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How to Remove Video Noise / Grain in Final Cut Pro

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Dealing with video noise and grain is a common issue, especially when shooting in low-light conditions or using high ISO settings. Whether you're looking for a free tool or a paid plugin to reduce video grain and remove noise from video, this guide will walk you through both approaches in Final Cut Pro. We'll cover built-in solutions and advanced third-party plugins like Neat Video, a highly effective denoiser plugin.

Same-same, but very different. Different Types of Video Noise

When addressing how to remove noise from video, it's essential to understand the two main types of noise that can affect your footage:

  1. Visible Noise and Grain:
    Visible noise appears as random speckles or distortion across your video. This is common in low-light video footage, video taken with high ISO settings or on a camera with a small sensor, etc. There are different forms of visual noise:
    • Luminance Noise: This type of grain shows up as black-and-white speckles in your video.
    • Chrominance Noise: These are color speckles (red, green, or blue) that often appear in areas with low contrast.
  2. Audio Noise:
    While this article focuses on reducing visible noise in video, audio noise refers to unwanted sounds, like hums or background interference, which can be fixed using separate audio editing tools in Final Cut Pro.

Why Does Video Noise and Grain Occur?

Understanding why grainy footage happens can help you avoid it in the future. Here are the primary reasons:

  • Low Light Conditions:
    Shooting in low light forces the camera sensor to work harder, often leading to visible noise and grain in the video.
    How to Avoid:
    • Ensure you have adequate lighting during shooting.
    • Use cameras with better low-light performance to reduce grain in video footage.
       
  • High ISO Settings:
    Increasing the ISO in your camera makes it more sensitive to light, but also increases the likelihood of video noise.
    How to Avoid:
    • Keep your ISO as low as possible to prevent introducing grainy footage.
    • If necessary, adjust the aperture and shutter speed instead of relying on high ISO.
       
  • Small Sensor Cameras:
    Cameras with smaller sensors, such as smartphones, are more prone to video noise , especially in poor lighting conditions.
     
  • Compression Artifacts:
    Heavily compressed video formats can introduce noise and blocky artifacts, which can degrade the overall quality.
    How to Avoid:
    • Use high-quality settings and avoid heavy compression when exporting videos to minimize noise.

How to fix grainy video: Free and paid options

Using Final Cut Pro’s Built-in Noise Reduction

If you're looking for a free tool to reduce noise in video, Final Cut Pro offers a built-in noise reduction effect. This option works well for moderate video grain issues.

  1. Import your clip: Open Final Cut Pro and select the clip with grainy footage.
  2. Access the Inspector: In the Inspector panel, navigate to the Effects Browser.
  3. Add the Noise Reduction effect: Search for Noise Reduction in the Effects Browser and apply it to your clip.

    Final Cut window Effects > Basics > Noise Reduction

     
  4. Adjust settings: Fine-tune the Amount control to set how much noise reduction is applied. There is no way though to distinguish between noise in the Luminance and Chrominance channels, so the noise will be reduced in all channels at the same rate. You also won’t be able to choose between Spatial or Temporal noise reduction types.

    Final Cut window with Noise reduction amount selection

     
  5. Preview the results: Play the video back to ensure that the noise reduction has cleaned up the grainy footage without losing too much detail.

This built-in tool is effective for minor noise issues, but for severe cases, you may want to look at a more sophisticated filter like Neat Video.

Using Neat Video Denoiser Plugin

For professional-grade results in removing noise from video, the Neat Video plugin is one of the best solutions available. This denoise software provides more control and better quality when reducing video grain, especially for low-light video.

  1. Apply the Effect: In the Effects panel, locate Neat Video under Video Effects and apply it to your clip.

    Applying Neat Video plugin to a clip in Final Cut: Effects > Neat Video > Reduce Noise v5 (SR) > Drag and drop

     
  2. Open Neat Video Interface: In the Inspector, click the Options button to open Neat Video’s settings.

    Click Options button to open Neat Video's (Reduce Noise) window

     
  3. Build a Noise Profile: Select a noisy frame and click Auto Profile to analyze and build a noise profile for your clip. You can also use the Generic Profile option that works no matter how much details you have in your frame. Just make sure you adjust it to suit your particular clip. Check out this tutorial to learn more.

    Click Auto Profile button in Neat Video to build a noise profile

     
  4. Fine-tune the Filter:
    1. Switch to the Adjust and Preview tab and adjust the Noise Level settings to find the perfect spot for removing enough video noise and keeping the video look natural and sharp.
    2. Optionally (and for the best possible noise and flicker reduction) go through all or some steps of the Filter Settings Check.

      Filter Settings Check tool in Neat Video with options: Noise Level Check, Local Flicker Check, Repeated Frames Check and Spatial Filter Tuning option

       
    3. To finish off the denoising you can adjust the Artifact Removal settings
    4. and enable and tweak the Sharpening feature.

      Sharpening tool settings in Neat Video

       
  5. Preview and Apply: Preview your results, then click Apply to return to Final Cut Pro.
  6. Render the Video (Optional): Since removing video noise is a resource-demanding process, you may need to wait for the video to render before seeing the final result.

Choosing the Right Solution for Reducing Video Noise

  • Use Final Cut Pro’s noise reduction tool if you want a free method to reduce video grain and only need moderate adjustments.
  • Opt for Neat Video if you need more advanced video noise removal and are dealing with severely grainy video footage. It's an ideal choice for professionals or those working with low-light videos.

Conclusion

Both free and paid options are available for removing video noise in Final Cut Pro. The built-in noise reduction tool offers a quick and easy solution, while Neat Video delivers professional results for severely grainy footage. Depending on your needs and the severity of the noise, you can choose the method that works best for your project.

By understanding the causes of grainy footage, such as low-light conditions or high ISO settings, you can prevent noise in future shoots. Meanwhile, if noise still creeps into your video, you now have the tools to clean it up effectively.