VSDC 8.1 has brought curve lines to the graphic object toolbar, and it opens a lot of new possibilities for video creators.

You can use curve lines in your videos to outline objects, underline text, and even create beautiful animations. In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through the following:

• How to create a curve line in a video
• How to fill a curve line with a gradient
• How to use a curve line as a movement trajectory
• How to wrap text around a curve line
• How to make a curve line move in a video

After mastering all of these techniques, you'll be able to create incredible results by combining them with other effects or layering these lines on top of each other. For instance, check out our video below on how to create the Stream of Light Effect, or download the project file and start experimenting yourself. The possibilities are endless!

Without further ado, let’s get started.

How to add a curve line to the scene

To get started, create a new project and select Curve line from the toolbar (at the top or on the left). Then click OK in the pop-up window to confirm the default settings.

Like free shapes, curve lines consist of control points and splines. To start drawing the line, place two or more control points on the scene with mouse clicks.

To turn straight lines into smooth splines, select any control point, press and hold the Ctrl key and start dragging the point to the side. Two vectors will appear from the control point: red and green. Use them to continue fine-tuning the shape of the curve line until you achieve the desired look.

In the following sections, we’ll talk about curve line settings, and show you how to turn a curve line into a beautiful graphic object or animation.

To access the settings menu, double-click on the curve line layer and head over to the Properties window. There are two groups of settings available: Common settings and Curve line settings.

Common settings allow you to rename the object on the timeline, set up the exact time when the curve line will appear on the screen, and define how long it will remain in the video. You can also use this group of settings to adjust the position coordinates of the curve line on the screen.

Curve line settings allow you to set the thickness and the color of the line, choose fill type, create animation, and customize the object.

Let’s review the parameters from this group one by one.

Curve line settings

The first group of parameters allows you to adjust the basic characteristics of the curve line: its color, thickness, and fill type.

Pen

There are 5 fill types available under the Pen menu:

• Solid
• Gradient
• Point gradient
• Image pattern
• Path mode

Depending on the selected mode, you’ll be able to set up additional parameters. Let’s walk you through the settings of each mode.

Solid

Solid means solid color fill of the curve line. In this mode, you can select the fill color and the thickness of the line. Note that you can set the difference between the Initial and Final values, which means that the line will be getting thicker or thinner during the playback.

Gradient

Gradient mode creates a simple gradient fill between the first and the last points. For this mode, you can either select two colors or use one of the patterns from the Gradient settings menu.

Point gradient

The next mode is called Point gradient, and it creates a multicolor gradient fill by assigning individual colors to each control point.

In this mode, you need to select the desired control point, then click Add parameters, and proceed to Pen gradient settings.

From there, you can pick a color for the control point, adjust its weight (the spread of the color assigned to the point) and the opacity of the adjacent area.

Image pattern

The Image pattern mode allows you to import an image to the program and use it as a pattern to fill the curve line. We recommend using small PNG images with transparent backgrounds, however, it’s not a requirement. This is what the result looks like:

In this mode, you can also adjust the starting position and the visible length of the pattern. If you start changing these parameters, the image pattern will be disappearing from the start of the curve line or its end accordingly.

Path mode

Finally, the Path mode is designed to turn curve lines into movement paths. If you select this mode, the curve line will be invisible on the scene and serve as a trajectory for a moving object.

Here is how to use this mode.

Go back to the main timeline tab and make a right mouse-click on the curve line, then select Convert to movement path. In the conversion pop-up window click OK to confirm the default settings.

Once you convert the curve line into a movement path, select the Movement layer on the timeline and copy it:

Then go back to the main timeline tab and import or create the object you want to animate. For our example, we’ll be using a small image. Make a double-click on that object and paste the movement layer to the timeline. This is what the result will look like (remember that the curve line will be invisible in this mode):

Note that if you go back to the curve line settings, you can adjust the parameters named Starting position and Visible length. They define the point from the start of the line where the object starts moving and the point before the end of the line where the object stops. For example, if you set Starting point at 25%, the object will start moving 25% down the line; if you set Visible length at 25%, the object will stop moving 25% before the end of the line.

How to wrap text around a curve line

The Path mode also allows for wrapping text around the curve line while maintaining the line invisible. Here is how it works.

