Effects¶
Effects are used in OpenShot to enhance or modify the audio or video of a clip. They can modify pixels and audio data, and can generally enhance your video projects. Each effect has its own set of properties, most which can be animated over time.
Effects can be added to any clip by dragging and dropping them. Each effect is represented by a small colored icon and the first letter of the effect name. To view an effect’s properties, click on the effect icon. The property editor will appear, where you can edit these properties. Note: Pay close attention to where the play-head (i.e. red playback line) is. Key frames are automatically created at the current playback position, to help create animations.

Video Effects¶
Effects are generally divided into two categories: video and audio effects. Video effects modify the image and pixel data of a clip. Below is a list of video effects, and their properties. Often it is best to experiment with an effect, entering different values into the properties, and observing the results.
Alpha Mask / Wipe Transition¶
Uses a grayscale mask image to gradually wipe / transition between 2 images.
Name | Description |
---|---|
brightness | (float, -1 to 1) This curve controls the motion across the wipe |
contrast | (float, 0 to 20) This curve controls the hardness and softness of the wipe edge |
reader | (reader) This reader can use any image or video as input for your grayscale wipe |
replace_image | (int, choices: ['Yes', 'No']) Replace the clips image with the current grayscale wipe image, useful for troubleshooting |
Bars¶
Add colored bars around your video.
Name | Description |
---|---|
bottom | (float, 0 to 0.5) The curve to adjust the bottom bar size |
color | (color) The curve to adjust the color of bars |
left | (float, 0 to 0.5) The curve to adjust the left bar size |
right | (float, 0 to 0.5) The curve to adjust the right bar size |
top | (float, 0 to 0.5) The curve to adjust the top bar size |
Blur¶
Adjust the blur of the frame’s image.
Name | Description |
---|---|
horizontal_radius | (float, 0 to 100) Horizontal blur radius keyframe. The size of the horizontal blur operation in pixels. |
iterations | (float, 0 to 100) Iterations keyframe. The # of blur iterations per pixel. 3 iterations = Gaussian. |
sigma | (float, 0 to 100) Sigma keyframe. The amount of spread in the blur operation. Should be larger than radius. |
vertical_radius | (float, 0 to 100) Vertical blur radius keyframe. The size of the vertical blur operation in pixels. |
Brightness & Contrast¶
Adjust the brightness and contrast of the frame’s image.
Name | Description |
---|---|
brightness | (float, -1 to 1) The curve to adjust the brightness |
contrast | (float, 0 to 100) The curve to adjust the contrast (3 is typical, 20 is a lot, 100 is max. 0 is invalid) |
Caption¶
Add text captions on top of your video.
Name | Description |
---|---|
background | (color) Color of caption area background |
background_alpha | (float, 0 to 1) Background color alpha |
background_corner | (float, 0 to 60) Background corner radius |
background_padding | (float, 0 to 60) Background padding |
caption_font | (font) Font name or family name |
caption_text | (caption) VTT/Subrip formatted caption text (multi-line) |
color | (color) Color of caption text |
fade_in | (float, 0 to 3) Fade in per caption (# of seconds) |
fade_out | (float, 0 to 3) Fade out per caption (# of seconds) |
font_alpha | (float, 0 to 1) Font color alpha |
font_size | (float, 0 to 200) Font size in points |
left | (float, 0 to 0.5) Size of left margin |
line_spacing | (float, 0 to 5) Distance between lines (1.0 default) |
right | (float, 0 to 0.5) Size of right margin |
stroke | (color) Color of text border / stroke |
stroke_width | (float, 0 to 10) Width of text border / stroke |
top | (float, 0 to 1) Size of top margin |
Chroma Key (Greenscreen)¶
Replaces the color (or chroma) of the frame with transparency (i.e. keys out the color).
Name | Description |
---|---|
color | (color) The color to match |
fuzz | (float, 0 to 125) The fuzz factor (or threshold) |
halo | (float, 0 to 125) The additional threshold for halo elimination. |
keymethod | (int, choices: ['Basic keying', 'HSV/HSL hue', 'HSV saturation', 'HSL saturation', 'HSV value', 'HSL luminance', 'LCH luminosity', 'LCH chroma', 'LCH hue', 'CIE Distance', 'Cb,Cr vector']) The keying method or algorithm to use. |
Color Saturation¶
Adjust the color saturation.
Name | Description |
---|---|
saturation | (float, 0 to 4) The curve to adjust the overall saturation of the frame’s image (0.0 = greyscale, 1.0 = normal, 2.0 = double saturation) |
saturation_B | (float, 0 to 4) The curve to adjust blue saturation of the frame’s image |
saturation_G | (float, 0 to 4) The curve to adjust green saturation of the frame’s image (0.0 = greyscale, 1.0 = normal, 2.0 = double saturation) |
saturation_R | (float, 0 to 4) The curve to adjust red saturation of the frame’s image |
Color Shift¶
Shift the colors of an image up, down, left, and right (with infinite wrapping).
Each pixel has 4 color channels:
- Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha (i.e. transparency)
- Each channel value is between 0 and 255
The Color Shift effect simply “moves” or “translates” a specific color channel on the X or Y axis. Not all video and image formats support an alpha channel, and in those cases, you will not see any changes when adjusting the color shift of the alpha channel.
Name | Description |
---|---|
alpha_x | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Alpha X coordinates (left or right) |
alpha_y | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Alpha Y coordinates (up or down) |
blue_x | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Blue X coordinates (left or right) |
blue_y | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Blue Y coordinates (up or down) |
green_x | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Green X coordinates (left or right) |
green_y | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Green Y coordinates (up or down) |
red_x | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Red X coordinates (left or right) |
red_y | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Red Y coordinates (up or down) |
Crop¶
Crop out any part of your video.
