The word template has been worn smooth by apps that use it to mean a preset colour grade and a font choice. It is worth reclaiming, because the useful version is a completely different thing.

Filter versus template

A filter changes pixels. Every frame gets the same treatment, the edit underneath is untouched, and you could apply it to any video ever made with the same result.

A template changes the edit. It decides where the cuts go, what the captions say and how they animate, when to push in, what happens at the joins, and what the audio does. Applied to a different video it produces a different result, because it is reading the video.

An editing timeline: video clips, a zoom keyframe and an audio track below.

That distinction matters practically: a filter is a taste decision you can make in two seconds, and a template is twenty minutes of editing work you are choosing not to do by hand.

The seven, and what each one is for

Template What it does Use when
Make it Viral Clean voice, warm grade, word-pop captions, punch-in zooms, tightened pacing, music bed. Keeps your original shape. You want it ready to post and the aspect is already right
Reel Pack Turns any clip into a vertical Reel: 9:16, word-pop captions, zoom punches, smart cuts A horizontal recording that needs to become a Reel
Hook Captions Bold word-by-word captions plus punch-in zooms Talking head, where the words are the content
Beat Drop Zoom punches synced to the beat, snappy transitions, whoosh sounds There is music and you want the cuts to feel like it
Cinematic Reel Studio colour glow, a slow push-in, captions A calmer piece where you want it to look considered
Photo Cards Tilted photo-card pop-ins on your keywords, plus word-pop captions You are describing things you have pictures of
Reaction Split Two videos stacked on a 9:16 canvas, each panel draggable and resizable Reaction, commentary, gameplay

The one worth calling out is Make it Viral, because it behaves differently from the rest: it keeps your original aspect ratio and adapts to what it finds, screen recording or talking head. The others are format decisions.

The two that need something first

Reaction Split needs two videos in the Clips panel: your reaction and the thing you are reacting to. It cannot invent the second panel.

Photo Cards needs images in the Clips panel. It matches them against your caption keywords and pops them in where you say the matching word, so with no photos there is nothing to pop.

Everything else works on the clip you have open.

Applying one, and taking it back off

The important property of a template is that it is reversible. Tap the applied one again and it comes off, which is what makes trying one a cheap decision rather than a commitment.

They do not stack. Switching from one template to another clears what the first one applied, because two templates both deciding your caption style and your zoom timing would produce something neither of them intended.

If you want to keep a look you arrived at, save it: a saved look holds your caption style, colour grade and intensity, transition default and sound design settings, and can be applied to any project afterwards. It deliberately does not include clips, cuts or zooms, because those belong to one video and not to a style.

Which to reach for

If you are unsure, Make it Viral is the right default. It is the same pass described in making a video go viral in one click. It is the only one that does not impose a shape on you, so the worst case is a video that looks more finished in the aspect you already chose.

Reach past it when you have a specific format in mind: a vertical Reel from a horizontal source, a music-led edit, or a reaction split. If you are illustrating what you say with images, photo pop-ins are the template for that. Those are decisions a template cannot make for you, which is exactly why they are separate buttons.

The honest limitation

A template is a starting position and not a verdict. It will place a zoom somewhere you would not have, and its caption timing will be a frame out on a word you care about.

Fixing three things in a template's output takes a couple of minutes. Building the same pass by hand takes a lot longer, and the twentieth time you do it you will be less careful than the software is. That is the whole argument, and it does not require the output to be perfect.

For the underlying craft of what these passes are automating, Apple's Final Cut Pro guide is a good long-form reference on the same operations done manually.

Common questions

What is the difference between a template and a filter? A filter changes pixels and would look identical on any video. A template changes the edit itself, so applied to a different video it produces a different result.

Can I apply two templates at once? No. Switching clears what the first applied, because two templates both deciding your caption style and zoom timing would produce something neither intended.

Which template should I start with? Make it Viral, because it is the only one that keeps your original aspect ratio and adapts to what it finds. The others impose a format.