How to Use Body Effect in PowerDirector
Put a glow, trail or spark on the person in your shot, and let it follow them through the clip with no mask or tracking.
Updated Sep. 13, 2026 · 4 min read
In a hurry? Use the Body Effect quick guide instead.
PowerDirector's Body Effect category puts an effect on the person in your shot instead of the whole frame. Pick one, such as the glowing Aura 1 outline, and PowerDirector finds the dancer and wraps the effect around them, following every move to the end of the clip. There is no mask to draw and no tracker to set.
- Put your clip on the timeline, open Effects, and choose Body Effect under Video Effects.
- Click an effect tile to preview it on your clip.
- Drag the tile onto the clip to apply it to the whole clip.
Steps to Use Body Effect
Step 1: Open the Body Effect Category
Put the clip on the timeline first, since the effect needs a person to find. Then open Effects along the top and click Body Effect in the Video Effects list on the left.
The tiles show each effect on a sample dancer: Aura 1, Motion Trail - Pulse 1, Wind Slash, Comics 01, Electric Shock 1 and more further down. A download arrow in a tile's corner means that effect is fetched the first time you use it.
Step 2: Click an Effect to Preview It
Click a tile once. The preview window plays it on your own footage, not the sample, so you can judge it against your shot before committing. We clicked Aura 1, and the dancer picked up a white outline with a red glow.
Try a few. Clicking another tile swaps the preview, and nothing touches the clip until you drag.
Step 3: Drag It Onto the Clip
The line above the timeline says what to do next: drag the selected effect onto a video clip to apply it to the entire clip. Drag the Aura 1 tile down and drop it on your clip.
Each effect brings its own options, shown at the top of the settings panel. To get back to them later, click the shortcut that appears above the timeline, or the small i in the lower-left corner of the clip.
The Result
Play it back and the outline stays on the dancer through every spin, crouch and reach, while the rooftop and the sky stay untouched. PowerDirector found the person by itself, so there was no mask to draw and nothing to track.
Haven't got PowerDirector yet? Give a dance, sports or vlog clip a glow, a motion trail or an electric spark that sticks to the person on screen, with one drag and no masking.
Download PowerDirector Free →FAQ About Body Effect
No. Body Effect runs its own detection, which is why it is one of the few video effects that does not use motion tracking. Drop it on the clip and it finds the person.
It applies the effect to the most prominent subjects. Where two people are equally prominent, both get it.
Open the clip's effect settings, select the effect in the Applied Effect list, and click the bin underneath. Removing it from the list matters once a clip carries more than one effect.
In the same Video Effects list, alongside Face Blur, Motion and Retro. See how to use video effects for the rest of the room.