Give your video a film look
Open a clip in your browser and run it through Portra 400, Vision3 500T or Tri-X 400. The grain moves from frame to frame, bright lights can glow, and you save an MP4 with the sound. Nothing is uploaded or installed, and the file has no watermark.
The same clip in every band, each through another film.
Clip: Alexis B / Pexels.
One clip, six films
Choose a film and the clip keeps playing from the same moment. Grain is at 34 so it shows at this size. These six and two others are free; Pro adds the rest of the 39 profiles.
The flowers lean orange and the greens turn olive.
Each film on four photographs: Portra 400, Gold 200, Vision3 500T, Kodachrome 64, Velvia 100, Tri-X 400
Halation: a warm glow around bright lights
Strong light passes through film, bounces off the back and returns as a warm halo around lamps and neon. A digital sensor does not do this. Halation draws that glow on every frame, around the lights as they move.
Left of the line: Vision3 500T with Halation at 60, radius 1.5. Right of the line: as shot. What halation is
Clip: PNW Production / Pexels.
Grain that changes every frame
Every frame of film has its own grain, so on screen it never stands still. A grain overlay that stays still looks like a dirty screen, and a short looped one shows its repeat. Photonica develops new grain for each frame of your clip.
Shown at twice the size. Left: one grain held still. Right: new grain every frame. Portra 400 with Grain at 60, Grain size 1. More on film grain
Vertical clips for Reels and TikTok
A clip keeps its own shape, vertical, square or wide, with nothing to set. The exported MP4 is ready to post.
The rest of the darkroom works on clips too
Clips use the same panels and presets as photos, except crop, frames and print processes.
Free
- The first 15 seconds of a clip
- 8 films on all 9 print materials
- 3 presets: Everyday, Road Trip and Street
- White balance, development, toning and curves
- Selective colour
- Grain, halation and Cinebloom
With Pro
- The whole clip, up to 60 seconds
- All 39 film profiles and 12 presets
- Dust and scratches; the dust changes on every frame
- Light leaks and film burn
- VHS tape effect
- Super 8 film effect
- Prism, Soft lens, glare, stars and motion blur
How to make a video look like film
Three steps in the browser. Better footage helps too: the lesson covers what to do while you shoot.
Open your clip
Press Video in the editor and choose a file. Up to 60 seconds and 500 MB: MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV.
Choose a film
Try films from the Film tab while the clip plays. Add Grain and Halation under Effects, or start from a preset.
Export the MP4
Press Export video. Your device develops every frame, so keep the tab open until it finishes. The file keeps the sound of your clip.
Limits and formats
- Clip length
- Up to 60 seconds. Free saves the first 15, Pro the whole clip.
- File
- Up to 500 MB: MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV
- Result
- H.264 MP4 up to 1920 px on the long side, with the clip’s sound. A smaller clip keeps its size.
- Watermark
- None
- Account
- None needed for 3 exports a day, counted together with photos. A free account removes the limit.
- Browser
- The latest Chrome, Edge or Safari, with WebGPU
- Status
- Beta, and not yet tested on real phones. A computer is the surest way to finish an export.
Video questions
How do I make a video look like film?
Give it a film’s colour and contrast, add grain that changes with every frame, and let the bright lights glow. In Photonica you choose a film for your clip, add Grain and Halation if you want more, and export an MP4.
Is it free?
Yes. Eight films, three presets, grain and halation are free, and Free saves the first 15 seconds of a clip. Without an account you get 3 exports a day, shared with photos; a free account removes that limit. Pro saves the whole clip and adds more films and effects.
Does it add a watermark?
No. The file you save has no watermark or logo, on Free or on Pro.
Is my video uploaded?
No. Your browser decodes the clip, your device develops each frame, and the MP4 is written on the spot. The file never leaves your device.
Can I download a LUT or import my own?
No. The films run inside Photonica, together with their grain and halation, and what you get is an MP4. There is no LUT file to download, and you cannot import your own.
Does it keep the sound?
Yes. If a device cannot carry the sound over, the video is exported without it, and a notice tells you so.
Can I trim clips or join them?
No. You develop one clip as it is, with no cuts. Trim it first, in your phone’s gallery for example, then open it here.
Can I open a video longer than a minute?
Not yet. Clips up to a minute open here. Trim a longer one first, in your phone’s gallery for example.
Does it work on a phone?
It should, in a recent browser with WebGPU, but video is in beta and we have not yet tested it on real phones. A phone has less memory and heats up during a long export. If an export stops, try a shorter clip or use a computer.
Is this a VHS or 8 mm filter?
The films are film stocks, so on their own they add no tape lines or film strip. For those, Pro has Home movies under Effects, in two formats to choose between: VHS, with colour bleed, tracking errors and a camcorder date, or Super 8, with the whole film strip, weave, flicker, dust and a projector’s sound.
Do I need a plug-in like Dehancer or FilmConvert?
For one short clip, no. Those are plug-ins for editing software such as DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro, and they suit a long edit better. Photonica needs no editor and nothing to install.
Is it really Kodak film?
No, it is an emulation. The film profiles come from open models of how each stock responds to light, and your clip is not shot on film. Photonica is not affiliated with Kodak or Fujifilm. Licenses
Try it on your clip
Free, in your browser. Your clip stays on your device. In beta.
Every clip on this page was developed frame by frame by Photonica, then saved smaller so the page loads quickly. Results vary with the light and colour in your clip. Clips: Alexis B, Mikhail Nilov, PNW Production, Kampus Production and Gary Barnes on Pexels.