What It Does
Fast Bokeh Pro creates depth of field blur in After Effects using depth maps. The plugin renders smooth bokeh blur with proper edge handling and performance that doesn’t degrade as blur radius increases. Unlike standard lens blur effects, render time depends only on image size, not blur amount.
Key Features
Custom iris shapes. Choose from Gaussian, spherical, or polygonal apertures (hexagon, pentagon, octagon). You can also import custom image shapes for unique bokeh patterns.
Zone control. Split your scene into multiple zones and blur them separately. Useful when different parts of your image need different focus depths or when working with complex depth maps.
GPU acceleration. Uses Metal on macOS and OpenGL Compute on Windows to speed up renders. Requires Metal 2 or GL 4.3 compatible hardware.
Anamorphic bokeh. Adjust iris aspect ratio to create the stretched bokeh common in anamorphic cinematography.
Highlight adjustment. Control the brightness and saturation of bright spots in the blur for a more cinematic look.
Quick focus point. Click a point in your comp to automatically set focus depth instead of manually entering depth values.
Edge handling. Object boundaries expand naturally to avoid hard halos around foreground elements. Still limited by what depth maps can describe, but handles typical cases well.
Linear color space. Supports linear color workflow for photo-realistic compositing in 32 bpc projects (recommended for best quality).
Who It’s For
Useful for compositors working with 3D renders or footage that includes depth data. Particularly relevant if you’re adding depth of field in post rather than rendering it directly, or if you need to adjust focus after the fact.
Works well for title animations where you want selective focus, or motion graphics pieces that mix 2D and simulated 3D depth. The custom bokeh shapes add creative options beyond standard circular blur.
Pricing
Standard license: $49.99 one-time purchase. Available as single user, floating, or render-only license.
Free version: Available with full functionality for Gaussian blur mode. Pro features (spherical/polygonal/custom bokeh, highlights, anamorphic, linear color space, quick focus point) render with a watermark unless registered.
Upgrade policy: Version 2 was a free upgrade for version 1 owners.
Compatible with After Effects CS6 through CC 2025. Also works in DaVinci Resolve 16+ and other OpenFX hosts.