The [Effects] app holds everything you layer onto a cut: text, stickers, transitions, zooms, filters, and sound effects. Find it in the [Apps] tab of the project panel.
Note: Effects work on drafts. If you see "Open a draft to apply effects.", open a draft first.
What's in the Effects app
The Effects app has four tabs.
Tab | What it holds |
[Overlay] | Text (titles, lower thirds, pull quotes), caption looks, and stickers |
[Motion] | Transitions, zooms, and clip effects like Camera shake, Shape mask, and Blur in |
[Filters] | Looks like Film stock, Black & white, and VHS / retro, plus Auto grade |
[Sounds] | An audio Crossfade and a library of sound effects |
Hover a tile to preview it. On the [Sounds] tab, click a tile to hear it. Click the star on a tile to keep it under Favorites at the top of its tab.
How to add an effect
To add an effect, hover its tile and click [Add], or drag the tile onto the timeline. Clicking the tile itself only previews it.
Where it lands depends on what you add:
What you add | With [Add] | By dragging |
Text or sticker | A new clip at the playhead, above your video | A new clip where you drop it |
Filter, zoom, or clip effect | On the clips you selected, or the clip under the playhead | On the clip you drop it on |
Transition | On the cut at the start of the clip under the playhead. On the first clip, on the cut at its end | On the cut nearest to where you drop it |
Caption look | Captions the whole draft in that look | Can't be dragged |
Sound effect | A new audio clip at the playhead | Can't be dragged |
A few rules to know:
Filters, zooms, and clip effects go on footage only, not on text or stickers.
A clip holds one filter. Adding a second filter replaces the first. Clip effects stack. [Auto grade] is the exception: it sets the clip's Color & Tone, replacing any grade already there.
A cut holds one video transition. Adding another replaces it. A new transition is 2 seconds long, or shorter if the clips around it are short.
Sound effects are downloaded when you use them, so they need an internet connection.
Tip: [Auto grade] in the [Filters] tab reads your clip and sets its color for you. Fine-tune the result under Color & Tone in the [Adjust] tab.
Edit or remove an effect
To edit an effect, select it on the timeline and open the [Adjust] tab on the right.
Effect | How to edit | How to remove |
Text or sticker | Select the clip, then change its text, font, and style in [Adjust] | Delete the clip |
Filter or clip effect | Select the clip, then find the effect's section in [Adjust] | Click the trash icon, [Remove], on that section |
Zoom | Select the clip. The zoom is Scale keyframes under Position in [Adjust] | Click [Reset] on Position |
Transition | Click the transition on the cut, then change its type or [Duration] (0.1 to 5 seconds, less if the clips are short) in [Adjust] | Select it and press Delete |
Sound effect | Select the audio clip and set its volume in [Adjust] | Delete the clip |
Learn more in Adjust clips in Selects: position, color, speed, and audio.
Save your own presets
To reuse something you styled, save it from the [Adjust] tab. Saved presets appear under Custom at the top of their tab in the Effects app.
Text, stickers, and captions: Click [Save as preset].
A color grade: Under Color & Tone, click [Save to Filter].
Give the preset a name with at least one English letter or number, choose its tab if asked, and click [Save to Effects]. Caption looks always go to the [Overlay] tab. To delete a saved preset, hover it in the Effects app and click the trash icon, [Remove from Effects]. It's removed right away.
Note: Saved presets and favorites live on your computer and work in every project. They aren't part of the project file.
Export your effects
Everything you add in the Effects app is rendered into your video when you click [Export], then [Video]. Effects don't carry over when you hand off to Premiere, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve. Click [Export only] at the bottom of the Effects app to see what a handoff supports. Learn more in Export your edit to editing software, or as a transcript or video.
FAQs
Why does Selects say "Place playhead over a clip to apply."?
Selects shows "Place playhead over a clip to apply." when the effect has no video clip to go on, for example when text, a sticker, or an audio clip is selected. Select a video clip, then click [Add] again.
Where does a transition go when I click Add?
When you click [Add], a transition goes on the cut at the start of the clip under the playhead. If the playhead is on the first clip, it goes on the cut at the end of that clip. To choose a different cut, drag the transition tile onto the timeline and drop it near that cut.
Can I search the Effects app?
The Effects app doesn't have a search box. Star the effects you use most and they stay under Favorites at the top of each tab.
Do effects use credits?
The built-in effects, transitions, filters, and sound effects don't use credits.
Can I use the sound effects in commercial work?
Each sound effect has its own license. Click the link next to "See license of each sound effect" at the bottom of the [Sounds] tab to check before you publish.
Do my effects show up in Premiere, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve?
Effects don't show up in Premiere, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve after a handoff. Transitions become plain cuts, zooms and other keyframed changes are left out, filters and color are left out, and text and stickers arrive as gaps. To keep them, export a video from Selects.