Film Composite video assets are formatted to take advantage of Premiere’s blend mode feature. Here’s a step by step process of how it works.
With your project and timeline open, import the Film Composite asset into your project panel.
Drag and drop the asset directly above your video layer.
All free video assets are 1080p resolution, so if you’re working in a 4K timeline, navigate to the effects controls panel and scale the asset to 200%.
With the asset highlighted, navigate to the Effects Controls panel and change the blend mode using the dropdown menu.
Each film asset specifies which blend mode to use at the end of the file name. Here are a few examples:
After changing the asset’s blend mode, it’ll now be composited with your shot.
To complete the look, apply a LUT or grade to your shot using Lumetri, found in the Effects panel. Alternatively, you can add an adjustment layer above both your shot and the film asset, and apply Lumetri to the entire composite. This method is recommended if you’re applying a retro style grade, as applying the grade to all layers will really tie everything together.
All Film Composite video assets are 10 seconds in duration and seamlessly loopable. If you want to apply an asset to your entire timeline and it exceeds 10 seconds, simply duplicate the asset and align each copy side by side as many times as you need.
You can stack multiple assets on top of a single shot. Be sure to apply the correct blend mode to each asset you add, as listed in its file name.
You’ll notice blend modes in the dropdown menu are grouped together.
Without getting too much into the specifics, blend modes in the same group use different calculations or formulas but apply similar overall results.
This means you can use other blend modes than what’s listed in the file name, if it’s part of the same blend mode group.
Here’s an example:
This asset uses the blend mode Overlay. But alternatively, I can use any blend mode from the same category:
For film grain, I like to use Soft Light for a more subtle look. Linear Light is also a good alternative for a very intense application of film grain. When using Linear Light, I like turn down the opacity to around 30-40%.
Here’s a quick cheat sheet for good alternatives to the listed blend mode:
Compositing Film Composite image assets with your photography in Adobe Photoshop is a very straightforward process. Film Composite image assets are formatted to take advantage of Photoshop's blend mode feature. All you need to do is change the blend mode of the asset and you're done.
Open your photograph in Photoshop and drag and drop the asset you want to composite directly on top. You can scale and rotate the asset to fit your photograph.
With the film asset layer selected, use the blend mode dropdown menu to change the blend mode.
Each film asset specifies which blend mode to use at the end of the file name. Here are a few examples:
After changing the asset’s blend mode, it’ll now be composited with your photo.
To lower the intensity of the film effect, select the asset layer and use the opacity slider to lower the layer opacity.
After you’ve tweaked the intensity, you can apply color adjustments either directly to your photo or above all of your layers.
You’ll notice blend modes in the dropdown menu are grouped together.
Without getting too much into the specifics, blend modes in the same group use different calculations or formulas but apply similar overall results.
This means you can use other blend modes than what’s listed in the file name, if it’s part of the same blend mode group.
Here’s an example:
This asset uses the blend mode Screen. But alternatively, I can use any blend mode from the same category:
For assets that use the blend mode Screen, I like to use Color Dodge (Add) for a more intense look.
Another example is film grain. All of our film grain assets use the blend mode Overlay. Here are all of the blend modes in that same group:
For film grain, I like to use Soft Light for a more subtle look. Linear Light is also a good alternative for a very intense application of film grain. When using Linear Light, I like turn down the opacity to around 30-40%.
Finding the right blend mode depends on the asset used and your photograph. Simply try out all of the blend modes within a given group to see which blend mode works best. And when in doubt, using the blend mode listed in the file name should give you great results.
Here’s a quick cheat sheet for good alternatives to the listed blend mode:
An invert effect can be applied directly to Film Composite assets. This is helpful for inverting the colors of a specific effect. For example, dark dirt and dust can be inverted to light dirt and dust.
To invert, select the layer and use the keyboard shortcut command+i (Mac) or control+i (Windows). Alternatively you can find this effect in the top menu bar: Image > Adjustments > Invert
When applying an invert effect, you now need to apply the inverse blend mode. For example if the asset you’re using lists the blend mode as Screen, you now have to use the inverse blend mode of Screen, which is Multiply.
Here are the two main groups of blends modes you’ll encounter with assets and their respective inverse counterparts.
But there’s an exception! Contrast Blend Modes.
Some Film Composite assets use contrast blend modes. Some examples of this are Overlay and Hard Light. Here’s a complete list of contrast blend modes:
If the asset lists one of these blend modes in its file name, you don’t have to adjust the blend mode after applying an invert effect. For example:
This asset uses Hard Light, which is part of the contrast blend mode group listed above. So if you apply an invert effect to this asset, you can continue using Hard Light as the blend mode.
