Ten grades, one click each
The editor's Mood tab re-grades a finished thumbnail without touching its composition. The subject stays where they are, the text stays where it is, and the whole frame takes on a different treatment.
Each preset is one edit and one request. They are the cheapest way to change how a thumbnail feels, and they are far more reliable than regenerating and hoping the layout comes back as good.
The presets
| Preset | What it does to the frame | Good on |
|---|---|---|
| Cinematic | Rich shadows, teal-and-orange grade, anamorphic feel | Almost anything — the safe default |
| Horror | Desaturated, cold blues, heavy vignette, eerie shadow | True crime, mystery, scary stories |
| Anime | Cel-shaded illustration, likeness and pose preserved | Anime, gaming, fiction, storytime |
| Retro 80s | Neon magenta and cyan, synthwave grid lighting | Music, nostalgia, retro tech |
| Comic | Halftone dots, thick ink outlines | Comedy, kids, reactions — survives downscaling well |
| Luxury Gold | Deep blacks, gold accents, product-shot lighting | Finance, business, luxury, watches |
| Bright & Fun | Vivid saturation, warm soft light | Vlogs, lifestyle, family, challenges |
| Documentary | Realistic colour, soft ambient light, no stylisation | Education, journalism, interviews |
| Futuristic | Holographic blues, lens flare, metallic accents | Tech, AI, science, sci-fi |
| Dramatic | Deep contrast, rim light on the subject, dark background | Anything that needs the face to pop |
Starter and up
Mood, Scene, Expression, Lighting and Text are the preset editor and unlock on Starter. On Free, the custom edit chat stays available and can be asked for the same effects in words.
Using them well
- Apply a mood last, not first. Grade the finished composition. If you regrade and then move the subject, the light stops matching.
- One mood, not a stack. Applying Horror then Cinematic then Dramatic compounds three interpretations of the same image and drifts further from the original each time. Undo to the source and pick one.
- Check the text still reads. Horror and Luxury Gold both crush the shadows. A dark headline that was legible before may not be after.
- Pair with lighting, not against it. Dramatic mood plus Rim Backlight is coherent. Horror mood plus Golden Hour is two instructions fighting.
Why Dramatic is worth trying on everything
A thumbnail is consumed at a fraction of its design size, surrounded by other thumbnails. The single biggest factor in whether yours is noticed is separation between the subject and the background. Dramatic does exactly that — deep contrast, rim light on the subject, dark behind — which is why it lifts frames across almost every niche, including ones where the grade is not obviously "on brand".
Mood as a brand decision
Pick one mood for your channel and apply it to every thumbnail. A viewer scanning their feed recognises a consistent grade before they read a word of your title, and consistency compounds in a way that per-video optimisation does not. Document the choice in your brand kit and hold it for at least twenty videos before you reconsider.
Editor moods vs. dashboard moods
The dashboard's scene mood chips influence a thumbnail as it is being created. The editor's mood presets re-grade one that already exists. Same vocabulary, different moment. Use the dashboard chips to get close on the first generation, and the editor tab to correct without paying for a whole new composition.