How to Apply the Effect Plugins                          Blur-Sharpen plugins main help page

4. Click the blue Click here to load a preset... button in the Presets section to open our large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare effect presets. NOTE: Clicking the Settings (gear icon) button next to the plugin in the Premiere Elements UI will also open the Effects Browser, but due to plugin architecture limitations the Effects Browser will only show a placeholder clip instead of your actual clip.

PE 11 and 10 Users: Due to limitations of Premiere Elements 10 and 11, Presets custom buttons shown above will not appear. Click the Setup button at right of the plugin's name to open our large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare effect presets. In our Pro plugins, Alt-click the Setup button at right of the plugin's name to access our Pixelan custom interface (as shown below). Other missing Presets section buttons are available by these shortcuts:

-- Save: Shift-click the Setup button. -- Recent: Ctrl-click the Setup button. -- Menu: Ctrl-Shift-click the Setup button.

-- Open: Alt-Shift-click the Setup button. -- Help: Ctrl-Alt-click the Setup button. -- Fx Help: Ctrl-Alt-Shift-click the Setup button.

In Adobe Premiere Elements 11:

1. From the Effects tab at the bottom of Premiere Elements, choose Pixelan in the tab's top menu. Then drag a Blur-Sharpen effects plugin onto a clip.

2. In the Applied Effects panel of Premiere Elements, untwirl to show the plugin's controls.To access our Pixelan custom interface (as shown below), see the NOTE above.
3. Click the Setup button at right of the plugin's name to open a large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare effect presets.

In Adobe Premiere Elements 10:

1. From the Edit panel (Effects Section) of Premiere Elements 10, scroll down to the Pixelan listing and drag-and-drop a Blur-Sharpen effects plugin onto a clip.
2. Click the small Edit Effects button at the bottom of the Edit panel. In the Effects Properties view, the plugin's controls will appear. To access our Pixelan custom interface (as shown below), see the NOTE above.
3. Click the Setup button at right of the plugin's name to open a large Effects Browser window to visually choose/compare effect presets.

 

Effect Presets

Each plugin has one or two types of presets -- Effects Browser presets and Section presets (in our Pro plugins only). Premiere Pro additionally can create Animation presets in its Effects Control panel.

 

• Effects Browser presets

This is the most powerful and visual way to access handy professional pre-made presets. A huge quantity are available in a large Effects Browser window to visually compare and choose from, as shown below. (650+ presets are in BlurBlender Pro, for example!) To open the Effects Browser, click the Click here to load a preset... button at the top of our plugin (PE 11 and 10 users: instead see the NOTE above). To save your own custom presets in the Effects Browser, set up the desired look in our plugin, then click the Save button. (In Premiere Elements 11 and 10, instead Shift-click the Setup button.)

 

Time-saving tips to load presets faster:   The Effects Browser is fast, but sometimes you may already know which preset you want to use, such as when you are applying the same preset repeatedly in a project. In that situation, selecting a preset by one of the following methods can be faster... To see recently chosen Effects Browser presets, click the Recent button. For a drop-down menu of Effects Browser presets, click the Menu button. To use a standard Open file dialog box, click the Open button (PE 11 and 10 users: instead see the NOTE above).   Prefer to use our Pixelan custom interface instead of Premiere's? Then use these shortcuts to load presets faster: To see recently chosen Effects Browser presets, click the Recent button. For a drop-down menu of Effects Browser presets, right-click the Click here to load a preset... button. To use a standard Open file dialog box, Alt-click the Click here to load a preset... button.

Handy tips while working within the Effects Browser:   • To scroll through presets in a folder while keeping your eye on the top preview image for comparison, hold the mouse pointer over the right panel then use arrow keys or the mouse wheel. • To increase/decrease the thumbnail image size, use the Size button at the bottom of the Effects Browser. • To copy a favorite preset into the My Favorites folder located atop the left column of preset folders, right-click any preset image and choose Copy to My Favorites. To copy the preset into a subfolder within that folder (such as if you want to organize presets per project or per client), right-click the preset and choose Copy to My Favorites >> [new subfolder]. You can then name the subfolder as desired. After the subfolder is created, it will also appear in the right-click menu. • To rename a preset that is in the My Favorites folder, right-click the preset there and choose Rename this preset. To remove a My Favorites preset, right-click and choose Delete this preset. • To hide any preset, right-click the preset and choose Hide this preset. To show all hidden presets in a folder, right-click any preset in that folder and choose Restore all hidden presets from this folder. To temporarily view the folder's hidden presets, which can be handy if you just want to momentarily browse them, choose Temporarily show hidden presets. • To toggle between viewing the source file image and the effect preset, click the top large preview image in the Effects Browser.

