Scanlines Effect in After Effects (And the Free Shortcut)

Adding CRT scanlines to your video footage is one of the fastest ways to evoke retro 80s aesthetics, security camera feeds, or cyberpunk aesthetics. While Adobe After Effects offers complete compositing control to build custom scanline grids, setting up pre-comps, adjustment layers, and layer blending modes takes time. Below, we break down the step-by-step After Effects workflow—and show you how to skip the setup using a free browser-based shortcut.

Method 1: Creating Scanlines in Adobe After Effects

After Effects is the industry standard for motion graphics, and building scanlines natively allows you to composite raster lines into complex 3D scenes or motion graphics templates. Here is how to create a clean scanline layer from scratch:

1. Create an Adjustment Layer: Go to Layer > New > Adjustment Layer (or press Ctrl+Alt+Y / Cmd+Option+Y) and place it above your background clip in the timeline stack.
2. Apply the Venetian Blinds Effect: Search for Venetian Blinds in the Effects & Presets panel and drag it onto your adjustment layer.
3. Rotate and Scale the Lines: Set the Direction parameter to 90 degrees so the cuts run horizontally across your frame. Lower the Transition Completion setting to around 10% to 25% depending on how thick you want your raster lines to appear. Set the Feather property to 1 or 2 pixels for softer CRT phosphor edges.
4. Adjust Blending Modes and Opacity: Change the adjustment layer's blend mode to Overlay, Soft Light, or Multiply. Reduce the layer opacity to around 30%–50% so the scanlines stay subtle without washing out your clip.
5. Add Channel Distortion (Optional): To mimic authentic monitor phosphor bleed, apply Shift Channels or chromatic aberration plugins to split your red and blue color channels slightly across the frame.

This workflow gives motion designers deep flexibility, particularly if you are animating UI interfaces or keyframing complex camera movements. However, if you are working on a tight deadline, turning to dedicated web technology in the editor offers an immediate alternative without needing heavy render queues.

Method 2: The Free Browser Shortcut (Glitchest)

If you need to quickly process footage for social media, music videos, or quick teasers, launching a full digital audio/video workstation can feel like overkill. Glitchest runs entirely inside modern web browsers using WebCodecs and WebGL. There are no software installs, no account registrations, and your original media never leaves your local hardware.

To recreate an authentic retro monitor look instantly, open the editor and start with the CRT TV preset. This preset is specially designed to capture physical tube monitor physics in a single click, bringing together line rasterization, electron beam bloom, and color fringing without manual layer stacking.

Step-by-Step Scanline Workflow in Glitchest

1. Load Your Media: Drag and drop your MP4 video file or photo directly into the browser viewport. Processing happens locally on your GPU.
2. Select the CRT TV Preset: Click on the preset menu and choose CRT TV. This immediately turns your footage into a glowing cathode-ray display complete with scanlines and curvature.
3. Nudge Settings to Taste: Fine-tune the aesthetic using intuitive sliders:
   • Increase or decrease Scanlines to adjust the physical line density across your image.
   • Nudge RGB Split to pull red and blue color channels apart along high-contrast edges.
   • Adjust CRT Curve + Glow to bend the image edges into a curved glass tube while boosting phosphor highlights.
   • Raise Flicker slightly to simulate 60Hz power hum and signal instability.
   • Dial in Vertical Roll (TV) if you want the classic vertical sync drop of an untuned broadcast feed.
4. Arrange Effect Boxes on the Timeline: Instead of drawing timeline curves, Glitchest uses an intuitive effect-box timeline. Drag an effect box over your clip, adjust its duration, and set fade-in or fade-out handles to transition the scanline effect smoothly in and out of your scene. You can stack short effect boxes on multiple lanes to trigger sudden glitch spikes.
5. Export Fast: Click export to render your final MP4 video via WebCodecs or capture PNG stills using the Save Frame tool.

Combining Scanlines with Other Retro Styles

Scanlines rarely exist in isolation on real analog hardware. For richer video edits, explore combining CRT scanlines with signal degradation and color aging. You can dial back modern dynamic range using our CRT TV look guide or learn how to pair vertical scan distortions in our guide to adding scanlines to video.

If your project calls for specific focal areas—such as a security camera monitor inside a larger scene—you can use Glitchest's built-in rectangle or ellipse masking to constrain the scanline effect to a designated area on screen. Add subtle warmth using the Time Machine film dial to sell the vintage cathode look end-to-end in seconds.

The exact settings

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