Blurred Edges?

[Guest]

How do I get blurred edges effect in Premiere Pro? Like those videos that everything is blurred except a "spotlight" in middle of frame. I have some BCC blur effects but I dont think they do it.

[Kevin-Monahan]

I do this in After Effects usually. Just make a mask and feather the edges. You can fake the look in Premiere Pro CS5 by stacking up a Bevel Edges and Edge Feather effect, respectively. For Bevel Edges, set all parameters to zero. Adjust Edge Feather to taste, I start with around 25 to get a decent look.

Here's what I came up with.

[Guest]

Kevin when you say "edge feather", what exactly are you referring too? There seems to be no edge feather anywhere in the bevel effect. I didnt see it anywhere.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi emin3m33,

Effects > Transform > Edge Feather is what I was talking about.

[Colin Brougham]

You're looking for a "vignette" effect (might help in your search). I'd bet, dimes to donuts, that one of your BCC blurs has masking built-in, which would enable you to limit where the blur effect is applied within a frame.

Barring that, you could try this:

1. Stack another instance of your clip on top of the original.
2. Apply a blur of your choice to the lower clip, and set the blur to taste.
   
3. Apply the Circle effect to the upper clip. Tweak the following settings:
   1. Set Blending Mode to "Stencil Alpha"
   2. Increase Radius as necessary
   3. Apply Feathering as necessary to soften the edges of the matte
   4. Position the circle matte using the Center property
4. You could also use Levels, Curves, or some other CC effect on the background blurred clip to darken/lighten it, if you like.

[Kevin-Monahan]

I like your method Colin!

[Colin Brougham · Accepted solution]

Thanks, Kevin--but don't tell Bill Hunt! He thinks I'm crazy for using the Circle effect so much

[Guest]

Hey Colin. Thanks I tried this and was pleased. I learned something new and useful here. Thanks

I must say that this effect along with magic bullet looks (Red Giant just fixed compatibility issues with an update) really makes ur video something else.

[the_wine_snob]

don't tell Bill Hunt! He thinks I'm crazy for using the Circle effect so much

That's it Colin. You wait until I am in New Orleans, and then say horrible things behind my back!

Actually, I always like your workflows. Though I normally just grab the Track Matte Keying (out of habit), I always learn something new (and almost always neat), from your methods.

Thanks for sharing,

Hunt