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In video editing, stunning design effects help your films stand out! Video bokeh is one such effect. If you need to amaze your audiences, bokeh effects are an excellent way to do exactly that.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to add a video bokeh effect full video. We’ll explore exactly what film bokeh is, and how to film it. Then, we’ll dive into a step-by-step look at how to add cool bokeh effects to videos you’ve already recorded. In no time, you’ll be a master of film bokeh effects.

Let’s get started!

What is Bokeh?

Have you ever seen soft, round blurred lights in the background of a video? If so, this is bokeh. The effect is aesthetically pleasing and ethereal. Bokeh is named for the Japanese word boke, which means “blur.” And that’s exactly what it does in night videography.

Video bokeh is created by adjusting the depth of field in your shots. The advantages are many. First, it creates an unforgettable look, rendering any night or twilight video much more attractive. But you can also use video bokeh to focus the eyes of your audiences on subjects in the foreground. After all, if you have a blurry background, your focus will be on those foreground subjects.

Since bokeh is controlled by depth of field, it lets you visually add depth to videos. Blurred lights in the background will often have an illusion of being more distant than they really are. Videos filmed in low light can sometimes seem flat or dull. 

How Do I Capture Bokeh Effects on Camera?

Film bokeh effects can be added in two ways. You can capture it as you film. Or, you can add the effect later. To capture bokeh effects, you’ll need an essential tool: a fast lens. But what does this mean?

In short, a fast lens is one that allows lots of light into the camera. This is measured by aperture, and what you’re looking for here is a lens with a wide aperture. With this tool, you’ll then want to focus the lens on a foreground subject like we described above. 

This focus, combined with a wide-aperture lens, creates the environment you’ll need. You can then begin to capture bokeh effects in the background of a video as you film it.

How to Create a Video Bokeh Effect (Step by Step)

You can also add a video bokeh effect full video in the post-production process. That means that you can use an app like Adobe Premiere Pro to add bokeh effects. My favorite technique is to capture bokeh elements on camera, and then enhance them in Premiere Pro later. 

That’s what you’ll learn in the tutorial guide below. To demonstrate, we’ll work with beautiful stock footage from Envato Elements.

As you can see in the preview, there are subtle bokeh light effects in the background. What we’ll do in Premiere Pro is adjust them to really enhance the video bokeh film effects. 

Let’s learn how to create a video bokeh effect, in just a few quick steps.

1. Add a Video to the Timeline

With a Premiere Pro project open, you’ll first want to add your video to the Timeline. The Timeline sits in the lower center of your Premiere Pro screen. To add a clip, find a video file on your computer. Then, drag it over the Timeline and drop it into place.

When you do this, you’ll see the video appear in the Program Monitor in the upper center of your screen. In the Timeline, be sure that you’re on the very first frame of the clip. To do this, click Go to In. You’ll find this button between the Program Monitor and Timeline panels. The clip will then jump to the first frame. 

2. Launch the Effects Panel and Effect Controls Panel

Now, it’s time to set up your Premiere Pro workspace. To add a film bokeh effect, you’ll need to launch two panels. These are the Effects and Effect Controls.

To open the Effects panel, go to the Window dropdown at the top of Premiere Pro. Click it, and from the list of options, choose Effects. You’ll see the panel appear adjacent to your Timeline.

Next, open the Effect Controls. Once again, go to Window, and this time, choose Effect Controls. The Effect Controls will now launch, to the left of the Program Monitor.

3. Add a Gaussian Blur Effect

Now, it’s time to see how to add a video bokeh effect to your video. To do this, first click once on your clip in the Timeline to select it. Then, navigate to the Effects Panel. Inside, you’ll see a list of folders and subfolders. 

Video bokeh effects in Adobe Premiere Pro are handled by adding a Gaussian Blur effect to a clip. To find Gaussian Blur, open the Video Effects. Then, go to Blur & Sharpen and open it. Inside the Blur & Sharpen folder, you will see Gaussian Blur listed.

