use phone video in 16X9 sequence

[Gerret38430766nh34]

I'm editing in a 16 X 9, 4k sequence and want to add a variety of phone clips, probably both iphone and android (I don't have them yet). I know about 709 color adjustment, as I do about resizing video within the frame of my sequence, but I don't know how to fill the black on either side with what I've often seen and think effective: soft focus of the phones image.

Can anyone help?

[Peru Bob]

Copy the phone clip to a track above the clip.

On the lower track, increase the scale to fill the black and add the blur effect.

[Gerret38430766nh34]

Thank you. Works perfectly...except I can't figure out how to cover all the black on both sides of the frame. When I use Effect Controls to increase Scale Width I'm left with black remaining on both sides. Probably an easy fix but I've not been able to figure it out.

[Peru Bob]

If you've increased the scale enough and there is still black, it could be that the black is baked into the clip.

If that's the case, add a crop effect to the top clip.

[Gerret38430766nh34]

No, it's not baked in but my sequence is 4096. X 2160 and the phone video is 1080 X 1920. Pulling the latter wider simply won't fill the frame (I've got both height and width at max 200).

[Peru Bob]

(I've got both height and width at max 200).

By @Gerret38430766nh34

You should be able to increase scale larger than 200%.

I've used 500% in situations like this.

Can you post screenshots of your timeline and the Effects Control Panel?

[Maks Histibe]

You can definitely create that soft-focus background effect in Premiere Pro! Once you have your phone clips in the timeline, follow these steps:

1. Duplicate the Phone Clip: Place a copy of the phone clip on the track below the original (or whichever track you'd like to fill the background).
2. Scale Up the Background Clip: Select the lower clip and increase its scale in the Effect Controls panel until it fills the screen.
3. Apply Gaussian Blur: Go to Effects, search for Gaussian Blur, and drag it onto the scaled-up background clip. Adjust the blur amount until you get a soft-focus look.
4. Color Correction (if needed): Adjust brightness or color on the background layer to make sure the subject stands out.

This should give you that soft-focus effect to fill the sides while keeping the focus on the main image. Hope this helps, and feel free to reach out with any other questions!