Make sure you’ve selected Path mode in the dropdown menu first, then go back to the main timeline tab and add a text object.

Make a double-click on the text object and go to the Properties window; open Binding to path options and select the curve line you created earlier. Your text will adjust accordingly:

Note that the original text object is only visible in the editing mode. As soon as you activate the playback, it will disappear.

There are a couple more parameters you can use to adjust the appearance of the wrapped text:

Mode allows you to place the text above, in the center, or below the curve line.

Stretch to length allows you to stretch the text to the length of the line or keep the original length.

Clipping allows you to create a clipping mask using the original text object frame.

Approximation allows you to smooth text curves.

How to animate curve lines

In the last section of this tutorial, we’ll show you how to animate curve lines. To do that, you’ll be using three parameters:

• Direction (clockwise or counterclockwise)
• Starting position
• Visible length

Let’s start with the basic concepts.

Starting position defines the point on the line where the fill starts being visible. Visible length defines the percentage of the line that is visible. For example, if you set 20% for the former and 70% for the latter, the gradient fill will not cover the first 20% and the last 30% of the line:

If you leave these settings as is, the curve line will remain still. However, if you expand the menus and set the Initial and Final values, you can create animation. For example, if you set the Initial value for Starting position at 0% and the Final value for Starting position at 50%, the fill will be slowly disappearing during the playback:

You’ll get a similar result if you set the following parameters for Visible length:

• Initial value: 100%
• Final value: 0%

The only difference is that the fill will be disappearing from the end of the curve line:

Finally, you can play around with the settings and select the desired values for both parameters. For example, you can create an effect of a moving line by setting the Visible length at 10% and the Starting point at 0;100%:

Note that if your curve line is closed, the movement will continue for as long as the curve line object is visible on the screen.

Curve lines are already available in the free version of VSDC

Now you know everything to get started with curve lines. Go ahead and try adding them to your videos! Curves are available in the free version of VSDC unless you choose to use a non-linear parameter change mode for the initial-final value change.

Got any questions? Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Facebook DM and Twitter.

Download VSDC Free Video Editor

Tracking point is a tool that allows you to apply movement to coordinate-based effects in VSDC, such as Lens flare, God rays, Shattered glass, Text animation, and many more (at the end of this tutorial, you’ll find the complete list of effects you can animate). With tracking points, you can easily create a custom movement trajectory and pin the desired effects to it. As a result, the effect will move along the trajectory at the speed of your choice.

Below, we’ll walk you through the steps of setting up a tracking point and show you examples of what you can achieve with it. Feel free to watch the video below to see how different effects look when bound with tracking points.

Download the latest version of VSDC

Step 1. Import your content

To get started, import your footage to the editor using the Import content option on the start screen. Then place the playhead on the timeline, where the animation should start.

Step 2. Add a tracking point to the scene

Go to the left-side toolbar and select Tracking point. Then click on the scene to indicate the starting point for the movement trajectory.

Step 3. Сreate a movement trajectory

Double-click on the tracking point block on the timeline and go back to the left-side toolbar to select the Movement tool. Then create a movement trajectory using vectors.

If you’ve never used the Movement tool in VSDC, and you need a more in-depth walkthrough, read this tutorial. Keep in mind that you can also apply ready-made movement trajectories created via the Motion tracking module.

Step 4. Select an effect to bind with the tracking point

Now that the path for the tracking point is ready, it’s time to select the effect you want to bind with it. Go back to the main timeline tab, select your footage, then open the Video effects menu and choose one of the effects eligible for binding. Here is a list of those effects:

1. Motion Blur (Filters)
2. Shattered glass (Transitions)
3. Lens flare (Nature)
4. Bokeh glare (Nature)
5. God rays (Nature)
6. Shadow (Nature)
7. Distort (Transforms)

For our example, we’ll use Lens flare.

Step 5. Bind the effect coordinates with the tracking point

Once you’ve applied the effect to the footage, make a right mouse-click on it and select Properties. In the Properties window, find the following settings:

1. Center coordinate type -> Tracking point
2. Tracking point binding -> Select the tracking point you created earlier

Then activate the Preview mode to see what the result looks like. The effects should be moving along the trajectory you’ve created:

Notice that even after applying the effect, you can change the movement trajectory by going back to the Tracking point tab and adjusting the movement vectors. You can also speed up or slow down the movement by shifting the yellow control points on the timeline.

