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theabortionator
April, 2025

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How can I obtain this VHS effect and what are some workarounds? Has anyone tried something similar?

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qazwsxedc34
Posts: 2955 - Karma: 2,135
All the After Effects plugins and Final Cut Pro x plugins look horrific and artificial. Has anyone

used a capture card and recorded the footage onto a VHS tape, via video cassette recorder?

Has anyone been able to successfully do this? This video has that old 90’s look yet it is still

HD and looks clear. Would it be as simple as taking two identical pieces of footage and slightly

lowering the opacity on one of them to replicate this after recapturing it back?? I’m not sure

how this was done?




11 years ago
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El_Barto.
Posts: 11661 - Karma: 24,358
-k
11 years ago
0 8
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qazwsxedc34
Posts: 2955 - Karma: 2,135
k
11 years ago
0 0
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,634
That is not what VHS's looked like.
11 years ago
2 0
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qazwsxedc34
Posts: 2955 - Karma: 2,135
That’s because it’s full HD.


I’m looking for something like this, however the subject in the frame will be the HD footage. So i’ll have to feather the subject and use the magnetic lasso tool. Place the subject over VHS footage.


11 years ago
1 0
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m-tang
Posts: 340 - Karma: 97
Might get a better response if you put this in M&A...
11 years ago
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Dr.Dickless
Posts: 2620 - Karma: 1,392
Why would you want that VHS look? It's just grainy and terrible, and this should go in the media and arts forum
11 years ago
0 0
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ChillTeenDad420
Posts: 1858 - Karma: 5,512
heres what you do
>film in hd
>edit endlessly until perfect
>render
>burn dvd
>put in dvd player connected to old ass tube tv from the 80's somehow
>simultaneously record with vcr connected to the same tv OR record tv with old ass vhs camera
>take vcr tape with recorded edit on it
>put in vcr to digital converter
>back where you started but with shitty vcr quality

that was all bullshit but it might be accidentally genius and work
11 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
That might possibly be one of the worst looking effect's I've ever seen.

Just don't.

If you are desperate to make your footage look like an old skateboard edit get a Sony VX1000/2000/2100.
11 years ago
3 1
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Superduploman
Posts: 227 - Karma: 505
There's a blur effect in fcp that does this, it makes a red and blue layer with less opacity on top of the video.
You can manually duplicate the layer and make one blue, one red and one green, lower the opacity and move them a couple of pixels apart. Then render it (or merge if possible) and put slight film grain over it and a slight ghost delay (so the frames blend and echo).
Then you should make it a little bit grayscale (just a little bit). Finally i'd make the reds and blue more vibrant.

I haven't done this but i think this should get you somewhat close to the vhs look
11 years ago
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freestyler540
Posts: 13220 - Karma: 20,277
tone down the production quality with this
11 years ago
0 0
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Superduploman
Posts: 227 - Karma: 505
Isn't that basically the whole purpose of making it look like a VHS, less production quality? I'm not talking 100% film grain and a 30 second long 70frame echoing. Just a little to decrease the quality but still keeping the sharp quality of a dslr
11 years ago
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lIllI
Posts: 1255 - Karma: 1,986
I know exactly how they did this, as there are numerous articles on the process if you just Google it.

Also, clarity is not necessarily better. I agree that unintelligently degrading footage is tacky, but this was done using a genuine process. The RZA, along with many respected artists, do the same thing with their tracks.
11 years ago
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qazwsxedc34
Posts: 2955 - Karma: 2,135
Yes, it's a very calculated process. It's harder to make something look shitty than it is to make it look nice. I just wanted to know the process in reocrding digital footage onto a VHS, via VCR and then back to say Final Cut Pro,






I'm just experimenting, that's all.
11 years ago
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freestyler540
Posts: 13220 - Karma: 20,277
Grain quality is a shame as it looks like an analog picture. Your recommendations are very accurate. I was suggesting to decrease the resolution and have skipping frames to finish the look.
11 years ago
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