How to create camera shake effects in Adobe Premiere Pro

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create camera shake effects in Adobe Premiere Pro. We’ll explore two ways to do it: with Effects, and with templates. When used well, camera shake effects make scenes more energetic and attention grabbing!

Why add camera shake Premiere Pro effects?

Camera shake Premiere Pro effects are a valuable addition to your editing toolkit. But they can almost seem counterproductive. Why spend time stabilizing your cameras with mounts and tripods, only to add shake later?

Unintended camera shake is distracting. But in this tutorial, we’ll get creative with edgy and intense effects. Consider these benefits of adding camera shake in Premiere Pro:

✅ Camera shake boosts realism. Camera shake is most common in videos shot handheld. By adding the effects, you give viewers a “you-are-there” feeling. It’s really useful for action videos, like sports scenes.
✅ It makes boring footage more interesting. Sometimes, perfectly stable footage can be too dull. Camera shake boosts intensity and helps to build drama.
✅ You gain greater control by adding shake later. Camera shake is very hard to remove. That means it’s best not to deliberately record shaky footage. You can add the effects with ease – and remove them at will.
✅ It creates a distinct look and feel. Selectively adding camera shake creates a unique mood in a video. Use it over and over, and it helps establish your own visual aesthetic.

As you can see, the benefits of adding camera shake with Premiere Pro are many. Now, let’s get to work learning just how to do it!

How to add camera shake in Premiere Pro with effects

Let’s learn how to add camera shake in Premiere Pro! One of two ways to do that is to use effects. These are built into Premiere Pro. And they work with any piece of video footage.

As we work, you’ll see stock footage in use. It’s sourced from the vast Envato Elements stock video library. Download the clip here if you’d like to follow along.

1. Create an adjustment layer

To add camera shake in Premiere Pro with effects, begin by opening the app. We’ll use the stock footage mentioned above. The interface in Premiere Pro looks like what you see in the screenshot below.

We’ll use this video to learn how to add camera shake in Premiere Pro with effects.

In the upper center, you’ll see a video preview. This panel is called the Program Monitor, and it lets you monitor edits in real time.

Below the Program Monitor is the Timeline. It’s here that you’ll arrange clips in sequence. And finally, to the left of the Timeline is the Project panel. This lists media, layers, and other tools you’ll use when editing.

To add a camera shake effect, we’ll first need an Adjustment Layer. Think of an Adjustment Layer as a level of edit that applies to any footage underneath it. You aren’t altering source footage. Instead, you’re adding effects to it.

Right-click in the Project panel, then go to New Item > Adjustment Layer.

Move your cursor onto the Project panel. Right-click, hover over New Item, and choose Adjustment Layer. You’ll see a new Adjustment Layer appear on the Project panel.

Drag the Adjustment Layer onto your Timeline. Place it on the video track (V2) directly above your footage. Finally, drag the end of the Adjustment Layer so that it equals your video clip in duration.

Place the Adjustment Layer onto your Timeline like this.

2. Apply the directional blur effect

Next, open the Effects panel. You can do this by going to Window > Effects at the top of your Premiere Pro screen. When you open Effects, you’ll see the panel open as a sidebar on the right side of your screen.

At the top of the Effects sidebar is a search box. This is the fastest way to choose and add effects in Premiere Pro. In the box, type in directional blur and search. You’ll see the effect listed below.

From the Effects panel, drag the Directional Blur effect onto your Adjustment Layer.

The Directional Blur effect is what you’ll use to create camera shake in Premiere Pro. To add it to the clip, click and drag the Directional Blur effect onto the Adjustment Layer on your Timeline. Drop it onto the Adjustment Layer, and it will be added.

3. Customize the blur length

Now, let’s customize the length of the Directional Blur effect. With the effect added to your Timeline clip, return to the Window dropdown. This time, choose Effect Controls. The Effect Controls panel opens to the left of the Program Monitor video preview.

Open the Effect Controls and choose a Blur Length of 40 or higher.

At the bottom of the listed options on the Effect Controls panel, find Directional Blur. Notice that the Blur Length defaults to 0.0. Here, choose a higher value. It’s a good idea to use 40, 45, or 50 to add camera shake in Premiere Pro. Keyboard in the value and hit Enter on your keyboard to lock it in.

4. Build blur adjustments frame by frame

You’ve now added Directional Blur to the Adjustment Layer! Now, you’ll want to transform the blur effect into a true camera shake. Begin by going to the Timeline. Zoom in with your cursor, so that you can see individual frames of your clip and Adjustment Layer. Start at the beginning.

Move through the Adjustment Layer frame by frame, trimming between each frame with the Razor Tool.

Now, move through the Adjustment Layer frame by frame. This can be done by pressing the right arrow key on your keyboard. Each time you advance a frame, cut the Adjustment Layer. To do that, use the Razor Tool on the Timeline’s menu bar. In short, you’re chopping the Adjustment Layer into single-frame blocks.

Delete alternating frames of the Adjustment Layer that you’ve trimmed.

Finally, you’ll want to delete alternating portions of the Adjustment Layer. Start with the second frame that you trimmed. Delete the second frame, fourth frame, sixth frame, and so on. In other words, alternate with one frame having the Adjustment Layer and the next having no Adjustment Layer.