Binding several effects with the same tracking point

Now that you have an idea of how tracking points work, you can create unique animations by binding several effects together. There are no rules for which effects to combine, so feel free to experiment with the options listed at the end of the article.

To bind an additional effect with the tracking point, apply it to the main footage first. Then open the Properties window and find the parameter defining the type of coordinates (it might have a slightly different name for different effects). Select Tracking point and apply “binding” using the same approach we described earlier.

Here is an example of the Lens flare effect combined with the Fish eye effect:

If you have a text object in your video, such as a title, you can bind it with the tracking point or with another effect as well. All you have to do is apply the Text Shift Position effect to the text, then move to the Properties window, find Initial glyph position, and select Tracking point; then apply the binding.

As a result, the text will be appearing on the screen, letter by letter, coming from the tracking point, as illustrated below:

List of coordinate-based effects you can animate with tracking points

Only few effects in VSDC can be bound with tracking points. To help you identify these effects as well as the binding settings, we’ve put together a table. Consider checking it out before applying this animation type.

Got any questions? Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or tweet us at Flashintegro.

DOWNLOAD FREE NOW

Motion blur effect often occurs naturally, both in photos and videos, when objects are moving faster than a camera can capture. It’s especially common if you’re shooting at a low frame rate. However, you may want to intentionally add motion blur to your video, and there are several ways to do that during post-production.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to make a motion blur video effect using VSDC, a free video editor for Windows.

DOWNLOAD VSDC FREE VIDEO EDITOR

It’s an easy effect that will take you a few minutes, and you’ll be able to adjust it to your needs – for instance, by changing the motion type or fine-tuning blur levels. More so, you can apply the effect to the entire video, selected frames, or added graphics including text, shapes, or images.

But before we move on, let’s answer one important question.

What will the result look like?

Motion blur effect is a broad term, so it can be perceived differently. Some creators expect a video with a blurred background and an object that remains in focus. Others expect a visible motion trail created by the object’s movement – this effect is also known as a visual echo effect.

In this tutorial, we’re covering the first example of motion blur. If you’d like to learn how to make a visual echo effect, read this guide instead.

Now that we’ve sorted that out, let's get started!

Step 1. Upload your video to VSDC

To get started, launch VSDC on your computer and import your video into the program. You can either use the Import content button on the start screen or create a blank project and drag the footage to the scene.

Now, if you want to apply the effect to the entire video, move on to step 2. If you want to apply it to a fragment, use the razor icon at the top (or press Ctrl + K) to split the video and separate the desired fragment.

Step 2. Apply the motion blur effect

Select the video on the timeline, then open the Video effects menu, proceed to Filters, and select Motion blur.

In the next sections we’ll show you the difference between three motion blur presets and explain how to adjust their looks.

Select the motion blur preset for your video

Once you’ve applied the effect, it will open in the second tab on the timeline. From there, you’ll be able to adjust the appearance of motion blur using the Properties window. If you struggle to find the Properties window, make a right mouse-click on the effect, and select Properties – the corresponding window will slide in from the right.

In the settings, you can select one of the three motion types available:

• Linear motion
• Radial motion
• Zoom motion

Based on the name of these presets, you can probably assume what they look like. Linear motion is the motion in straight lines; radial motion is the circular motion around the center of the effect; zoom motion is the motion in the background of the object that’s zoomed in and appears slightly more in focus.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a quick demo:

Adjust the settings

Each motion type has slightly different settings, but essentially, there are two things you can change: distance and angle. The former defines the length of blur streaks, and the latter defines their angle. For example, if you select linear motion, you can adjust both, blur distance and blur angle. If you select zoom motion, you can only adjust blur distance, and if you select radial motion, you can only adjust blur angle:

Notice that you can move the center of the effect by dragging the crosshair around the scene and thus control the area that stays in focus.

