Installation guide

Installing on Windows.

VellaMotion isn't digitally signed yet, so Windows doesn't recognise it and may warn you or block it. It is safe to install: it runs on your computer only, and your pictures never leave it. Here is each screen you may see, and what to do.

The first version is almost ready. VellaMotion isn't available to download yet. Write to [email protected] and we'll email you the day it's out.

Install in 3 steps

Download for Windows 7-day trial, then the free plan · no card · about 420 MB

  • Download VellaMotion-Setup.exe (about 420 MB). If your browser asks, choose Keep.
  • Run it. If a blue window says Windows protected your PC, choose More info → Run anyway.
  • Start VellaMotion. The first start downloads its picture models (about 2.2 GB) while you look around. With Premiere Pro on the computer, the installer adds the panel too: Window → Extensions → VellaMotion.

Why the warnings? Windows trusts an app once it is signed with a code-signing certificate, or once many people have installed it. VellaMotion will be signed after launch; until then, the screens below are expected.

Why Windows warns about VellaMotion

Windows trusts an app at once when it carries a digital signature: a certificate from a certificate authority that tells Windows who made it. VellaMotion doesn't have one yet, so Windows treats it as an unknown app and warns, however safe the app is.

Why it isn't signed yet

  • It's made by one independent creator. A code-signing certificate is issued only after the maker's identity is checked, and it costs several hundred dollars a year. It's planned, and the first sales pay for it.
  • Since 2023 the certificate must live on a hardware security key or a secure cloud service, which every release then has to go through. That's being set up.
  • A signature alone doesn't silence every warning at once. Windows also waits until enough people have installed an app from a new maker, so even a signed VellaMotion may show the blue warning at first.

Staying safe until then

  • Download it only from vellamotion.com, with the Download button above. We never send the installer by email or chat.
  • In Windows' warning, More info shows the file's name: VellaMotion-Setup.exe.
  • VellaMotion runs on your computer only. Your pictures and videos never leave it; it goes online only for your licence, its updates and its picture models.
  • Unsure about anything before installing? Write to [email protected].

Once VellaMotion is signed, these warnings go away, and the signed version arrives as an update inside the app.

1. While downloading: "isn't commonly downloaded"

Chrome or Edge may say the file isn't commonly downloaded or could harm your device.

  • Chrome: open the downloads list (the arrow at the top right), find VellaMotion-Setup.exe, choose Keep (or ⋮ → Keep, then Keep anyway).
  • Edge: in the downloads list, point at the file, choose ⋯ → Keep, then Show more → Keep anyway.

2. When the installer opens: "Windows protected your PC"

A blue window from Microsoft Defender SmartScreen says it stopped an unrecognised app.

  • Click More info.
  • Check that the app is VellaMotion-Setup.exe.
  • Click Run anyway.

You see this once; the installed app opens normally afterwards.

3. "Smart App Control blocked an app"

This one is different. Smart App Control is a Windows 11 protection that allows only signed or well-known apps, and it has no Run anyway. It is on mainly on PCs where Windows was installed fresh; Windows turns it off by itself on many PCs where people install their own software.

Check whether it is on

Start → Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings. It shows On, Evaluation or Off.

What you can do

  • Wait for the signed version (recommended if you'd rather keep it on). Write to us and we'll tell you when it's out, or refund you if you bought VellaMotion and can't install it.
  • Turn Smart App Control off, if you are comfortable with that: choose Off in the same window, then run the installer again.

Before you turn it off: on most Windows 11 versions, Smart App Control can't be turned back on without resetting or reinstalling Windows. Microsoft Defender antivirus and SmartScreen keep protecting the PC either way. Only do this if you accept that trade-off.

4. Your antivirus removed or blocked a file

A new, unsigned app can be flagged by mistake (a "false positive"), most often the analysis engine (python.exe inside the VellaMotion folder) rather than VellaMotion itself.

  • Microsoft Defender: Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Protection history: find the VellaMotion item, choose Actions → Allow (or Restore), then start VellaMotion again.
  • Another antivirus: add the VellaMotion folder, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\VellaMotion, to its exceptions.
  • Please tell us which antivirus and what it said, so we can report the false positive.

5. Installed, but it doesn't start

  • Start it again once: the first start prepares a few things and can take a minute.
  • In VellaMotion, Help → Check setup shows what is wrong, and Help → Open the log folder has the details.
  • If the window never appears, Smart App Control or an antivirus may have blocked the engine: see 3 and 4.

Using a version you own

Pro is yours to keep for the version you bought. A key works only in its own version: a key for version 2 won't activate version 3, and the other way round. If your subscription has ended, or you installed a newer version, here is how to get back the one you own:

  1. Find your key. It's in your receipt email, and in Your orders and keys (sign in with the email you bought with). The receipt says which version it is for.
  2. Download that version. VellaMotion 2 for Windows always gives version 2 with all its fixes. Later versions get their own link here.
  3. Remove the newer version first (Windows Settings → Apps → VellaMotion → Uninstall). Your projects, models and settings stay on the computer.
  4. Install and activate. Run the installer, open VellaMotion, choose Activate in the top bar and paste the key.

Projects saved in a newer version may not open in an older one. Keep a copy of the ones you need, or finish them before you switch. Not sure which key goes with which version? Write to [email protected] and we'll sort it out.

Still stuck?

Write to [email protected] with your Windows version (Start → Settings → System → About), a screenshot of the message, and, if VellaMotion opens, the result of Help → Check setup. In the app, Help → Report a problem gathers all of that for you. We read every message, and we'd rather fix it than have you give up.