• Section presets (in our Pro plugins only)

Unlike the Effect Browser presets, these change ONLY the controls in ONE section of our plugin. Mixing presets from several sections is a quick and easy way to try hundreds of effect variations. In Premiere Pro's interface, within any section (aka "twirly") of controls, choose Section Presets. (In the Pixelan custom interface, click the blue FX folder icon at the top right side of any section.) To choose a section preset visually instead of from a list, in Premiere Pro's interface click the submenu to activate it, then use your mouse's scroll wheel. In the Pixelan custom interface, simply move your mouse through the choices.

 

• Premiere Pro Animation Presets

In Premiere Pro, to create an Animation Preset, right-click our plugin's name, then choose Save Preset... Then you can drag-and-drop it conveniently from the Presets section of the Effect Controls panel. Cool!

TIP: Note that BlurBlender Pro installs dozens of cool animated blur presets into Premiere's Animation Presets section. Why there instead of our Effects Browser? Premiere Pro's plugin architecture currently only fully supports pre-made keyframed presets in this location. Be sure to take a look at these very handy presets!

Detailed Help on Each Blur-Sharpen Effects Plugin Control

 

To vary a control over time, use Premiere's standard keyframing controls in the Premiere Pro interface.

In the Pixelan custom interface, the below help also appears as you hover your cursor over a control.

 

BlurBlender

Split Preview. Easily compare the effect to your source clip's original look. When you are done comparing, be sure to turn this off to not include the split in your final render.

Blur

Adjust the main BlurBlender controls. Choose a section preset at right for common settings.
Blur Type. Choose the Blur type. To turn a standard blur into a linear blur, use the Stretch slider below. To turn a radial blur into a spin or spiral blur, use the Stretch and Angle sliders below.
Size. Sets the blur strength. To create extreme blurs, manually enter a value greater than 100.
Stretch. To stretch a blur into a linear, spin, or radial blur, adjust towards 0% or 100%.
Angle. Set the direction of a linear, spiral, or offset blur.
Radial Blur X/Y. Position the radial blur center point.

Radial Blur Bias [in Pro version only]. Controls where the radial blur power is strongest. Affects only radial blur.
Blur Offset. For linear blurs, the Offset controls can create wind trailing effects. For radial blurs, rays and various spin and zoom effects can be created. See the section presets for examples.

Blur Style

More ways to alter the blur's look. Choose a section preset at right for common settings.

Gaussian %. Change the blur's look from Average (0%) to Gaussian (100%).
Cross Style [in Pro version only]. Cross blurs are available to blur in two perpendicular directions and blend the results, creating various crosshatch textures. For this effect, set the Stretch slider towards 50%.
Text/Alpha FX [in Pro version only]. For titles and source clips with an alpha channel, this sets the alpha channel processing. "None" affects only RGB channels. "RGB blur within alpha" retains sharp frame edges in clips that are smaller than the project's frame size. "RGBA blur" variations are handy for text blur since the alpha channel is also blurred. "Outer blur" variations can create text glows and related effects.
Blend Mode [in Pro version only]. To fine-tune the blur, choose a Photoshop-like blend mode. To see these blends, make sure that the Blend/Blur control below is not 0 or 200.
Blend/Blur [in Pro version only]. Creatively alters the blend mode above. 0-100% sets the blend strength; 101-200% blurs the blend mode. To see results, make sure that the Blend/Blur control above is not 0 or 200. See the section presets for examples. For unusual looks, enter values outside the 0-200% range.
Bias Strength [in Pro version only]. Increase to limit the blend in dark/light areas. Use together with the Dark/Light Bias control below. See the section presets for examples.
Dark/Light Bias [in Pro version only]. Increase to shift the blend into lighter areas. Use together with the Bias Strength control above. See the section presets for examples.