To add Gaussian Blur to your clip, click and drag the effect over your clip in your Timeline. Then, drop it into place. Notice now that the Effect Controls panel includes a dropdown for the Gaussian Blur effect that you just added to the clip.

4. Select the Foreground Subject

With the Gaussian Blur added, now we’ll select the foreground subject. Remember, this is a key part of a successful bokeh edit. In this video, the foreground subject is the woman on her phone.

Begin here by going to the Gaussian Blur dropdown on the Effect Controls panel. Directly below the effect name, find the Free draw bezier button. Click it, and move your cursor over the video preview in the Program Monitor.

With Free draw bezier active, begin drawing an outline around the foreground subject (the woman). Click once to add a marker point, moving around her head to draw an outline. As you do, you’ll see a series of blue lines and dots appear. This shows you the boundaries of your outline in real time. Be sure to close the outline by returning to the origin point. 

Now, return to the Effect Controls panel. Click the Stopwatch icon beside Mask Path. Notice that the outline preview disappears. For best results here, click above Mask Path on Mask. When you do, you’ll see the outline preview reappear. 

Play your video with the outline preview in view. Depending on how much the subject moves, you might need to readjust the outline. This can be done by moving to a new frame, and then dragging the outline in the Program Monitor. 

You can do this as many times as needed. But it’s not always necessary. For a static foreground subject, there won’t be any need to move the outline. But if the subject is in motion, frequent moves will be needed.

5. Control the Effect to Enhance the Bokeh Look and Feel

With outlining complete, return once again to Effect Controls and the Mask dropdown. There, find the Inverted check box. Click into it, making sure a checkmark appears. Then, move directly down to the Blurriness box.

Notice that Blurriness defaults to 0.0. To add bokeh video effects, you’ll want to set a higher Blurriness value. There’s no single answer here. In other words, there’s not a default value to always use. 

It’s really a matter of trial and error. Type in a value and hit Enter. When you do, you’ll see the change appear in the Program Monitor. To amplify the bokeh effect, go higher with the number. To dial back, go lower. 

In this video example, a value of 70 is a good choice. As you play the video back, watch the streetlights, and the lights of the moving bus. Where they were once sharp and crisp, they now have the dramatic and soft bokeh effect that you’re looking for.

We’re almost done! But you may notice a “halo” around the foreground subject. This is the result of hand-drawing the initial mask. The halo is essentially an area of sharper focus that is unwanted.

Fortunately, it’s easy to remove. Back on the Effect Controls, experiment with the Mask Feather and Mask Expansion options. By adjusting these values higher, you’ll see the halo fade away. Again, there’s no default value for this. Experiment by changing both the Feather and Expansion settings. Your progress will be visible in real time in the Program Monitor.

Once the halo is gone, you’re all set! In moments, you’ve learned how to add a video bokeh effect full video. As you can see, it’s easy to craft dramatic video bokeh effects on your own.

It’s a powerful way to enhance videos with only mild bokeh effects captured in real time. This edit gives you remarkable creative control over your videos’ aesthetic look and feel. 

Learn More Great Tips for Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro

In this tutorial, you learned about adding video bokeh effects. It’s a cool edit that enhances the background of any video. But it’s just one of many great ways to enhance Adobe Premiere Pro videos! Here are more great tutorials to help you elevate your Premiere skills with ease:

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Create a Film Bokeh Effect Full Today

In this tutorial, you learned how to create a film bokeh effect. To film these effects, you’ll need a fast lens with wide aperture settings. But the ultimate way to edit video bokeh is to add it with Adobe Premiere Pro.

Thanks to the Gaussian Blur effect, you can easily outline foreground subjects. Then, you can add powerful blur effects. When you do, you’ll see video bokeh effects appear onscreen before your eyes.

So, what are you waiting for? Pair your new video bokeh knowledge with amazing footage and templates from Envato Elements. In moments, you’ll be creating spectacular film bokeh effects in all of your video projects. Get started today!