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Add Background to Video

Place your video on a new background (a blurred copy of itself, a colour, a gradient or your own photo) in the shape each app wants, with the video as large or as small as you like.

Making a preview…

A stand-in picture shows the layout until you choose your video.

Shape

Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Stories.

Background
Blur
Video size
Video position
Output size

Every frame is redrawn over the background and saved as an H.264 MP4 with the sound kept. Only need a new shape with a plain blur, crop or bars? Use Resize video. Runs on your device: the video is never uploaded. Works in Chrome, Edge, Opera and Samsung Internet (Android and computers), Safari 16.4 or later (iPhone, iPad and Mac; sound needs Safari 26), and Firefox 130 or later on computers. Firefox for Android can't encode video yet.

How to add a background to a video

  1. Choose the video, then the shape: 9:16 for Reels, TikTok, Shorts and Stories, 1:1 or 4:5 for feed posts, 16:9 for YouTube.
  2. Pick the background: Blurred video (Soft, Medium or Strong), a Colour, a Gradient, or a Photo you choose. Set the video's size and position, and add rounded corners or a shadow if you like. The preview shows the result.
  3. Press Add background, check the new video and download the MP4.

Which background to choose

  • Blurred video keeps the colours of the clip, so landscape footage looks natural in a vertical frame. Strong blur is also darker, which keeps busy scenes from competing with the video.
  • Colour or a gradient suits talking-head clips, quotes and brand posts; pick your brand colours with the colour boxes.
  • Photo works for event posts, real-estate and travel clips, or a branded backdrop; blur the photo if it has fine detail.

Example

A 1920×1080 landscape video in a 1080×1920 (9:16) frame at 100% is fitted at 1080×607.5, and the background shows in 68% of the frame. At 80% and Top, the video is 864×486, placed 108 pixels from each side and touching the top edge, leaving room for a title or captions underneath; rounded corners on that size are 24 pixels.

Tips

  • Apps put buttons and captions over the bottom and right of vertical videos, so a smaller video placed at the top or middle keeps faces clear of them.
  • Only need a new shape? Resize video also crops to fill. To add text, more clips or fades, use the online video editor; to make the file smaller afterwards, Compress video.
  • An iPhone HEIC photo for the background? Convert it first with HEIC to JPG.

Video files are read and written with Mediabunny 1.61.3 (Mozilla Public License 2.0), loaded unmodified as a separate file, and coded by your browser's own video and audio encoders (WebCodecs). Licence and source code.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add a blurred background to a video?

Choose the video and a shape (9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts), keep Blurred video as the background and pick Soft, Medium or Strong. The empty space fills with a blurred, slightly darkened copy of the video itself, moving with it.

Can I use my own picture as the background?

Yes. Choose Photo and pick a JPG, PNG or WebP picture: a brand backdrop, a texture or a scenery photo. It is cropped to fill the frame without stretching, and you can blur it so the video stands out.

What is the right size for Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts?

All three are vertical 9:16; 1080×1920 is the usual full HD size. Instagram's feed shows 4:5 (1080×1350) posts largest, and 1:1 works on every platform. Checked against Meta, TikTok and YouTube help pages on 7 October 2026.

Can the video be smaller than the frame, with rounded corners?

Yes. Video size from 70% to 100% leaves a border of background around it, Top, Middle or Bottom moves it (for a title above or captions below), and Rounded corners and Shadow give a card look.

Will my video be cropped or lose quality?

Nothing is cropped: the whole picture is kept in its own shape. Every frame is redrawn and encoded again as H.264 at a high bitrate, so quality stays close to the original. Nothing is uploaded and there's no watermark.

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