Welcome to another BizVid Communications video tutorial. The title of today’s Vlog is “How to Blur a Moving Subject in Premiere Pro.” This video is an update to one I produced a few years ago called “How to Blur Faces in Premiere Pro.”
Here are the steps that you need to follow to track an object in a video clip: Step #1: The first thing you need to do is to import your video clip to the timeline. Step #2: Make sure that you have your video clip selected. Then, just select Motion Tracking. You can find it in the Action bar, on Tools tab. Step #3: Click on Select Object. If the element you need to put on the video doesn't move and the shot you are putting it in doesn't move, the best bet is to actually use Photoshop to extract the object you want to place in another video and put it in a file format that supports a transparent background (TGA, PSD, etc.).
The two ways I use to blur a subject are “Gausian Blur” or “Mosaic.” Today, I will show you both because the process is different for each. Let’s get started. I placed in the timeline a proud US Marine walking to meet another person but I’d like to blur her face. First I will use the “Gaussian Blur” method.
Learn to replace a specific color in a video in Adobe Premiere Pro. Fine-tune the effect with the Hue, Lightness, and Saturation adjustments. Change the color of an object throughout a video to add a touch of artistry. See how Plant and Gruenwedel animate color in Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro. Continue moving the playhead. Blurring or Highlighting a Moving Face (or Object) - link dead as of Apr 2013: now a domain-squatter. Create a moving track matte in Premiere Pro to blur or highlight a moving object.
In the Effects Panel I’ll type in the word “Blur” and Premiere will reveal all of the blur options available. To be clear, you can use any of the “Blur’s” listed as they all look a little different. But today, I’ll start with “Gaussian Blur” then show you, “Mosaic.” Next, I’ll place the“Gaussian” effect onto the video clip. I can do this by double clicking the effect or, dragging it onto the clip.
Next, I need to select the mask tool that will be used to highlight the specific area to blur. The’re three options: “Elipse,” “4 Point Polygram,” or the “Pen.” But, because I want to track and blur a face, I will use the “Elipse” mask. As soon as I click on it, it appears in the program window. Be sure that your play head is at the point where you want the blur to begin. At this point you don’t see any blurring and won’t until I add it. If I were to add it now, it would be difficult for me to precisely form the ellipse around the face.
To form the ellipse, I will use these little square handles. Once formed the way I want it, I will add the blur by increasing this number to about the 50 mark. Obviously you can choose whatever degree of blurriness you want. I’ll also add a slight “feather” so that there are no hard edges.
Next I’ll begin the mask tracking process. I can do that one frame at a time like this….or, by letting Premiere do it automatically like this. The program is pretty good about keeping a precise track. If it does start to go awry, you can stop the progress and manually adjust, then start again. One the tracking finishes, give your video a watch and see how it your “Gausian Blur” turned out.
The other method I talked about was using a mosaic to blur the subject. So, I’ll type in “Mosaic” then double click to add it to the clip. As you can see, unlike the “Gaussian Blur,” the “Mosaic” applies the effect to everything and It’ll stay that way until I select a masking tool. Again, I’ll use the “Ellipse” mask. Next, I’ll reduce the mosaic effect to a point where I can more easily shape the ellipse around the face. I’ll do that right here at “Horizontal” and “Vertical” blocks.
Next, I’ll use the same procedure to form the ellipse as shown earlier in this tutorial. Now that I’m done forming, I will add the mosaic effect. Next, I’ll start the mask tracking…….and here’s the finished result. As with “Gaussian Blur,” If you have several points on a clip that need blurring, simply keep applying the “Ellipse” or any of the three masks as many times as necessary like this. So, I hope this tutorial has been helpful. Be sure to subscribe and also visit the BizVid Communications website to see the type of work we produce. Thanks again and happy editing.
Cover image via
In the latest version of Adobe Premiere Pro, you can put your graphics and video elements exactly where you want them — with new Rulers and Guides.
The latest version of Adobe Premiere Pro has been released, and one of the most anticipated new features is Rulers and Guides. Much like After Effects and Photoshop, users can now add custom guides to the Program Monitor. Let’s take a step-by-step look at how to create a custom overlay setup for exporting square videos to social media platforms.
Step 1 — Turn on Guides and Rulers
Adobe Pro Highlight Tool
Before I start creating custom guides for my Program Monitor, I first need to turn them on so I can see them. For this, I’ll select View > View Guides and View > Show Rulers. To avoid constantly jumping up into the View menu, I’ll add shortcut buttons. To add them, I’ll click on the Button Editor (plus sign) at the bottom right of the panel, then simply drag the two buttons over to add them.
Step 2 — Add Custom Guides
One of the features (I absolutely love) about the new guides is that you can position them precisely via a pixel or percent value. To add a square value, I’ll need to perform some basic math. If I’m editing in a 1920×1080 format, then I’ll want to add vertical guides to measure 1080 between them, from the center of the frame. For this, I’ll simply subtract 1920×1080, which will give me 840 pixels. Now, I’ll divide by two. This will give me the distance of each guide from the outer edges (420 pixels).
To add a guide, I’ll go to View > Add Guide, or simply right-click on the ruler. In the Add Guide dialogue box, I can now create two guides. I’ll simply put the position at 420 pixels, making sure that the orientation is set to vertical, then create one set to the left and the next to the right. Finally, I’ll add a few additional guides so I can see the upper and lower thirds, as well as the center of the frame. For these, I can use basic percent values — such as 50 and 33.
Step 3 — Position Your Elements
Now, it’s time to position my elements. To make sure I don’t accidentally move one of my guides, I’ll select View > Lock Guides. Next, I’ll bring in my video clips, as well as any graphic elements. To perfectly position items, I’ll turn on snapping via View > Snap in Program Monitor. If I’m not happy with any of the guides, I can unlock them and simply drag them off screen.
Highlight In Adobe Pro Dc
Step 4 — Save and Share
Adobe Premiere Pro Highlight Moving Objects
If I’d like to reuse this setup for future use, I’ll go to View > Guide Templates > Save Guides as Template. To rename, import, or export templates, I’ll go to View > Guide Templates > Manage Guides. This can be extremely useful if I’m working on a team and we need to position branding elements. It helps keep everything uniform.
Now that I think of it, how did users perfectly position elements prior to this release?
Adobe Premiere Pro Highlight Moving Object
Looking for more video tutorials? Check these out.