Tutorial: Real-Time Motion Blur

In this tutorial, we explore the process of how to create a real-time motion blur effect in 844/X. This can be a real time saver and a great way to make your composites look that little bit better. This tutorial will work on the 844/Xe or 844/Xi, however it does require the xBlur option.

In the example below the motion blur effect has been applied to the video on the left, the right is unaffected.


Motion blur example, use the video control to step through the clip.

To start you'll need a piece of footage, or CG element that you would like to effect. This tutorial will step you through the process using a Title Motion text element.

Step 1: Create a new timeline and place the clip you wish to apply the effect, onto V1 track.


Step 01 - Clip on timeline

Step 2: We need to add some motion to our clip. Select the filter icon on the clip in V1 to display the clip information in Parameter Editor. Make sure you are at the head of the clip and move the clip off screen, to the left. You can do this by dragging the clip to the lest using the mouse in the viewer, or entering -720 in the Position X coordinate in the Geometrics filter. Press the Key Frame button next top the x coordinate to add a key frame.


Step 02 - Position element of screen

Step 3: To complete the motion, using the view window navigate forward 10 frames. (Tip: one way of navigating in the viewer window is to enter the number of frames you wish to move, to move forward 10 frames, type 10 and press enter. To go back type -10 and press enter.) Now move the clip to the centre of the view, a new key frame will be automatically set.


Step 03a - Element positioned back on screen


Step 03b - Element positioned back on screen

Step 4: Now we add the motion blur effect. Return to your first motion key frame, and select the xblur filter. As we are creating horizontal motion, we need to unckeck the Vertical Follows Horizontal check box. Dial in approx. 15 pixels of Horizontal blur and add a key frame. You may also need to check Premultiply, to ensure we don't "suck in black" around the edges of our blur.


Step 04 - Key frame horizontal blur

Step 5: Navigate forward 9 frames (one frame before the end of the move) and manually add another key frame for the Horizontal blur.


Step 05a - Manually add another key frame


Step 05b - The Viewer should look something like this

Step 6: Navigate forward 1 frame and set the Horizontal blur parameter to 0. This will remove the motion blur effect as the element comes to a stop.


Step 06 - Blur effect removed at last motion key frame

Step 7: Navigate to the beginning of your clip and press play. You now have a real-time motion blur.

If you want to create vertical motion blur, just replace the horizontal blur for vertical blur. Hope you enjoyed this one and remember to experiment with the blur amounts to achieve your desired result.