Motion blur can lend an aesthetically pleasing look to motion graphics and compositing projects. But what is it exactly, and why does it exist?
You will find the motion blur settings at the composition level in the advanced tab of your composition settings. To apply motion blur for a layer in After Effects, simply do the following. Okay we've reached the final stage,and now we can raise up the quality,add some motion blur, and make sure that the final renderwill look as best as possible.All right, let's tweak some settings,and then we can render the resultand see how this commercial is turning out.So the first thing that I like to do is introducesome motion blur, especially in this place where.
Top image: motion blur switch in After Effects.
If you’re even a basic After Effects user, you’ve probably turned on the motion blur switch for your compositions. It’s one of the first things that benefits your graphics in After Effects (or most other motion graphics or compositing programs) rather than just building a title sequence in Premiere Pro or your editor of choice.
Motion Blur Example: The left dot has motion blur and the right doesn’t
The ability to turn on motion blur now represents a one-click “improve” button that in almost all cases is a no-brainer. So why not use it all the time? While the visual effect of motion blur is pretty obvious from the get-go (it adds blur to motion), what started it, and why does it seem to improve the perceived look of our work?
Title sequence from It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World by the legendary Saul Bass.
From a motion design perspective, it’s interesting to think about how the art form began and how it has changed. In the opening title sequence animated by Saul Bass above (perhaps one of the greatest motion designers of all time), you can see that there is no motion blur on the movement.
Aside from the fact that motion design was done frame-by-frame with cartoon-style animation and a physical camera capturing each image, we now have the ability to use keyframes to create motion without ever touching a physical element by hand. As a result, we can create motion blur based on our own parameters that we set between keyframes, and we can alter those parameters however we want on a composition-by-composition basis.
What led to the idea of motion blur? Or the need for it?
Shutter Angle and Shutter Speed
Image via Shutterstock.
Motion blur as it relates to film and video is a result of shutter angle or shutter speed.
Shutter angle is the method of measuring the amount of time the sensor or film emulsion is exposed to the light that is creating the images that you see per frame. Picture the shutter as a 360-degree circle with the shutter angle representing a slice of pizza taken out of it. The higher the shutter angle, the longer the amount of time the film/sensor is exposed to light as the shutter spins. As a result, the shutter angle is the amount of time that the film/sensor will “see” the motion for that particular frame. This will create motion blur.
An illustration of shutter angle as it relates to shutter speed via REDuser.net.
A different way of measuring the amount of time the recording medium is exposed to light is called shutter speed. The difference between shutter angle and shutter speed is that the latter is a measurement of how long the shutter is open per second. So, a shutter speed of 1/48th means that the shutter is open for one forty-eighth of a second. This method of shutter speed measurement is more closely tied to the photography world, but some digital film/video cameras can measure shutter in this way as well.
So, essentially, you could make the argument that this is the entire reason why motion blur exists. We’re used to seeing motion blur on moving pictures and images. It gives everything a more natural look because we’ve become accustomed to seeing motion this way as a result of the various shutter speeds of film and video. Also, of course, from a compositing perspective, motion blur is absolutely necessary to match your special FX elements to your live action elements.
Famous early stop motion compositing work by Ray Harryhausen.
In early special FX examples, like the work from one of the Godfathers of movie magic, Ray Harryhausen, you can see that the benefits of motion blur were not yet available or fully realized. This results in some somewhat jerky and unnatural-looking motion on these famous creatures.
The Human Eye
Image via Shutterstock.
Believe it or not, the human eye also has something somewhat comparable to a shutter speed. Although the human eye does not have a “shutter” so-to-speak, it does have certain limitations as to the speed at which it can resolve light.
When it comes to shutter speed as a measurement, the human eye can detect flashes of light as short as 1/100th-second with relative ease, and in some specific cases and lighting conditions, it can go shorter than 1/200th-second, depending on ambient lighting and age/health.
As a result, the human eye sees motion blur. We naturally combat motion blur by focusing on single points in a rapid succession, but in our periphery and when not entirely focused, motion blur is present.
Go-Motion
Phil Tippet working on The Empire Strikes Back (Image via Lucasfilm).
Perhaps the earliest version of motion blur being added in animation and compositing was a technique known as “Go-Motion”.
