Ever since my first day as a professional porn video editor I have been blurring faces in porn on a daily basis.  Being able to use Premiere Pro to hide the identity of an adult video performer, passer-by or brand logo has been an integral part of my job.

Sometimes blurring a face can be the most time consuming part of the editing process.  Depending on how often a face appears in the frame will depend on how long the edit will take.  The other major factor is how much the face moves.  If the face that I am blurring remains as still as possible, it can reduce the time it takes to blur dramatically, but if the face is moving around a lot, then I have to keyframe blur, which can be very time consuming indeed.

Most video editing software has the capability of face tracking that in theory should make face blurring very easy, but if the face moves out of the frame or something moves in front of the face, it can confuse the software and throw the blur out of position.  This means that it is more efficient to just face blur manually.

It’s not just faces that I need to blur when I edit porn videos.  I also have to blur brand logos.  A lot of porn performers like to wear branded underwear or branded sportswear.  This needs to be blurred as well as other labels found on things such as handbags, mobile phones and footwear.

I use Premiere Pro to blur faces and logos.  The gaussian blur is the tool of choice when blurring in Premiere Pro Creative Cloud.  I like to use a large amount of feather so that the edge of the blur is not visible and makes it look subtle.

The most popular porn that I need to blur faces and logos on are the Fake Taxi porn videos.  Fake Taxi is famous for having a driver that has his face blurred.  But due to the fact that he is driving around the streets of Europe, I also need to make sure that any car licence plates and car badges are also blurred as he drives past them.

My moto is ‘if in doubt, blur it out’.