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QSGQ — How to denoise video in Final Cut Pro

This article was updated on Mar 2024.

These guides are for Neat Video v5 plug-in for Final Cut being used with Final Cut Pro X .

If you use another Neat Video plug-in or another editing application, please select the corresponding quick start guide.

Quick video version of the guide

Detailed step-by-step guide

  1. Installing the plug-in
  2. Running Neat Video on a sample video clip
    2.1. Add the sample clip to the project
    2.2. Add Neat Video effect to the composition
    2.3. Configure Neat Video
    2.4. Render the video

1. Installing the plug-in

  1. Make sure you have started Final Cut at least once before installing the plug-in. If you have not done it yet, start Final Cut and then close it using the Quit  command in Final Cut’s menu.
     
  2. Download the DMG installer of Neat Video for Final Cut:
  • If you already purchased the product and have a current license for the Home or Pro plug-in, please download the corresponding Home or Pro plug-in from My Products page
  • If you want to try Neat Video before purchase, please download the Demo plug-in from  Download page
  1. Double-click the downloaded DMG file to mount the disk image.
     
  2. In the mounted disk image, double-click the Install file to start it.
     
  3. Proceed through the steps of the installation.
    (you may be prompted to enter the Name / Password of the MacOS administrator account).
     
  4. Start Final Cut and find the plug-in: in the panel Effects > Neat Video > Reduce Noise v5 (SR).

If Neat Video has not  become available in Final Cut, please contact  Neat Video support for assistance.

2. Running Neat Video on a sample video clip

Please download the  test-kit prepared to help you start using Neat Video. Having downloaded, please unzip it to a new folder on the hard disk.

The test-kit includes a sample video clip: SampleClip.mp4. This is a typical video clip captured by a digital video camera in high-gain mode. Some technical information about the sample clip is available in the  SampleClipInfo.txt file.

Please start Final Cut and go through the steps below to clean the clip using Neat Video.

2.1. Add the sample clip to the project

1. Adjust the settings of a new sequence in the project or of a new project 
  1. Select File > New > Project... menu item.

 

  1. In the  Browser window select target project and then in the Inspector window on the Info tab press Modify Settings button to open Project Settings  dialog. Select  Format1080pResolution1920x1080 pixelsRate25p. Then click OK in the popup splash screen to apply:



 

2. Add the sample clip file to the project / event

Use the File > Import > Media... menu in Final Cut Pro X to import SampleClip.mp4 file into the target event:



 

3. Add the sample clip to the timeline

Select the sample clip in the target event in the Browser  window and drag-n-drop the clip into the Timeline of the target project:

The Final Cut Pro X preview window will display the sample clip and you will see that there is strong noise in it. The task of Neat Video is to reduce this noise.


 

2.2. Add Neat Video effect to video clip

  1. Select the sample clip in the Timeline window (click the clip there).
  2. Go to the panel Effects > Neat Video > Reduce Noise v5 (SR) and then drag-and-drop the Reduce Noise v5 (SR) effect from that panel to the clip in the timeline.



 

  1. Go to  Inspector panel (in the right part of the FCP window; if closed, you can open it using the menu
    Window > Go To > Inspector), then to its Video  section to find the list of effects added to the clip. You will see that Reduce Noise v5 (SR) is there too.

2.3. Configure Neat Video

1. Open Neat Video plug-in window
  1. In the clip in the  Timeline window, select a frame with large flat featureless areas; the selected frame will be used for noise analysis in the next stages.
  2. Open the Neat Video plug-in window using the Options Window... button;
    (If you run the Demo plug-in, click OK in the popup splash screen of the plug-in to proceed further).




 

The Neat Video plug-in window will open and display the current frame from the clip:




 

2. Build a noise profile for the clip

To reduce noise in this frame and in the whole clip, Neat Video needs a noise profile describing the noise properties of the clip. You can prepare such a profile using the Auto Profile  function:

  1. In the Prepare Noise Profile tab         click    

 

Neat Video will automatically find an area without details and will analyze noise in that area to build a new noise profile:

 
  1. Visually inspect the selected area. It should contain no visible details, only noise; otherwise the noise profile and subsequent noise reduction may be inaccurate.

If the selected area does contain any details, then move the selection to a featureless area or simply draw a new selection in such an area (the selection must be at least 32x32 pixels large). Then click the Build Profile button.

 

  1. After that the noise profile is ready and Neat Video can reduce noise in the clip.


 

3. Check Preview
  • Switch to the  Adjust and Preview tab  

You will notice that Neat Video has already applied noise reduction based on the default filter settings and the preview shows a clearly visible difference: there is less noise than in the original frame.

You can try to adjust the filter settings and see how that affects the results. For example, try to adjust the  Temporal Filter > Radius setting (in the Temporal  tab in the Filter Settings box in the right part of the window) from 2 to 1 or to a higher value. This will apply weaker or stronger temporal noise reduction to the frame (see the user guide for more details).




 

4. Apply the changes
 
  • Click     in the bottom of the plug-in window.

Neat Video will save the current settings and close its main window.
(If you run the Demo plug-in, it will also describe the limitations of the Demo version at this point).

Once this step is completed and Neat Video window is closed, the filter is ready for work.

The preview in Final Cut now shows the clip with noise reduction applied to it:




 

2.4. Render the video

To apply Neat Video noise reduction
  • Use Final Cut controls to render the clip: the menu Modify > Render All.

Final Cut will then apply Neat Video noise reduction to the sample clip to help you evaluate the filtration results (and adjust the filter settings if necessary). You will see that the noise in the resulting clip is significantly reduced while the true details are preserved.

Please see the User Guide for more details about adjusting the filter settings and other aspects of using Neat Video. These  Video Tutorials will also help you to get the most out of Neat Video noise reduction.

Get the full version

Happy with the denoising results provided by Neat Video Demo? Then it is time to get a full license for your current and future projects.