How to Add Light Leaks to a Video

Step by step

1. 1

   Choose a transition or an atmosphere

   Light Leak Sweep washes warm film-style light across the frame in 2 seconds, so it works over a cut. Flash Cut peaks at the midpoint with a white bloom for a 1 second punch. Window Blinds Light runs for 10 seconds, with slats of soft light drifting over a whole scene.

2. 2

   Shape the light

   Each of these offers Primary, Secondary, Accent, Intensity and Variation. Keep the colors close to the warmth of your grade, and reduce Intensity if highlights begin to clip. Light Leak Sweep adds Direction, so the light can follow camera movement. Window Blinds Light adds Speed for the rate of its drift.

3. 3

   Time it to the footage

   Defaults range from 1 second for flashes to 10 seconds for atmospheres, and several presets can run up to 60 seconds. Place Flash Cut so that its midpoint falls on your edit. Light presets draw to the aspect ratio you select, so export separate clips for 16:9 and 9:16.

4. 4

   Use MP4 on black with Screen blend

   Most light presets default to a pure black background because they are made to be composited with a Screen blend. MP4 suits this and needs no alpha. Four presets start transparent, including Flash Cut, and those need a PNG sequence for Premiere Pro or WebM with alpha for CapCut.

5. 5

   Set the blend mode

   In Premiere Pro, place the MP4 on a track above your footage, open Effect Controls and set the Opacity blend mode to Screen. The black drops away and only the light remains. If the effect is too strong, lower the clip's opacity instead of exporting again.

Where it is used

• Wedding and travel films

  A warm leak drifts across the cut between two shots of a ceremony or a landscape, softening the edit and giving digital footage some of the feel of film.

• Music videos and concert edits

  Stage beams, strobes or laser fans laid over performance footage add energy to a song, and a Screen blend keeps the performers visible through the light.

• Talking heads shot in plain rooms

  A slow pattern of window light or leaf shadows across a plain wall behind a presenter adds a sense of place to an interview filmed in an ordinary room.

Presets

35

Default duration

1 to 10 seconds

Default background

Black on 31 presets, transparent on 4

Best export

MP4 with Screen blend

Which format should you export?

Transparent WebM if you want the leak to carry its own falloff, or MP4 set to screen or add in your editor, which is how most colorists expect to receive one.

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

• Warm leaks suit nostalgia; cool streaks suit tech and product.
• Let the leak peak on the cut, not in the middle of a shot.
• Keep opacity below full so the footage stays readable underneath.

Three things people get wrong

• Adding a warm leak to a cool grade without adjusting either, so the shot looks like two shots.
• Placing the flare where no light source exists in the frame.
• Running the same leak on every cut in a sequence until it reads as a lens fault.

Frequently asked