diff --git a/src/components/video-editor/editorDefaults.ts b/src/components/video-editor/editorDefaults.ts
index a74acd020..a98c93c5d 100644
--- a/src/components/video-editor/editorDefaults.ts
+++ b/src/components/video-editor/editorDefaults.ts
@@ -36,10 +36,12 @@ export const DEFAULT_EDITOR_APPEARANCE_SETTINGS: {
 	motionBlurAmount: number;
 	borderRadius: number;
 } = {
-	shadowIntensity: 0,
+	// Keep in sync with `DEFAULT_EDITOR_SETTINGS` (lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.ts),
+	// which is what the mounted v4 shell reads — see the rationale there.
+	shadowIntensity: 0.2,
 	showBlur: false,
-	motionBlurAmount: 0,
-	borderRadius: 0,
+	motionBlurAmount: 0.2,
+	borderRadius: 40,
 };
 
 export const DEFAULT_EDITOR_LAYOUT_SETTINGS: {
diff --git a/src/lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.test.ts b/src/lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.test.ts
index aed3e43f5..e31f9fcb2 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.test.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ describe("getEditorSettings", () => {
 		const snap = getEditorSettings(baseDoc);
 		expect(snap.wallpaper).toBe(DEFAULT_EDITOR_SETTINGS.wallpaper);
 		expect(snap.aspectRatio).toBe("16:9");
-		expect(snap.shadowIntensity).toBe(0);
+		expect(snap.shadowIntensity).toBe(DEFAULT_EDITOR_SETTINGS.shadowIntensity);
 		expect(snap.showBlur).toBe(false);
 		expect(snap.webcamLayoutPreset).toBe(DEFAULT_WEBCAM_LAYOUT_PRESET);
 		expect(snap.webcamMaskShape).toBe(DEFAULT_WEBCAM_MASK_SHAPE);
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ describe("patchEditorSettings", () => {
 		const next = patchEditorSettings(baseDoc, { showBlur: true });
 		const snap = getEditorSettings(next);
 		expect(snap.showBlur).toBe(true);
-		expect(snap.shadowIntensity).toBe(0);
+		expect(snap.shadowIntensity).toBe(DEFAULT_EDITOR_SETTINGS.shadowIntensity);
 		expect(snap.cropRegion).toEqual(DEFAULT_CROP_REGION);
 	});
 
diff --git a/src/lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.ts b/src/lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.ts
index 131505b5a..c77f42330 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai-edition/store/editorSettings.ts
@@ -62,10 +62,15 @@ export interface EditorSettingsSnapshot {
 export const DEFAULT_EDITOR_SETTINGS: EditorSettingsSnapshot = {
 	wallpaper: DEFAULT_WALLPAPER,
 	aspectRatio: "16:9",
-	shadowIntensity: 0,
+	// Opinionated by default: the wallpaper and the padding were already on, but
+	// with square corners and no shadow the recording read as a rectangle pasted
+	// onto the background rather than a window floating above it (#271 reported
+	// the symptom and blamed the padding). These three are the rest of that look;
+	// shipping the background without them was shipping half a composition.
+	shadowIntensity: 0.2,
 	showBlur: false,
-	motionBlurAmount: 0,
-	borderRadius: 0,
+	motionBlurAmount: 0.2,
+	borderRadius: 40,
 	padding: 50,
 	cropRegion: DEFAULT_CROP_REGION,
 	webcamLayoutPreset: DEFAULT_WEBCAM_LAYOUT_PRESET,