Name | Description |
---|---|
bottom | (float, 0 to 1) Size of bottom bar |
left | (float, 0 to 1) Size of left bar |
right | (float, 0 to 1) Size of right bar |
top | (float, 0 to 1) Size of top bar |
x | (float, -1 to 1) X-offset |
y | (float, -1 to 1) Y-offset |
Deinterlace¶
Remove interlacing from a video (i.e. even or odd horizontal lines)
Name | Description |
---|---|
isOdd | (bool, choices: ['Yes', 'No']) Use odd or even lines |
Hue¶
Adjust the hue / color of the frame’s image.
Name | Description |
---|---|
hue | (float, 0 to 1) The curve to adjust the percentage of hue shift |
Negative¶
Negates the colors, producing a negative of the image.
Object Detector¶
Detect objects through the video.
Name | Description |
---|---|
class_filter | (string) Type of object class to filter (i.e. car, person) |
confidence_threshold | (float, 0 to 1) Minimum confidence value to display the detected objects |
display_box_text | (int, choices: ['Off', 'On']) Draw a rectangle around detected objects |
objects | (list) List of detected object ids |
selected_object_index | (int, 0 to 200) Index of the tracked object that was selected to modify its properties |
Pixelate¶
Pixelate (increase or decrease) the number of visible pixels.
Name | Description |
---|---|
bottom | (float, 0 to 1) The curve to adjust the bottom margin size |
left | (float, 0 to 1) The curve to adjust the left margin size |
pixelization | (float, 0 to 0.99) The curve to adjust the amount of pixelization |
right | (float, 0 to 1) The curve to adjust the right margin size |
top | (float, 0 to 1) The curve to adjust the top margin size |
Shift¶
Shift the image up, down, left, and right (with infinite wrapping).
Name | Description |
---|---|
x | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the X coordinates (left or right) |
y | (float, -1 to 1) Shift the Y coordinates (up or down) |
Stabilizer¶
Stabilize video clip to remove undesired shaking and jitter.
Name | Description |
---|---|
zoom | (float, 0 to 2) Percentage to zoom into the clip, to crop off the shaking and uneven edges |
Tracker¶
Track the selected bounding box through the video. The tracked object can be selected as a parent on other clips.
Wave¶
Distort the frame’s image into a wave pattern.
Name | Description |
---|---|
amplitude | (float, 0 to 5) The height of the wave |
multiplier | (float, 0 to 10) Amount to multiply the wave (make it bigger) |
shift_x | (float, 0 to 1000) Amount to shift X-axis |
speed_y | (float, 0 to 300) Speed of the wave on the Y-axis |
wavelength | (float, 0 to 3) The length of the wave |
Audio Effects¶
Audio effects modify the waveforms and audio sample data of a clip. Below is a list of audio effects, and their properties. Often it is best to experiment with an effect, entering different values into the properties, and observing the results.
Compressor¶
Reduce the volume of loud sounds or amplify quiet sounds.
Name | Description |
---|---|
attack | (float, 0.1 to 100) |
bypass | (bool) |
makeup_gain | (float, -12 to 12) |
ratio | (float, 1 to 100) |
release | (float, 10 to 1000) |
threshold | (float, -60 to 0) |
Delay¶
Adjust the synchronism between the audio and video track.
Name | Description |
---|---|
delay_time | (float, 0 to 5) |
Distortion¶
Alter the audio by clipping the signal.
Name | Description |
---|---|
distortion_type | (int, choices: ['Hard Clipping', 'Soft Clipping', 'Exponential', 'Full Wave Rectifier', 'Half Wave Rectifier']) |
input_gain | (int, -24 to 24) |
output_gain | (int, -24 to 24) |
tone | (int, -24 to 24) |
Echo¶
Reflection of sound with a delay after the direct sound.
Name | Description |
---|---|
echo_time | (float, 0 to 5) |
feedback | (float, 0 to 1) |
mix | (float, 0 to 1) |
Expander¶
Louder parts of audio becomes relatively louder and quieter parts becomes quieter.
Name | Description |
---|---|
attack | (float, 0.1 to 100) |
bypass | (bool) |
makeup_gain | (float, -12 to 12) |
ratio | (float, 1 to 100) |
release | (float, 10 to 1000) |
threshold | (float, -60 to 0) |
Noise¶
Random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies.
Name | Description |
---|---|
level | (int, 0 to 100) |
Parametric EQ¶
Filter that allows you to adjust the volume level of a frequency in the audio track.
Name | Description |
---|---|
filter_type | (int, choices: ['Low Pass', 'High Pass', 'Low Shelf', 'High Shelf', 'Band Pass', 'Band Stop', 'Peaking Notch']) |
frequency | (int, 20 to 20000) |
gain | (int, -24 to 24) |
q_factor | (float, 0 to 20) |
Robotization¶
Transform the voice present in an audio track into a robotic voice effect.
Name | Description |
---|---|
fft_size | (int, choices: ['128', '256', '512', '1024', '2048']) |
hop_size | (int, choices: ['1/2', '1/4', '1/8']) |
window_type | (int, choices: ['Rectangular', 'Bart Lett', 'Hann', 'Hamming']) |
Whisperization¶
Transform the voice present in an audio track into a whispering voice effect.
Name | Description |
---|---|
fft_size | (int, choices: ['128', '256', '512', '1024', '2048']) |
hop_size | (int, choices: ['1/2', '1/4', '1/8']) |
window_type | (int, choices: ['Rectangular', 'Bart Lett', 'Hann', 'Hamming']) |
For more info on key frames and animation, see Animation.