Shape Mask

Limit where the blur will appear with an adjustable, movable geometric shape. Choose a section preset at right for common settings.
Shape. Choose a shape from several geometries.

Strength. Set the strength of the shape mask.
Size. Set the size of the shape. For Linear or Door mask shapes, this control affects their position.
Edge Softness. Adjust the softness of the edge of the mask.
X/Y Position. Position the shape within the image by dragging the center point. If \"Linear\" is selected, you can adjust its angle by moving the center point. For more precision, enter numerical values.
View the Mask. Turn on to clearly see the mask.

 

Randomize [in Pro version only]

Randomize one or more settings over time to create pulsing or variable blur effects. Choose a section preset at right for examples.
Random. Choose a control to randomize. Up to three different plugin controls can be randomized independently by using the additional control sets lower in this section.
Variation. Set how widely the control's strength will vary.
Speed. Set how fast randomness will change.
Density. Set how often random events will occur.
Style. Experiment with variations to the nature of the randomness.

Mix with Original. To alter the effect's overall strength, adjust its transparency with the source image. Positive values increase the source's strength. Negative values can create unusual looks.

Smart Blur Pro / Smart Sharpen Pro

Split Preview. Easily compare the effect to your source clip's original look. When you are done comparing, be sure to turn this off to not include the split in your final render.

Blur

Adjust the main plugin controls. Choose a section preset at right for common settings.
Size. Sets the effect's strength. To create extreme looks, manually enter a value greater than 100.
Smartness. Increase to preserve the main edges within the image.
Details. Increase to preserve more details.
Highlights. Increase to preserve the brightest areas.
Edges. Increase to preserve sharpness of edges (in Smart Sharpen Pro, to slightly return edges back to the source look.)

Shape Mask

Limit where the effect will appear with an adjustable, movable geometric shape. Choose a section preset at right for common settings.
Shape. Choose a shape from several geometries.

Strength. Set the strength of the shape mask.
Size. Set the size of the shape. For Linear or Door mask shapes, this control affects their position.
Edge Softness. Adjust the softness of the edge of the mask.
X/Y Position. Position the shape within the image by dragging the center point. If "Linear" is selected, you can adjust its angle by moving the center point. For more precision, enter numerical values.
View the Mask. Turn on to clearly see the mask.

 

Organic Mask

Limit where the effect will appear based on the color or luminance within your scene. Choose a section preset at right for common settings.
Target. Choose which qualities define the Target area. For example, to preserve the white in a source clip's clouds, click the Target eyedropper in the cloud and select "Target's luminance only". To preserve skin tones, click in the skin and choose "Target's color". In the preview, click the eyedropper on the color area to keep it unchanged. Or use the color swatch to choose a color or luminance.
Strength. Set the strength of the source mask. Negative values will invert the mask.
Range. Positive values preserve additional hue/luminance areas that are similar to the Target.
Falloff. Positive values increase the feathering around preserved colors.
View the Mask. Turn on to clearly see the mask.
Within Shape M. Limits organic masking to within the Shape Mask area set in the section above. Can be handy depending on where your masking intent is.

Mix with Original. To alter the effect's overall strength, adjust its transparency with the source image. Positive values increase the source's strength. Negative values can create unusual looks.

 

 

Preferences Settings -- In the Pixelan Custom Interface ONLY

 

In the Preferences settings of the Pixelan custom interface, you can customize our plugin to your video editing system's power and your working style. At right are the default Preferences Settings. Three options in particular may be handy for you to change (all shown with an adjacent red triangle):

 

If you have very fast video editing hardware, consider turning off Drop frames to maintain preview pacing.

 

If you also have a high-resolution monitor and are editing with HD or larger footage, consider turning ON Use largest available preview which will use the largest preview size that can fit in your monitor while still leaving sufficient room for controls. Note that your choice will appear the next time you open the plugin's window.

After you become more familiar with a plugin, consider turning off Show pop-up text and help text. That will leave more vertical space for the controls and reduce any distraction from the help text.

go to the main help page