2 · Look
Fill the Studio frame with a color, stock image, AI-generated backdrop, or video, then shape it with crop, scale, kaleidoscope, and glass blur.
The backdrop is the bottom of the stack — the thing that fills the frame behind everything else. LOOK is also where you reach the settings for whatever visual layer you have selected.
Backdrop source
Open BACKDROP SOURCE. Two tabs decide what kind of backdrop you are making:
- COLOR — a flat color fill.
- IMAGE/VIDEO — a picture or a video plate.
Image backdrop
Six stock backdrops ship with Studio: MILKY WAY · DEEP SPACE · STAR FIELD · NEBULA · GALAXY · PURPLE NEBULA. UPLOAD YOUR OWN takes any image file.
Images keep their proportions rather than stretching to the frame. Drag a corner on the preview to scale.
AI backdrop
Type a PROMPT and click GENERATE BACKDROP to make an original image for the frame. The panel states the allowance in place: three free generations, with more on Pro.
Video backdrop
UPLOAD VIDEO puts a moving plate behind the composition. Two things to know before you pick a file:
- MP4 / H.264 is the format that exports.
- WebM previews but does not export — it will play in the editor and then not appear in your rendered file.
After loading a clip, the panel shows its filename and duration so you can confirm the backdrop before editing or looping it.
A video backdrop with its own soundtrack also adds MUSIC · VIDEO · MIX buttons to the transport, plus MUTE VIDEO and VIDEO VOLUME controls.
If the video is shorter than the music, open BACKDROP SETTINGS → VIDEO LOOP and choose what happens after its last frame:
- ONCE holds the ending frame.
- FROM START restarts the video from its opening frame.
- REVERSE plays back toward the opening frame, then heads forward again.
Hover or select a choice to see only that choice’s tip.
For a separate backing track, leave the transport on MUSIC so the song stays continuous while the backdrop loops.
Backdrop settings
With the backdrop layer selected, ADVANCED exposes the rest:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| VIDEO LOOP | For video backdrops, hold the last frame, restart from the beginning, or reverse back to the beginning |
| CROP / FIT | COVER fills the frame and crops; CONTAIN fits the whole image inside it; STRETCH distorts to fit |
| TOP · BOTTOM · LEFT · RIGHT | Crop each edge independently |
| POSITION X / Y | Move the image inside the frame |
| SCALE | Zoom in or out from the centre |
| ROTATE | Turn the image, in degrees |
| GLASS BLUR | A frosted overlay — the same treatment a visualizer plate uses |
| KALEIDOSCOPE | Folds any image into a symmetric pattern |
| BACKDROP OPACITY | Fades the backdrop toward black |
The visualizer on top
The visualizer is a separate layer sitting above the backdrop. Select it in the left rail and the rail turns into VISUALIZER SETTINGS — the full settings for whichever visualizer is loaded, plus Studio's own position, size, rotation and opacity.
Use BACKGROUND OPACITY to fade the visualizer’s background over a photo or video. Some visualizers offer TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND instead, which switches the background off.
See The visualizer layer for the catalog, presets, and per-visualizer settings.
Everything else on LOOK
Selecting any non-text layer while on LOOK shows that layer's settings in the rail:
- Images and logos — crop, keying, glass blur (Brand)
- Audio analysis graphs, playheads, and timers (Analysis layers)
Title, artist, extra text, and lyrics live on BRAND instead.