Blur the Hand, Keep the Face Sharp
Motion blur belongs on the moving hand. The face stays sharp. If both blur, the still looks like a mistake.
Motion blur belongs on the thing that is moving. A hand setting down a cup can streak. The face, if it is in the same still, stays sharp, because the head was not the one traveling. Blur on both reads as a bad shutter, not as energy. For a talking-head still you usually want no blur at all. Use it only when the gesture is the point.
One moving part
Name it. "Hand and cup blurred, face sharp." "Dynamic motion blur" smears the eyes, and a smeared eye cannot be the locked identity.
Direction matches the action
A cup moving down should streak down. A blur that goes sideways on a vertical gesture is decorative noise. Look at the streak before you approve.
Skip it on a talk
A mouth that is about to speak should be sharp. Gesture blur is for a product beat or a cutaway. Do not approve it as the frame the voice will lip to.
A worked example
Hand lowers a plain cup, fingers slightly streaked, face crisp. The talking still is a different frame, with no blur, approved separately.
Check the still
- Only the moving part is blurred.
- The streak matches the gesture.
- The talking frame is sharp.
Where Scro fits
In Scro, approve the sharp face for the talk. A blurred gesture can be its own beat in a product or explainer reel. Do not lock a smeared eye as the host.
Blur only what is moving. Finished samples are on the examples page.
Related: Reject a Still That Changed Color.