Windows Video Editing Essentials: Adding 3D Effects Like a Pro

You may want to add 3D effects to a video to make something in it appear realistic. For example, you can have balloons moving in a circle around a person’s head, make a building hit by a thunderstorm, etc. However, adding such properties to a footage requires a lot of focus and precision that comes with in-depth learning and a lot of practice.

That said, here you will learn how to add 3D effects to a video using Windows’s free built-in Photos app. In addition, you will also see how easy the process becomes if you use a dedicated third-party software that has been specifically designed for the purpose.

Part 1: How to Add 3D Effects in Windows 11 Photos App for Free

To add 3D effects to a video with the Photos app, you must right-click the media file, go to ‘Open with’, and click to select ‘Photos’ from the submenu. Once this is done, you can follow the steps that are given below to complete the remaining procedure:

Step 1: Open the 3D Effects Panel

In the Photos app, pause the video to avoid any distractions. Click the See more icon (with three horizontal dots) from the top-center, hover mouse to Edit more, and click Add 3D effects.

Step 2: Add a 3D Effect and Customize

Make sure that the Effects tab is selected from the top of the right pane, scroll through the available effects, and click the one that you want to add to the video. Once added, in the preview window, use the scaling handles and rotation tools to resize the effect and change its orientation respectively.

Optionally use the Volume slider from the right pane to increase or decrease the sound volume of the effect to blend it in with the audio of the footage. If required, drag the side handles of the effect in the progress bar at the bottom to increase or decrease the duration of the effect in the video.

Step 3: Use Anchor Point

Drag and place the 3D effect to the location you want it to appear at, turn on the Attach to a point button from the right pane, and drag the anchor point to the object where you want it to stick even if the camera moves.

Step 4: Export the Video

Click the Play button from the bottom to preview the video with the 3D effect, and if everything looks fine, click Save a copy from the bottom-right area.

When the Finish your video box appears, choose your preferred resolution from the Video quality drop-down list, and click Export.

Next, choose your preferred destination folder in the Save As box that opens up next, specify the name of the output file in the File name field, and click Export to export the modified clip in MP4 format.

Note: Videos that you export from the Photos app are by default saved in MP4 format.

As one of the best basic video editing software for beginners , the Microsoft Photos app allows you trim video, add text to video and much more. For details, check how to edit videos with the Microsoft Photos app on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Part 2: How to Add 3D Effects to Video with Filmora

Although Photos is a free app in Windows 11, it has certain limitations. This is where Filmora video editor , a product by Wondershare, comes into play. Wondershare Filmora is a post-production application for both Windows and Mac computers, and is considered a good competitor of some of the industry-standard video editing applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, DaVinci Resolve, etc.

While the Photos app can add 3D effects to the videos quickly, Filmora gives more control by offering a plethora of editing tools, options, and presets. In addition, Filmora is a timeline-oriented tool that allows you to add effects, filters, and/or elements in their corresponding layers without making any changes to the original footage.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

You can follow the step-by-step instructions that are given below to learn how to add 3D effects to a video with Wondershare Filmora:

Step 1: Import Source Video and Add It to the Timeline

After installing Wondershare Filmora on Windows 10 or Windows 11, launch the program, click anywhere inside the Media box present at the upper-left section of the interface, and locate and import the source video to the program. Next, hover the mouse over the thumbnail of the video, click the + icon from the bottom-right corner.

When the confirmation box appears, either click Match to Media or Keep Project Settings to adjust the project settings according to the media clip or modify the media clip according to the project preferences while adding the footage to the Timeline respectively.

Step 2: Add 3D Titles and Transitions

Click Titles from the toolbox at the top, type 3D Titles in the Search titles field present at the upper section of the upper-left box, and click 3D titles from the suggestions list.

From all the available 3D title presets that appear next, drag the one you like to the Timeline, and place it above the video track.

After this, double-click the placeholder text in the Preview window, and replace it with your caption. You can customize the font, color, and alignment of the text from the options that appear on left. Click OK from the lower-left area of the left pane to exit the editing mode. Repeat the process for all the texts that the preset has. Optionally, drag the sides of the 3D title in the Timeline to specify its duration of visibility on the screen.

To add the transitions, click Media from the toolbox at the top, click Import Media from the Media box, and repeat the process explained earlier to add a new video clip to the Timeline. Make sure that both the clips are on the same track, and are placed next to each other. Now, go to Transitions from the toolbox, and drag and place your preferred transition effect between the two media clips in the Timeline. Optionally you can drag the sides of the transition inwards or outwards to increase or decrease the speed of the effect respectively.

After this, move the Playhead (Skimmer) to the beginning of the Timeline, and press the Spacebar on your keyboard to preview the video.

