How to Add a VHS or Film Look to Digital Footage

Step by step

1. 1

   Pick the era and the format

   Film Grain & Dust is the base layer for a 16mm feel. Film Burn is a single event at a cut. VHS Tracking and Camcorder REC say home video, Digicam Date Stamp says early 2000s point-and-shoot, and Silent Film Title Card brings an intertitle with its own iris.

2. 2

   Set the amount of damage

   Most film presets have Intensity, Density and Variation, and a new Variation gives a different pattern so two clips do not repeat. VHS Tracking adds Title for its on-screen label. Camcorder REC uses Title for REC and Subtitle for the date. Silent Film Title Card takes both as its text.

3. 3

   Separate layers from events

   Length decides the job. Grain and tracking default to 10 seconds and run up to 60 as a layer over a whole scene. Film Burn at 2 seconds and CRT Turn Off at 1.5 are events: center the white flare on the cut. Match the aspect ratio to your timeline.

4. 4

   Choose between alpha and blending

   Most of the 32 presets start on a dark fill. For a texture layer, set Background to Transparent and export WebM with alpha for CapCut or Resolve, or a PNG sequence for Premiere Pro and After Effects. Film Grain & Dust and Film Burn can also go out as MP4 on black, using a screen or overlay blend.

5. 5

   Layer and dial it back

   In Premiere Pro, use File > Import with Image Sequence ticked, set the rate under Interpret Footage, and drop the clip above your footage. Lower the opacity until faces read normally. In DaVinci Resolve, drag the frames folder into the media pool and set the rate in Clip Attributes.

Where it is used

• Music videos

  A low-budget music video shot on a phone, with VHS Tracking in short bursts on the chorus and Film Burn hiding the transitions between performance and story footage.

• Flashback sequences

  A documentary or wedding film marking old memories with Camcorder REC and a period date in Subtitle, so the shift in time is clear with no caption saying so.

• Period title cards

  A comedy sketch set in the silent era, using Silent Film Title Card for its dialogue lines, with the iris opening and closing on each card between shots.

Presets

32

Default duration

1.5 to 12 seconds, longest limit 60

Default background

5 transparent, 27 solid fill

Aspect ratios

16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5

Which format should you export?

Transparent WebM so the grain, dust and scan lines carry their own alpha, or MP4 set to overlay or screen in your editor if you prefer to control the blend yourself.

Format

MP4 · WebM · PNG sequence

Alpha

WebM or PNG sequence

Resolution

720p to 8K

Aspect

16:9 · 9:16 · 1:1 · 4:5

License

Commercial use included

Three tips that make it look intentional

• Grain at low opacity all the way through, artifacts only at the cuts.
• Match the date stamp format to the era you are suggesting.
• Pair a CRT turn-off with a hard audio cut for the full effect.

Three things people get wrong

• Applying a heavy VHS treatment to footage shot on a modern sensor with no motivation for it.
• Running the same grain plate across a whole film, so a repeating scratch becomes visible.
• Turning the effect up until faces stop reading.

Frequently asked