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Step 1: Pixelate the clip with Mosaic
Place your clip on the timeline and select it. Open the Effects panel (Window > Effects), search for Mosaic and drag it onto the clip. In Effect Controls, set both Horizontal Blocks and Vertical Blocks to 500 and keep Sharp Colors ticked. This lowers the effective resolution just enough to give the picture the soft, blocky look of an old screen.
Faster with BetterFX: skip the Effects panel. Press your BetterFX shortcut, type the first letters of Mosaic and press Enter to apply it to the selected clip. Get BetterFX
Step 2: Curve the edges with Lens Distortion
Old tube screens bulge slightly, so add the Lens Distortion effect (you can find it by typing lens di in the Effects search). Drag the Curvature value up. The video uses around 23. The edges of the picture now bow outward like a curved glass screen.
You will see the curve reveal a white Fill Color border around the picture. You can hide it by scaling the clip up a little in the Motion settings or by changing the fill color to black.
Step 3: Build scanlines with the Grid effect
The horizontal lines are the signature of a CRT. Search for Grid and apply it. It lives in the Obsolete folder under Video Effects, so it only shows up while you search. Set the Color to black and the Blending Mode to Overlay so the lines blend with the picture instead of covering it.
Then change Size From to Width & Height and use a very large Width (the video uses 4000) with a small Height of 8 and a Border of 3. A wide grid cell pushes the vertical lines out of the frame, so only thin horizontal lines remain. Nudge the Anchor value if you want to shift the pattern.
Step 4: Add Noise and a color tint
Next, search for Noise in the Noise & Grain folder and apply it. Set Amount of Noise to about 15% and keep Use Color Noise and Clip Result Values ticked. The grain makes the signal look imperfect and a little dirty.
After that, add a tint. Open Window > Lumetri Color and expand the Creative section. The video lowers Vibrance slightly (around -10) and pulls the Shadow Tint color wheel toward a tone you like. Keep it subtle, because old screens usually look a little washed out and off-color.
Step 5: Add flicker with Strobe Light
Finally, apply the Strobe Light effect for a gentle flicker. In the video, Strobe Color is white, Blend With Original is 95%, Strobe Duration is 0.50, Strobe Period is 1.00 and Random Strobe Probability is 0%. The Strobe option is set to Makes Layer Transparent and the Strobe Operator is Copy. Try the other operators in that list, such as Add or Multiply, to see which flicker suits your clip.
Step 6: Play it back and fine-tune
Play the clip at full quality. If the lines look too heavy, lower the Grid Opacity. If it looks too clean, raise the Noise amount a little. Because everything is a normal effect on the clip, you can copy it and paste the effects onto other clips with Paste Attributes, or put the effects on an adjustment layer and cover a whole section of your edit at once.
Tips
- Match the mood. A CRT look works best with retro footage, gaming clips, found-footage scenes and old school intros.
- Keep the order. Effects are applied from top to bottom, so leave Mosaic and Lens Distortion first and the Grid, Noise and Strobe after them.
- Add a retro overlay. For a related look, try our VHS rewind tutorial, which gives you a tape glitch you can combine with this effect.
FAQ
Why can I not find the Grid effect in Premiere Pro?
Grid is stored in the Obsolete folder inside Video Effects. It only appears when you type grid in the Effects panel search field, but it still works normally.
How do I remove the white edges after Lens Distortion?
Scale the clip up slightly in the Motion settings, or change the Fill Color in the Lens Distortion effect to black so the edges blend into a dark frame.
Can I apply a CRT effect to a whole video at once?
Yes. Put the effects on an adjustment layer above your clips, or nest your sequence and apply the effects to the nested clip. Everything underneath gets the same CRT look.
Want the screen look in one drag? The free Pixel Screen Overlay adds a pixel display texture on top of your footage that pairs well with this effect. Get the free overlay