Note: It is a good practice to preview your video several times during the entire editing process. This will help you identify the error sooner, and you will be able to address the issue with fewer hassles.

Step 3: Add Elements and Effects

Go to Elements from the toolbox, drag your preferred element from the upper-left box to the Timeline, and place it on a new track. You can drag the sides of the element in the Timeline to increase or decrease its visibility during video playback.

To add effects, go to Effects from the toolbox, drag your preferred effect from the upper-left box, and place it on a new layer in the Timeline. As it is with other entities, you can drag the sides of the effect to increase or decrease the duration of its impact on the video. Next, double-click the Effects layer in the Timeline, and use the available options in the box to make further adjustments.

Note: The options that you get by double-clicking the effect in the Timeline may vary according to the adjustments it allows you to make.

Once this is done, preview the video, click Export from the top-center, and use the tabs and options on the Export box to export the modified video in your preferred format.

Conclusion

If you are new to the VFX and video editing industry, trying hands with the Photos app would give you a fair idea about how things work. Once you are well-versed or if you are already a post-production professional, you can and you must go for a dedicated program like Wondershare Filmora that not only has an intuitive interface, it is also equipped with a plethora of presets to add 3D titles, elements, transitions, and effects to the videos without much hassle.

02 How to Add 3D Effects to Video with Filmora

Part 1: How to Add 3D Effects in Windows 11 Photos App for Free

Step 1: Open the 3D Effects Panel

Step 2: Add a 3D Effect and Customize

Step 3: Use Anchor Point

Step 4: Export the Video

Click the Play button from the bottom to preview the video with the 3D effect, and if everything looks fine, click Save a copy from the bottom-right area.

When the Finish your video box appears, choose your preferred resolution from the Video quality drop-down list, and click Export.

Note: Videos that you export from the Photos app are by default saved in MP4 format.

Part 2: How to Add 3D Effects to Video with Filmora

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

You can follow the step-by-step instructions that are given below to learn how to add 3D effects to a video with Wondershare Filmora:

Step 1: Import Source Video and Add It to the Timeline

Step 2: Add 3D Titles and Transitions

Click Titles from the toolbox at the top, type 3D Titles in the Search titles field present at the upper section of the upper-left box, and click 3D titles from the suggestions list.

From all the available 3D title presets that appear next, drag the one you like to the Timeline, and place it above the video track.

After this, move the Playhead (Skimmer) to the beginning of the Timeline, and press the Spacebar on your keyboard to preview the video.

Step 3: Add Elements and Effects

Note: The options that you get by double-clicking the effect in the Timeline may vary according to the adjustments it allows you to make.

Once this is done, preview the video, click Export from the top-center, and use the tabs and options on the Export box to export the modified video in your preferred format.

Conclusion

02 How to Add 3D Effects to Video with Filmora

Part 1: How to Add 3D Effects in Windows 11 Photos App for Free

Step 1: Open the 3D Effects Panel

Step 2: Add a 3D Effect and Customize

Step 3: Use Anchor Point

Step 4: Export the Video

Click the Play button from the bottom to preview the video with the 3D effect, and if everything looks fine, click Save a copy from the bottom-right area.

When the Finish your video box appears, choose your preferred resolution from the Video quality drop-down list, and click Export.

Note: Videos that you export from the Photos app are by default saved in MP4 format.

Part 2: How to Add 3D Effects to Video with Filmora

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

You can follow the step-by-step instructions that are given below to learn how to add 3D effects to a video with Wondershare Filmora:

Step 1: Import Source Video and Add It to the Timeline

Step 2: Add 3D Titles and Transitions

Click Titles from the toolbox at the top, type 3D Titles in the Search titles field present at the upper section of the upper-left box, and click 3D titles from the suggestions list.

From all the available 3D title presets that appear next, drag the one you like to the Timeline, and place it above the video track.

After this, move the Playhead (Skimmer) to the beginning of the Timeline, and press the Spacebar on your keyboard to preview the video.

Step 3: Add Elements and Effects

Note: The options that you get by double-clicking the effect in the Timeline may vary according to the adjustments it allows you to make.

Once this is done, preview the video, click Export from the top-center, and use the tabs and options on the Export box to export the modified video in your preferred format.

Conclusion

02 How to Add 3D Effects to Video with Filmora

Part 1: How to Add 3D Effects in Windows 11 Photos App for Free

Step 1: Open the 3D Effects Panel

Step 2: Add a 3D Effect and Customize

Step 3: Use Anchor Point

Step 4: Export the Video

Click the Play button from the bottom to preview the video with the 3D effect, and if everything looks fine, click Save a copy from the bottom-right area.

When the Finish your video box appears, choose your preferred resolution from the Video quality drop-down list, and click Export.

Note: Videos that you export from the Photos app are by default saved in MP4 format.

