Step-by-step

Create a cinematic look

1 Import assets

Choose File>new>event. Browse to import our video/audio clips. Click ‘Import Selected’. Add Clip01. This tilt and pan establishes the location and the protagonist.

2 Selective blur

Add Clip02 to the timeline. We shot this clip using the iphone 13 Pro Max’s Cinematic mode. It kept the protagonist in focus while adding a bokeh blur to the background.

3 Pull focus

Add Clip03 to the timeline. When shooting this clip, the camera focussed on foreground wall. As we panned it to the antenna, it automatically pulled focus to that.

4 Convert HDR

Add Clip 04s. To make this HDR clip viewable, go to the Effects’ ‘Color’ section. Drag ‘HDR Tools’ onto the clip. In the Video Inspector, set Mode to HLG to Rec. 709 SDR.

5 Cinematic mode

In the Video Inspector, tick the ‘Cinematic’ box to add background blur. Keep Depth of Field set to 2.0. There’s a glitch in the pull focus when the man leaves.

6 Fine-tune focus

Click the Cinematic panel’s camera icon. An autofocus tracking icon follows the man’s face. Before he leaves the frame, click on the building to manually pull focus to it.

7 Trim and dip

Use Clip06’s volume slider to remove extra noise. Trim the start and end of the clip to tighten the pace. Add the ‘Music’ track to link the clips together.

8 Add title

Add Clips05-07 to finish. From the Titles, drag ‘Knock Out’ onto the end of the last clip. Edit the text in the Title Inspector. Use a ‘Cross Dissolve’ to fade the clip to black.

9 Vignette effect

Go to the Effects browser (cmd+5). Click on ‘Stylize’, and drag ‘Vignette’ on Clip01. Tweak the Vignette properties in the Inspector to darken the corners.