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.

Install in 3 steps

Download for Windows Free for 7 days · 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.

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.

Still stuck?

Write to support@vellamotion.com 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.