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Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Find the Mosaic effect
Open the Effects panel (Window > Effects) and type Mosaic into the search box. You will see a few results, but the one you want is Mosaic inside Video Effects > Stylize. Ignore the Mosaic In and Mosaic Out presets for now, because those are animated transitions.
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: Apply it to your clip
Drag Mosaic from the Effects panel onto your clip in the timeline. As soon as you do, the picture turns into big colored blocks, much too chunky for a game look. Do not worry, the next step fixes that.
Step 3: Set the horizontal and vertical blocks
With the clip still selected, open Effect Controls and look for Mosaic. Change both Horizontal Blocks and Vertical Blocks to 80. This gives you a fine pixel grid that still shows what is in the shot. You can type the number in or drag the blue value.
Feel free to play around with these values. Fewer blocks make a chunkier, more 8-bit look, while more blocks keep more detail and feel more like a 16-bit game. Different numbers for horizontal and vertical blocks will stretch the pixels.
Step 4: Turn on Sharp Colors
Tick the Sharp Colors checkbox at the bottom of the Mosaic effect. Without it, the pixels look slightly smoothed. With it enabled, each block keeps a crisp, solid color, which gives you that classic retro game look.
Tips
- Start with sharp footage. High quality clips hold their shapes better when they are turned into pixels.
- Use an adjustment layer. Apply Mosaic to an adjustment layer to pixelate several clips at once, or to a short section only.
- Add a game feel. Pair the effect with a pixel font or screen overlay to sell the old school look. See the typewriter text effect for a simple way to add retro text.
FAQ
How do I pixelate video in Premiere Pro?
Apply the Mosaic effect from Video Effects > Stylize and set the horizontal and vertical blocks to your liking.
What does Sharp Colors do?
It keeps each mosaic block a solid, crisp color, which makes the pixels look clean like a real retro game.
Can I pixelate only part of the frame?
Yes. Use the mask tools at the top of the Mosaic effect in Effect Controls to limit the effect to a shape, like a face.
Want to finish the look? Try the free pixel screen overlay on top of your footage.