Pro tip: you can also make the effect increase or decrease over time. If you expand the blur angle or blur distance menu, you’ll be able to set the initial and final values for these controls. For example, if you set the final value higher than the initial value, the video will be getting blurrier over time. This approach might work well for transitions, intros, and outros.

Step 3. Export your video

When you’re done, open the Export project tab and select the platform where you intend to use your video; then hit Export. For example, if you’re planning to publish it on YouTube, select Web —> YouTube. To change the video quality or other parameters, use the Edit profile menu under the preview window.

Bonus: how to add motion blur to text in a video

Before we wrap up this tutorial, let’s see an example of motion blur applied to text in a video. You can use this effect to create a stylish title intro or artistic captions.

Once you’ve added text to your video, select it on the timeline and apply the motion blur effect following the steps we described earlier. Since added text objects are static per se, we recommend either adding movement to the text or setting different initial and final values for the effect, as demonstrated below:

In the same manner, you can apply motion blur to any other added graphics in your video including images, shapes, and icons.

Wrapping up

There are a few reasons why you might want to use a motion blur effect in your videos. First, motion blur can help you create a sense of action and emphasize fast movement – whether it’s the movement of the object in your video or the background. Second, zoom motion is an excellent way to drive the viewers’ attention to the object in focus. Finally, blurring the video is a popular artistic approach used to convey a sense of drama or excitement, especially when transitioning between scenes.

With VSDC, you can add motion blur to your videos within minutes. Give it a try and explore other tools and effects this software brings at zero cost.

DOWNLOAD VSDC VIDEO EDITOR

The video echo effect can help you visualize a trail of movement in a video where it wasn’t originally present. You can think of it as an imitation of the long exposure effect or an unnaturally fast object movement.

Want to know how to make this effect within minutes using VSDC Video Editor? Then check out the tutorial below.

Download VSDC Free Video Editor

Step 1. Upload your video to the editor

Launch VSDC on your computer and upload your video using the Import content option on the start screen or by dragging the file directly to the scene.

Step 2. Convert the video into a sprite and activate the Echo filter

In VSDC, the Echo filter is only available under the sprite properties menu, so you’ll need to convert the video into a sprite first. You can either use the Ctrl + P hotkey combination or make a right-button mouse click on the file and select Convert to sprite.

Once ready, go to the Properties window on the right and select the following options:

• Use as container – No
• Show effects – Yes
• Fill background – No
• Use echo filter – True

Activate the video preview to see what the default visual echo filter looks like:

In the next section, we’ll walk you through the filter settings and show how to use them to adjust the effect.

Step 3. Adjust the visual echo effect

To produce the echo effect, the software stacks frames from different times into a single layer and gradually fades the trail as new frames appear. As a creator, you can change the number of remaining visible frames and the way they blend on the screen.

Echo strength

Echo strength affects the speed of trail fading. The higher this value is, the stronger the echo effect appears: for example, at 100, there’s no fading and each frame is visible until the moving object reaches the end of the screen.

Notice that you can expand the Echo strength parameter and set the initial and final values to be different – so the effect increases or decreases over time.

Blending mode

Blending modes define the way the frames are blended, and therefore – the way the effect looks.

Three blending modes are available for the echo filter:

• Overlay – each new frame is overlaid on the previous one; this mode produces the mildest visual effect
• Streak – the values of the current and the previous frames are maximized; this mode produces the strongest visual effect
• Blur – the current and the previous frames are mixed based on the alpha channel; this mode produces a smearing echo effect

Here is how different blending modes work for the same video, at the same echo filter strength:

The first two modes are optimal for video effects and videos with transparent backgrounds. The third mode is optimal for non-transparent videos featuring moving objects.

Pro tip: you can apply the echo filter to any of the VSDC effects that include moving objects. Such effects are Particles, Raindrops, or even the Shadow effect when it’s pinned to a moving object.

However, for the filter to work, the effect must be a part of the sprite, too.

Echo filter is available in VSDC, starting with version 7.2

Visual echo is a simple and beautiful effect that will look great in music videos as well as sci-fi shorts. And the best part? It’s available in the free version of VSDC Video Editor. Download it to your PC and try it for yourself! If you have any questions, feel free to email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or tweet us at @Flashintegro.

DOWNLOAD FREE NOW