This technique was behind stop motion-animated sequences and essentially involved “bumping” the camera, table, or model during scenes where the model was supposed to be moving. This would create the look of motion blur. In some examples, filmmakers smeared vaseline or petroleum jelly on the lens in the direction of the motion frame by frame.
“The Cameraman’s Revenge” by Ladislas Starevich.
The Go-Motion technique is said to have been invented by Ladislas Starevich in the early 1900s. He started using the technique of bumping the set or the model while capturing frames. Known as one of the godfathers of animation, in some regards, he might be the inventor of motion blur altogether.
Go-Motion has also been used on some much more modern applications. Phil Tippet used the technique often while working on the stop motion animation in the Star Wars series. The technique featured heavily in the Hoth battle scene fromThe Empire Strikes Back.
The video above is an example of a test built by Tippet for the T-Rex effects in Jurassic Park, in which Go-Motion created a very convincing motion blur. They ultimately ended up going with a computer-generated T-Rex for this scene, but as you can see, using the technique, Tippet was able to create a really convincing T-Rex animation.
Motion Blur in After Effects
Composition Settings in After Effects.
So, this leads us to where we are now. With non-linear post-production software, motion blur is as easy as the click of a mouse. We can change the shutter angle to whatever we want, and we can customize the amount of blur for each specific composition or project. If you want to add a bit of a natural feel to your work, motion blur is the way to go. However, there are plenty of times when a cleaner and less-natural look is appropriate as well. So, it’s good that we now easily have the option to disable/enable it.
In After Effects, you’ll find the motion blur settings at the composition level in the advanced tab of your composition settings. There you can change your shutter angle and your shutter phase (a parameter that allows you to change the point in time for the frame that the shutter “opens” — usually best left alone).
For more examples and information on how to add motion blur to your compositions in After Effects, check out this article.
Sign In
Register
- Access to orders in your account history
- Ability to add projects to a Favorites list
- Fast checkout with saved credit cards
- Personalized order invoices
Create Account
Motion blur can be a powerful technique when used correctly. Learn how to use and apply motion blurring to your project with these After Effects tutorials.
Cover image via Shutterstock
Motion blurring has been a part of film and video since the first film cameras began arranging pictures in sequential order to create the illusion of movement. When done digitally, it is often intended to replicate the blur that usually comes from traditional filmmaking techniques. You often see it used artificially in animated projects and high-end special effects.
As a tool, it can convey speed and fast motion. Without it, footage can look unnatural and fake. No matter how you intend to use it, here are some tutorials to help you master some of the different aspects of the art of motion blurring in After Effects.
Simply Enable Motion Blur
At a base level, After Effects is built for adding effects like motion blur. In fact, it’s built right into your default comp panel. If you’re looking to add motion blur to a single moving object, simply turn it on and select it as the YouTuber AR Arts demonstrates in the simple video above.
Add Motion Blur Using Built-In Plugins
Again, After Effects is one of the best programs for adding motion blur and has many resources and functionalities built in to help you easily apply it to your footage. In TunnelvizionTV‘s tutorial, you simply select motion blur and work with it manually. As he shows in the video, it may be necessary to duplicate your composition to mask out the parts you want to remain static.
Add Pixel Motion Blur to Your Footage
In the above video by VideoFort, you can see how to add motion blur in After Effects by using the Pixel Motion Blur effect from the effects panel and simply dragging and dropping to your footage. You can usually work pretty well with the default settings in Pixel Motion Blur, but it also allows you the option to zoom in and add shutter samples to parts that may appear a little too smooth the blur out.
Use CC Force Motion Blur on Your Animation
How To Turn On Motion Blur After Effects
Similar to Pixel Motion Blur, CC Force Motion Blur is another After Effects effect option. You can dive into a whole Lynda course on what makes the two effects different, but it may just depend on which one works best with your composition. Ignace Aleya shows you (in the video above) how to enable and render out using the latter of the two techniques.
How do you prefer to add motion blur to your projects in After Effects? Let us know in the comments.
Sign In
Register
- Access to orders in your account history
- Ability to add projects to a Favorites list
- Fast checkout with saved credit cards
- Personalized order invoices
Motion Blur Effect Online
Create Account