Adding a filter (any filter) makes image blurry

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Adding a filter (any filter) makes image blurry

I've seen similar questions about this problem with Motion 5, right back to 2018 and 2019. Now in 2023 and in latest Motion 5.6.4 this problem persists.

I've got a very high res map image (from Photoshop) placed into a Motion project. It looks super sharp in the viewport... until I add a filter... a color filter, an effect filter, and yes a blur filter (but with the blur set to 0), the nice sharp image goes blurry.

I've tried to trouble shoot this, but can't seem to solve it. It seems, as other users have speculated for years, to be a Motion 5 bug... a bug that hasn't been fixed in version after version.

Apple Motion team, please - can you look into this?

Here a frame with a simple Color Wheels filter added - note how blurry that image looks

And then there is a frame from the map image with no filter added. Nice and sharp.

It's unknown if anyone from Apple ever reads these things (feels like a black hole of zero acknowledgement) but PLEASE fix this Apple Motion team.

I love Motion but this is, and has been, a frustrating bug for a long, long time.

Mac Studio (2023)

Posted on Sep 22, 2023 7:49 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

fox_m

Level 6

13,360 points

Sep 22, 2023 8:54 AM in response to jonathanhowells

All filters, basically, **rasterize** any image (everything, actually) they are attached to.

Try applying the filter to a Group containing the image. Your "Map" group would be a good start.

If that doesn't work, try setting up your project size to be the same as the image size.

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Answer 2

fox_m

Level 6

13,360 points

Sep 22, 2023 10:54 AM in response to jonathanhowells

Try using clones of the original (select the original and type "k"). Each clone must be made from the original - never clone a clone (there are exceptions to this rule - but very few!). The original should be full size (select it in the layers list and *check* that the Scale is 100%!), regardless of project size. [Depending on your Preferences settings, Motion will scale images to fit your project size.] You can scale clones as needed. You can actually turn off the visibility of the original once your clones are established.

There are sharpen filters available, if needed - I recommend Unsharp Mask as you're likely to get the best results and more easily... but only if you need it.

One of the other things you need to pay attention to is the Canvas View settings. On a Mac with a 4k or 5k retina display, a 1080 project is rather small at 100%. Setting Fit as the default usually results in a scaling of 175% or so to fit the video in the Motion UI window.

If you're building this project to be used in Final Cut, try viewing the results of your efforts in a Final Cut project (you can save your project as a Generator.)

If your original Map's height is near 2160, create a 4K project instead. It will be easier to work with in Motion at that resolution.

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Answer 3

Sep 22, 2023 10:23 AM in response to fox_m

Hi fox_m,

Thanks for your reply. Appreciate it.

Right, I wondered if it might be a rasterizing thing, but it shouldn't blur the image in the process of

The same thing happens when I move the filter up to the Map group... same blurring.

I did some tests after I wrote my note above, and made the image 1920px wide, and added to a 1920x1080 project and that actually did keep things sharp.

Trouble is, I kinda need to move closer to the map image, as the animation unfolds... so I do need it to be really high res, to allow for that.

But I also need my final export to be 1920 x 1080 for delivery, so I can't really have the project be the same resolution as the image, nor can I have the image the same resolution as the project... because I can't really zoom in far, or it will look soft, for a different (low-res) reason.

I'll continue to try different things...

I do think you are right however, that the disparity of image resolution and project resolution is the culprit here, but that shouldn't cause this blurring problem. That's never an issue in After Effects, for example, so something that the Apple Motion team need to take a look at.

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Answer 4

Sep 22, 2023 11:27 AM in response to fox_m

Hmm, that's an interesting suggestion, clones. Will try that.

And thanks for reiterating the importance of 1:1 scale. I may be guilty of having various scales as my images are usually higher rez than the project settings (again, so I can zoom in closer to maps, for example). But will look at this.

And will look at a 4K rez as well, but again, I need to export ProRes422 at in HD at 1920x1080, so setting up in 4K will make that tricky - would have to then run the exports through Adobe Media Converted to get them from 4K to HD for our broadcast delivery. It would be good if Motion could export at a different rez than the project settings.

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Adding a filter (any filter) makes image blurry

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