Part 2: How to Add 3D Effects to Video with Filmora

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

You can follow the step-by-step instructions that are given below to learn how to add 3D effects to a video with Wondershare Filmora:

Step 1: Import Source Video and Add It to the Timeline

Step 2: Add 3D Titles and Transitions

Click Titles from the toolbox at the top, type 3D Titles in the Search titles field present at the upper section of the upper-left box, and click 3D titles from the suggestions list.

From all the available 3D title presets that appear next, drag the one you like to the Timeline, and place it above the video track.

After this, move the Playhead (Skimmer) to the beginning of the Timeline, and press the Spacebar on your keyboard to preview the video.

Step 3: Add Elements and Effects

Note: The options that you get by double-clicking the effect in the Timeline may vary according to the adjustments it allows you to make.

Once this is done, preview the video, click Export from the top-center, and use the tabs and options on the Export box to export the modified video in your preferred format.

Conclusion

Mastering Image Cropping in Final Cut Pro X [2023 Edition]

Final Cut Pro X: How to Crop an Image

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Cropping an image means to remove a portion of the image, either to hide something you don’t want the audience to see or emphasize different elements within the image. Just as Photoshop allows us to crop still images, Final Cut Pro X allows us to crop moving video clips, as you’ll learn in this article.

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

How to Crop an Image in Final Cut Pro X

However, before I show how this is done, I need to explain one really important fact about video: all video uses what’s called “fixed resolution.” Fixed resolution means that high-definition video is always displayed at one of two sizes:

You May Also Like: How to Crop GIF Images >>

1920 x 1080 pixels
1920 x 1080 pixels

Unlike still images which can be thousands of pixels on a side, video clips are locked into one of these two sizes. This means that if you crop a video clip, to remove something you don’t like, the remaining pixels are often enlarged to fill the frame. Crop too much and your video clip will look blurry, blocky, and edges will look stair-stepped.

I’ll show you two ways to crop a video clip in this article, one that maintains a high image quality but reduces the size of the frame (called “trimming”) and the other that fills the frame with the image but reduces image quality (called “cropping”). You get to pick which one works the best for you.

TRIMMING

Trimming is the process of removing portions of a video clip without changing the size of the clip. This retains the highest amount of image quality.

For instance, here an image - courtesy of Pond5 (<www.pond5.com>). Let’s say that we want to emphasize the barn and not the sky.

The easiest way to do this is to click the icon in the lower left corner of the Viewer and choose “Crop.”

This displays the cropping tools in the Viewer.

Click the Trim button to turn on Trim mode. (This article discusses Trim and Crop. I’ll cover the Ken Burns effect in a future article.)

Grab one of the blue dots and drag to hide portions of the frame. I generally grab a corner, but any blue dot will do.

NOTE: Press and hold the Option key while dragging to drag opposite edges or corners. Press and hold the Shift key to constrain the trim to the same aspect ratio as the frame.

Drag other corners or edges to further trim the image.

When you have trimmed the image the way you want, click the “Done” button in the top right corner to exit trimming mode.

If no other clip is below the trimmed clip, the background will be black.

But, it actually isn’t black, it’s transparent. If you put another clip below it, you’ll see the lower clip underneath the trimmed image.

Trimming allows us to hide portions of a video clip, without changing the image quality of the clip that remains. However, trimming always creates transparent sections within an image.

CROPPING

Cropping allows us to select just a portion of a video clip, without creating any transparent sections, BUT, it degrades image quality.

There are several ways we can choose to crop an image:

Click the Crop icon, as we illustrated above

Right-mouse click (or Control-click) inside the Viewer and choose
Type Shift+C

* In the Inspector > Video tab > Crop (this option provides the most precision, but is the least intuitive to use)

If you selected any option except the Inspector, click the Crop button in the Viewer.

Now, drag a blue button in one of the corners. Because cropping, unlike trimming, fills the frame with the portion of the image we select, we can only move corners and the image is always sized to match the aspect ratio of our sequence.

Final Cut displays numbers at the top of the Viewer indicating how much the image has been cropped.

Reposition the frame by grabbing inside the rectangle and dragging.

When you are happy with the results, click the Done button in the top right corner.

Notice that the selected portion of the image now fills the frame. Even though there is a clip below our cropped clip, we don’t see it.

And, if you look closely, you’ll see that the cropped image is softer (blurrier) than the original and edges are more likely to be stair-stepped.

RESET

To reset a cropped image back to its default settings, open the Inspector and click the small curved arrow to the right of the word “Crop.”

SUMMARY

Trimming is used to hide portions of an image and superimpose it over another image.

Cropping is used to reframe an image, say from a medium shot to a close-up, but runs the risk of overly softening an image. The general rule is that cropping a little is OK, but don’t crop too much.

I use both these techniques frequently in my own editing.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango