How to Add Motion Blur in Premiere Pro (Using Transform Effect)

If you’ve ever animated something in Premiere Pro, like a zoom or slide, and thought it looked a little too sharp or robotic, you’re not alone. That’s where motion blur comes in. It softens fast movement so it feels more natural, like what you'd see in real life.

The good news? You can add motion blur right inside Premiere Pro using the Transform effect. No need for After Effects or third-party plugins.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Apply the Transform effect

Instead of animating your clip with the default Motion controls, you’ll use the Transform effect. Why? Because it has a setting called Shutter Angle, which lets you add real motion blur.

Steps:

1. Go to the Effects panel and search for Transform.
2. Drag it onto your clip.
3. In the Effect Controls, scroll down to find the Transform section.
4. Animate Position, Scale, or both, just like you would with regular Motion keyframes.

Tip : You can apply the Transform Effect on the Adjustment Layer above, for better control.

2. Enable motion blur with Shutter Angle

This is where the magic happens (well, not magic, just a setting that makes things look better).

1. Still in Effect Controls under Transform, uncheck Use Composition's Shutter Angle.
2. Set your own Shutter Angle, 180° is a good starting point.
3. Play back your animation and you’ll see natural-looking blur during fast movement.

Higher shutter angles give more blur, lower ones give less. You can tweak it depending on how fast your animation is moving.

3. Fine-tune your animation

Now that motion blur is working, go ahead and adjust your keyframes:

• Use Easy Ease (right-click on keyframes > Ease In/Ease Out) for smoother starts and stops.
• Adjust timing by dragging keyframes closer or farther apart.
• Preview often so you don’t overdo the blur, it should feel subtle, not smeary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you add motion blur in Premiere Pro?

Yes, you can add motion blur using the Transform effect. It includes a Shutter Angle setting that creates realistic blur when animating position or scale, similar to what you'd get in After Effects.

How do you add motion blur?

To add motion blur:

1. Apply the Transform effect from the Effects panel.
2. Animate Position or Scale inside Transform (not Motion).
3. Uncheck "Use Composition's Shutter Angle."
4. Set Shutter Angle to around 180° for natural-looking blur.

How do I add blur on Premiere Pro?

To add general blur:

1. Search for Gaussian Blur in Effects.
2. Drag it onto your clip.
3. Increase Blurriness under Effect Controls.
4. Optionally keyframe it if you want dynamic changes over time.

How to add motion in Premiere Pro?

To animate movement:

1. Select your clip and open Effect Controls.
2. Use Position or Scale under "Motion" or "Transform."
3. Click stopwatch icons to set keyframes.
4. Move playhead and adjust values to create animation over time.