Will the grain soften my footage?

It sits over the top at whatever opacity you choose, so you control how much detail it hides.

Can I use it as a transition?

Yes, the burn and tracking presets work well as a two-frame bridge between shots.

Film and VHS effects: analog texture over digital footage

Updated September 18, 20263 min read

How do you make digital video look like film or VHS?

Lay a grain, burn or tracking overlay on the track above your footage and set it to a low opacity. Real analog artifacts are inconsistent, so short bursts of tracking error or a single burn between scenes read better than a constant filter.

Nostalgia is mostly texture. These presets add film grain, burn a frame, tear VHS tracking, collapse a CRT and stamp a camcorder date, all as overlays you control.

Five film & retro textures presets to start from

Hover any card to play it. Opening one loads it in the editor with every control unlocked.

Film Grain & Dust
10s
Organic 16mm grain boils with dust flecks, stray hairs, faint scratches and gentle flicker. A seamless analog overlay.
Film Burn
2s
Hot orange light eats in from the frame edge, flares to white at the cut and cools away like burning celluloid.
VHS Tracking
10s
A rolling tracking band of tape noise, chroma bleed stripes, scanlines and a playback OSD with running timecode.
CRT Turn Off
1.5s
A glowing phosphor screen squeezes into a bright scan line, shrinks to a dot and leaves a fading afterglow.
Film Leader Countdown
5s
The classic projection leader: crosshair, rings and a clock wipe sweeping behind each number, with grain and weave.

All film & retro textures

How to make one in the browser

01Open a film & retro textures presetBrowse the Film & Retro Textures category and open the preset closest to what you need. It loads in the editor with every control unlocked.
02Make it yoursRewrite the text, set your brand colors and font, adjust easing and duration, and switch the aspect ratio for the platform you are posting to.
03Export the clipChoose MP4 for a normal track or transparent WebM for an overlay, pick a resolution up to 8K, and the file renders on your own machine.

Which format should you export?

Use MP4 when the clip sits on its own track or fills the frame. Use transparent WebM whenever it has to float over your own footage: the alpha channel is real, so no keying or blend mode is needed.

Format: MP4 H.264 · WebM VP9
Alpha: Transparent WebM
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.

Frequently asked

Will the grain soften my footage?: It sits over the top at whatever opacity you choose, so you control how much detail it hides.
Can I use it as a transition?: Yes, the burn and tracking presets work well as a two-frame bridge between shots.

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