them up accidentally.
STEP 1 • Download a film grain overlay from my playlist or Holy Grain.
STEP 2 • Drag the film grain over your videos.
STEP 3 • In the Effects panel of your grain, change the “Blend Mode” to Overlay, and adjust the opacity as necessary.
STEP 4 • Copy/paste your grain segment until the grain spans your entire video. Make sure to lock below layers as to not mess them up accidentally.
AND THAT’S IT! Pretty easy, eh hey? Well, if you guys have any questions, feel free to ask my questions in the comments or watch the entire video tutorial below.
