Premiere Pro is a powerful editing program that lets you create and edit clips using its wide range of features and tools to make professional-looking videos. The best thing about the software is that you can quickly blur the background of your footage to add a bit of depth and interest, as well as to make your subject stand out more.
To make things simpler for you, we’ve compiled this comprehensive guide to walk you through the step-by-step process of how to blur the background in Premiere Pro so that you notice a big difference in your videos!
In this article
Part 1. Why Do You Need To Blur The Video Background?
The blurred background effect is a useful technique used by many professionals to create a focus on the element in the video and remove any distortions. By doing so, they add emphasis on the most important on-screen subject and make it pop on the screen.
You may need to blur the video background for several reasons. Perhaps you're recording a tutorial and want to add focus on one element, or maybe you're filming a scene in a crowded public place and wish to minimize distractions in your video.
Blurring the BG can also be a way to add a creative touch to your video or make them more immersive, polished, and professional.
Part 2. How To Blur Your Background In Premiere Pro?
Below, we’ve provided a step-by-step guide to help you blur the background in Premiere Pro:
Step1 In the first step, open a browser and visit the Adobe Premiere Elements download page. Log in with your Adobe ID or create a new one. Choose the platform and language, and click “Download” to get the installation file.
Click the downloaded installer to install the software and launch it. Now, click the “File” option from the top toolbar and select “Import” to open the File Explorer window. Locate your video footage and click “Open” to import it to Adobe Premiere.
Step2 In the next step, click the “Window” option from the top toolbar and select “Effects” from the drop-down menu to open the “Effects Panel.”
In the Effects Panel, type “Blur” in the search bar and scroll down to find the “Gaussian Blur” effect. Drag and drop the effect on the clip in the timeline to apply.
Step3 Now, click “Window” in the top toolbar and select “Effect Controls” to open its panel. Scroll down to “Gaussian Effect” in the panel and increase the blurriness amount. This will make your entire clip blurry, including the subject/main element.
If the edges of your clips become dark, checkmark the “Repeat Edge Pixels” option to resolve this issue.
Step4 Next, you have to create a mask around the subject to unblur it. To do so, click the “Free
Draw Bezier” under the “Gaussian Blur” option in the Effects Control Panel.
Now, in the Program Monitor window, trace the outline of the element/subject in your video. Make sure to bring the trace line to the original point.
Step5 Checkmark the “Inverted” option under the Mask Expansion header in the Effects Control Panel to make your background blurry. Click the “Play” icon to preview your video and if you find any hard edges around the subject, click “Mask” and choose the selection tool.
Now, make adjustments to the individual points in the outline. Click “Mask Expansion” and increase its value to expand the mask size. Then, click “Mask Feather” and decrease its value to soften the edges.
Step6 If your subject moves around in some parts, click the toggle next to “Mask Path” to create keyframes. Now, move through the timeline and adjust the mask on the subject to make a professional-looking video.
Finally, navigate to “File” > “Export” from the top toolbar, type your file name, specify a location and click “Export” to save your file on your PC.
Bonus Tips – The Alternative To Premiere Pro To Blur The Video Background
If you find the above process complicated and are looking for an easy-to-use alternative to Premiere Pro to blur the video background, try using the Wondershare Filmora software.
With this tool, you can instantly blur the background of your video and make the subject stand out. Besides, Filmora comes with an intuitive interface that even novice users can benefit from its vast features.
Here’s how you can use Wondershare Filmora to blur your video background:
Step1 Open the Filmora download page using a web browser, download the installation file and click the downloaded file to begin the installation process.
Launch the software, click "Create New Project," and select the "Click Here To Import Your Media File" option to import your video clip.
Step2 Once the video is loaded into the program, drag it from the Media Library and drop it into the video editing timeline.
Next, you'll need to add a Blur Effect to the clip. To do this, click the "Effects" menu, select the "Background Blur" category, and choose the desired blur type. If you are using portrait video, try using the Grey, Diamond, or Mosaic filters to create a visually captivating background.
Step3 Once the effect is downloaded, drag and drop it onto the video clip in the timeline and double, click it to open the Effect panel. Here, you can configure the background color, source width, luminance, scale level, background feather, and Alpha blurry settings.
Step4 In the final step, click the "Export" button, go to the "Local" tab, choose a file format and click "Export" again to save your final video clip on your PC.
You can also export your video to your device, YouTube, Vimeo, or DVD.
Last Words
In this detailed guide, we've discussed why you need to blur BG in a clip. We also provided an extensive guide on how to blur the background in Premiere Pro to make your video more professional and engaging.
In the end, we explored the step-by-step method of creating blur backgrounds in a video using Filmora software – the best and easy-to-use alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro.
Hopefully, you've found this article helpful and can now make engaging videos with blur backgrounds using Adobe Premiere Pro.
