In June 2017, Adobe acquired Mettle’s Skybox VR and 360˚ video technologies. Before this date, you had to buy plugins, like Mettle Skybox 360 VR Tools, to add effects and transitions to 360/VR video in Adobe Premiere Pro CC. But with the proliferation and popularization of the format, Adobe recognized the need to ship Premiere Pro CC 2018 with VR and 360 video effects. Thanks to the merging of Mettle and Adobe, we now have VR/360 effects and transitions readily available at our editing fingertips.
The reason why 360/VR video effects and transitions are highly necessary to video editors is because standard effects cannot be used with 360 video. Standard video effects and transitions are limited to the video frame you see while you edit, such as the 16:9 aspect ratio, 1080 x 1920px. Since 360 video is spherical, you need smart VR effects that can recognize and render an entire 360 space.
Below are a few examples of uses for Premiere Pro CC’s new Immersive Video transitions and effects using 360/VR video footage from Pond5’s video library.
1. Transitions between 360 video clips
Just as with standard video editing, 360 video also involves adding smooth and creative transitions between various scenes. Premiere Pro’s new immersive video package includes eight new Immersive Video transitions: VR Chroma Leaks, VR Gradient Wipe, VR Iris Wipe, VR Light Leaks, VR Light Rays, VR Mobius Zoom, VR Random Blocks, and VR Spherical Blur.
To apply the effects, simply drag and drop any Immersive Video transition between two clips on your timeline. Then use the Effects Controls tab to make further customizations to each transition. Below I’ve rendered out a few of my favorite VR transitions so you can see what they look like:
VR Spherical Blur
VR Light Leaks
VR Gradient Wipe
2. Customize the start location of your 360 video
The VR Rotate Sphere effect enables you to reposition the starting location viewers will see when they first begin watching your 360 video. It helps you, as the editor, control where your viewer is looking when they enter your 360 video. In other words, it is a great way to direct attention towards action in the 360 scene.
To use VR Rotate Sphere, simply drag and drop the effect onto your video clip. Then, using the Effects Controls tab, you can change the Tilt (X-axis), Pan (Y Axis), and Roll (Z Axis) values to change the starting point. See below.
To enable VR mode, which lets you preview the 360 space, click on the wrench icon from the program panel and select “VR Video” and “Enable.”
3. Denoise or Sharpen 360/VR video
If your video is noisy due to a low-lighting filming environment, you can apply a VR Denoise effect to remove some of that extra noise. On the other hand, if you feel like your video is too soft, you can apply a VR Sharpen effect to give your video some extra clarity.
4. Stylize and add creative color effects
You can also apply 360 video effects to adjustment layers on your timeline and blend them with your 360 footage.
For example, let’s say you want to add a color gradient or a color tint to your footage. First, add your 360 video clips to your timeline. Then, place an adjustment layer on top of the footage. Drag and drop the VR Color Gradients effect onto the adjustment layer in the timeline.
If you only want one color, simply change the Points number to 1, then select a new color of your choice.
Lastly, you can change the effect’s blending mode to produce a more dramatic color effect. If I select “Multiply,” you can see that the image looks much richer (compare to screenshot image above).
These are just a few of the many new ways you can use Immersive Video effects to stylize your videos. If you want existing 360/VR footage to work with, explore thousands of 360/VR videos in the Pond5 library:
And if you’re interested in selling 360/VR video on Pond5, get all the info you need here:
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below! Thanks for reading and be sure to subscribe to my Premiere Gal YouTube channel for access to more video editing and production tutorials.