Are you struggling with a light flicker in your videos and need a guide to fix it? If so, you’re not alone. I had this problem earlier today and came across a fantastic solution and you don’t even have to get a plugin for it. This is a common problem that can be frustrating to try to fix. Luckily, a tool in Adobe Premier Pro can help you quickly and easily correct light flicker issues rapidly and easily. In this blog post, we’ll show you how to remove the flicker in Premiere Pro without any external tools or plugins to get rid of annoying light flicker in your videos in a few easy steps.
Why light flicker can occur in videos
Light flicker in video material can be a real nuisance. When video lighting isn’t running at the right frequency, the LED lamps could begin to pulse, resulting in a visually unpleasant experience for anyone watching. This light pulsing is caused when video cameras or lights are not matched correctly with the rate of electricity used in the studio or location. As video professionals and cinematographers, it becomes our responsibility to manage our video lighting properly so that this optical object doesn’t become an issue on our sets and locations.
By orchestrating video lighting just right to match whatever frequency is necessary during production, we can prevent video flicker from becoming an issue and keep our projects looking as smooth as possible. However, sometimes it just happens and some footage cannot be simply shot again, so it will need to be fixed in the postproduction and that’s possible even though it cannot be done by an online video editor most likely and will require you to render the clip again, once you applied the steps to fix the light flickering issues.
How to fix light flicker in videos using Adobe Premiere Pro
If you’re looking for an easy way to get rid of that light flicker in your video, Premiere Pro has the perfect solution. To fix the issue, drag the clip to the timeline, remove the audio track and duplicate it twice. You’ll then need to arrange these clips on top of each other in the timeline and use the slip tool to move the first copied clip by a single millisecond and the second by two milliseconds. Finally, change the opacity of each copy – 67% for one and 33% for the other – and you’re done. With this simple trick using Premiere Pro, your light flickering troubles will be gone in no time.
Here is a compact list with all the steps:
- Drag the clip to the timeline
- Remove the audio
- Duplicate the clip twice
- Arrange the clips on top of each other in the timeline
- Use the slip tool to move the first copied clip by +00:00:00:01
- Use the slip tool to move the second clip by +00:00:00:02
- Change the opacity of the first copy to 67%
- Change the opacity of the second copy to 33%
- Play the footage to test the fix
- Render the results to a new file
Video: Fix video flicker in 30 Seconds without plugins
These steps have been provided by Matt Coakley from Blue Mantle Media in the video above. In the description, he also gives credit to Philip Bloom for this fix that can be applied in Adobe Premiere Pro. The solution is explained without fluff within the first minute of the video tutorial so it could be that you need to rewind a few times. No worries, I had to watch this part a few times as well until I could figure out all the steps but I hope that writing them down in the step-by-step guide above can also help you with that.
Please note, if you work in a new clip and have not trimmed any parts of the clip, you’ll need to trim a bit from the start of the clip first before you can use the slip tool. This is unfortunately not explained in the video, but knowing this requirement should assist you to complete all the steps that the tools require in order to work.
What to do if you can’t fix the light flicker problem in your video
If you’re experiencing a light flicker in your video and you can’t seem to diagnose or fix the problem yourself, don’t stress. The best thing to do is research for customer reviews for whichever type of equipment you are using. Reading customer reviews can give you information about what may have gone wrong as well as tips on how to address the issue. If that doesn’t work, contact customer service immediately. They may be able to provide you with some troubleshooting steps or even replacement parts if necessary. Taking the proper steps now could prevent a bigger headache later. Besides avoiding rapid changes in the light source – like a flickering fluorescent – and adjusting lighting and camera settings, there are other ways to reduce or eliminate light flicker from videos.
For example, pre-lighting a scene can be used to set up steady illumination that is continuously at the same level across several takes. This method is often employed to create a cohesive look as well as to minimize any significant differences in video brightness when filming multiple takes. Although it takes more time and effort, having control over the lighting setup can be incredibly beneficial to achieving your desired footage results with minimal or no flicker present. It might not be a viable option always, but you can also experiment with changes to the FPS and resolution of your camera’s setting before you record the footage. Trial and error before the actual shooting can help to prevent issues later on.
Photo credit: The feature image is symbolic and has been done by Johny Solo.
