When to apply DeFlicker filter?

BobThompson wrote on 11/9/2025, 4:13 PM

I get the bozo award for shooting 4k 60fps overseas -- and the building/location we were shooting in was 50hz, so all the footage has flicker. I'm in Vegas 21, and the Flicker Control filter seems to reduce it in most of the scenes tested.

I am before my edit. What's the best way to use this filter? Should I do all my edits in one .veg file and then import that file into another project for the de-flickering? I'm realizing the 50hz flicker will not be synchronous between shots, so I'm hoping the filter will be smart enough to re-appraise the flicker scene by scene. Or is there some way to do this I'm not getting yet?

Also, which setting will give the best results in this case? Temporal Blend or Histogram Smoothing?

Most grateful to everyone for your help.

Comments

EricLNZ wrote on 11/9/2025, 5:39 PM

Should I do all my edits in one .veg file and then import that file into another project for the de-flickering?

Another way would be to add the FX as a Media FX. You can select all the clips in the Project Media pane and add it there. Then when you add the clips to your timeline it's already there.

Dexcon wrote on 11/9/2025, 6:33 PM

My approach would be to adjust the Flicker Control settings event-by-event rather than as a global FX, the reason being that it may be necessary to 'tune' Flicker Control's settings to obtain the best flicker reduction for each individual event. I don't believe that Vegas Pro 21's Flicker Control FX in a global use will automatically re-assess the project event-by-event because it is not an AI FX (and isn't AI in Vegas Pro 23 either). Of course, if the one Flicker Control setting works well enough for the entire project, that will be a terriific bonus.

Re the Reduction Mode, Vegas Pro 21's user manual states:

Temporal blend - A reduction method that blends frames over time to reduce flicker.

Histogram smoothing - A reduction method that smooths the histogram of the image over time to reduce flicker.

Which mode is better is the mode that gives you the best result on your specific video media. What works in one situation may not be the best in a different situation.

A couple of other considerations:

Flicker Control may result in blurring in shots with a lot of movement or camera movement/zoom.

The use of VP's Flicker Control (and also with BorisFX's Flicker Fixer FX) usually results in lengthy rendering times.