5. Place shake effects on the timeline

With the frames deleted, you’ve created a Camera Shake effect. Play it back by moving to the beginning of your Timeline and pressing Play. Watch what happens. The Directional Blur on the Adjustment Layer serves up the illusion of camera shake!

When you add camera shake in Premiere Pro, you’ll see cool effects like this.

All you have to do now is place the camera shake Premiere Pro effects on the Timeline where you want the shake to occur. To do that, simply move the Adjustment Layer clips to a new position.

Move the camera shake Adjustment Layer frames anywhere you want on your Timeline. This controls the start, finish, and duration of your effects.

Want to extend the effect? Simply copy one of the Adjustment Layer frames and paste it onto the Timeline. Repeat this as often as you want. In moments, you’ve created amazing camera shake effects in Adobe Premiere Pro!

How to add camera shake in Premiere Pro with a template

Above, I showed you how to add Premiere Pro camera shake using the Effects panel. It’s a great way to add camera shake! But it’s not your only option. A second choice is to use a premium Envato Elements camera shake template. This way, you can enjoy pre-built effects. All you have to do is drop them onto your existing projects.

Let’s quickly learn how to use a camera shake Premiere Pro preset. Follow along by downloading the template here from Elements.

1. Open a template

Begin once more with Premiere Pro open on your computer. Ensure that a video is in place on your Timeline. And be sure that you have the Project panel still in view. Don’t see it? Bring it back by going to Window > Project.

With your template downloaded, go to the File dropdown menu. It’s at the top of your Premiere Pro screen. From File, choose Open Project from the list of options.

Go to File > Open Project to choose a camera shake Premiere Pro preset to import.

A file browser will appear. Find your downloaded camera shake Premiere Pro preset. It’ll be packaged as a .prproj file. Click to select it, then choose Open. Premiere will import your camera shake video template.

2. Apply the camera shake effects to the timeline

When you import your camera shake Premiere Pro preset, you’re ready to go. Look again in the Project panel. You’ll see the list of imported effects from the template.

Add a Premiere Pro camera shake preset by dragging it to the Timeline and placing it above a video clip.

To add one to your video, click and drag the effect from the Project panel. You’ll see that these template effects are structured as Adjustment Layers. Remember that from the steps we walked through above? To add the effect to your project, simply drop it onto your Timeline right above a video clip.

3. Trim the effects for an exact fit

Last but not least, you’ll want to trim the Adjustment Layer effects to match the length of your video. To do that, return to the Timeline in Premiere Pro. Hover your cursor over the end of the Adjustment Layer. You’ll see a red Crop icon appear.

Click and hold your cursor down. Then, drag the Adjustment Layer to the end of your Timeline video clip. You’ll see it snap into place. Just like that, you’ve trimmed your effect.

Drag the end of the Adjustment Layer preset effects to match the length and duration of the underlying video.

Using camera shake Premiere Pro preset designs helps you save time. You can add camera shake in just a few clicks. Be sure to explore the other included effects in the template to find those that work best for you.

Learn more top Premiere Pro tips & tricks

Learning Adobe Premiere Pro is easy! Sure, it can seem daunting at first. After all, the app has almost unlimited features and tools to work with. But Envato Tuts+ has you covered. We have dozens of helpful tutorials to choose from!

Here are top favorites to elevate your Premiere Pro skills in moments:

Now you know how to add camera shake

In this tutorial, you learned how to add camera shake in Premiere Pro. You have two great options. First, you can use Directional Blur effects in an Adjustment Layer. This gives you precise control over the placement of your camera shake.

Second, you can use a camera shake Premiere Pro preset template. These save you time. Instead of building effects from scratch, you can simply drop them into place. Try both out now!

Post date June 18, 2024

This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Andrew Childress

Why add camera shake Premiere Pro effects?

Unintended camera shake is distracting. But in this tutorial, we'll get creative with edgy and intense effects. Consider these benefits of adding camera shake in Premiere Pro:

✅ Camera shake boosts realism. Camera shake is most common in videos shot handheld. By adding the effects, you give viewers a “you-are-there” feeling. It’s really useful for action videos, like sports scenes.
✅ It makes boring footage more interesting. Sometimes, perfectly stable footage can be too dull. Camera shake boosts intensity and helps to build drama.
✅ You gain greater control by adding shake later. Camera shake is very hard to remove. That means it’s best not to deliberately record shaky footage. You can add the effects with ease - and remove them at will.
✅ It creates a distinct look and feel. Selectively adding camera shake creates a unique mood in a video. Use it over and over, and it helps establish your own visual aesthetic.

As you can see, the benefits of adding camera shake with Premiere Pro are many. Now, let’s get to work learning just how to do it!

How to add camera shake in Premiere Pro with effects

Let’s learn how to add camera shake in Premiere Pro! One of two ways to do that is to use effects. These are built into Premiere Pro. And they work with any piece of video footage.

As we work, you’ll see stock footage in use. It’s sourced from the vast Envato Elements stock video library. Download the clip here if you’d like to follow along.