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How to Remove the Viral Grimace Shake Effect on Capcut and TikTok

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TikTok‘s wacky effects and challenges have a way of taking over everyone‘s For You feeds. The latest to go viral is the Grimace Shake – where users pretend to pass out after drinking the odd purple McDonald‘s milkshake. While the meme is certainly amusing, you may get tired of the gag and want to remove the effect from your own videos.

Luckily, deleting the Grimace Shake filter is simple on Capcut, the app used to create it. This guide will show you how, along with tips for shooting steady footage and using Capcut‘s editing tools. Let‘s dive in!

What Exactly is the Grimace Shake Effect?

Before learning how to remove it, you need the background on what it is and why it became so popular on TikTok.

The Grimace Shake effect shows someone drinking a purple McDonald‘s milkshake branded with Grimace – the quirky mascotcharacter for the fast food chain. After taking a sip, the video cuts abruptly to the person collapsed unconscious on the floor, with the shake spilled everywhere.

The effect went viral in 2022 after TikTok user @cjsocool posted his hilarious reaction video pretending to faint after tasting McDonald‘s limited edition "Grimace Birthday" shake.

The unique purple color of the beverage, combined with Grimace‘s weird look, seemed to inspire the perfect funny reaction. Other users copied the meme, acting like the birthday shake had strange powers to make people instantly pass out.

Soon, the Grimace Shake became a popular way to transition from something shocking or inappropriate that needs to be censored. The "fainting" allows the video to cut away from something the user doesn‘t want shown.

Why Do Memes Like This Go Viral on TikTok?

TikTok has become known for its viral internet challenges and memes that flood people‘s feeds. But why do some, like the Grimace Shake, take off more than others?

Experts point to the psychological theory of informational social influence. When we see a behavior repeated and imitated among our peers, we intuitively view it as correct and unconsciously mimic it.

On TikTok, this herd mentality kicks into overdrive, fueled by the addictive feed. Users are driven to participate in whatever silly new meme is exploding in popularity to share in that viral moment.

The Grimace Shake also benefited from its versatility and humor. It aligns with much of TikTok‘s wacky, absurdist culture, while giving people an interactive effect to participate in.

While TikTok has only been around since 2016, the pace of its trend evolution has been breathtaking. Some of TikTok‘s major viral phases include:

  • Lip-syncing and dance challenges: Early trends were focused on showing off talent through song clips and dances. Examples include hit tracks like Megan Thee Stallion‘s "Savage."

  • COVID quarantine content: The pandemic accelerated TikTok‘s growth, as bored people created more cooking demos, jokes, and dance videos.

  • React videos: As on platforms like YouTube, reaction clips took off, including meme formats like the Grimace Shake.

  • "Alt" absurdist humor: TikTok‘s signature weird, random comedy has emerged through trends like using the app‘s voice changer filter.

Unlike older platforms like Facebook, TikTok‘s young Gen Z user base constantly reinvents what‘s popular. Memes have a half-life measured in weeks before something newer catches on.

TikTok‘s Rise to Social Media Dominance

It‘s easy to forget TikTok is less than a decade old, considering its staggering growth and cultural dominance. Some statistics:

  • Over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide as of September 2021

  • Most downloaded app of 2020, with over 300 million downloads

  • 80 million monthly active users in the U.S. as of 2022

  • 60% of users are between ages 16 and 24 per 2021 data

The app‘s algorithmically-curated For You feed keeps users hooked by learning their interests and precisely targeting viral content and trending hashtags.

TikTok has already overtaken more established platforms like Snapchat and Twitter in users. Its biggest threat now is copycat features added to Instagram and YouTube like Reels and Shorts.

But for real-time entertainment and community, TikTok retains an addictive advantage. Participating in trends like the Grimace Shake is core to that experience.

Controversy Around Social Media Overuse

However, TikTok‘s endless scroll does raise concerns around social media overuse and internet addiction. Studies have found potential risks like:

  • Depression and anxiety from excessive comparison and FOMO (fear of missing out)

  • Distraction from work, school, and real-life relationships

  • Misinformation spread through some viral videos

  • Physical harm from dangerous challenges like the destructive "Devious Licks" trend in schools

  • Lack of privacy and data harvesting by TikTok‘s parent company ByteDance

Moderating your time on TikTok and not getting swept up in every trend can help avoid these downsides. Consider turning off notifications and consciously logging off after a set time.

The Pros and Cons of Going Viral on TikTok

For everyday users, viral fame on TikTok has pros and cons too.

Potential benefits include:

  • Entertaining lots of people and feeling part of a community

  • Gaining self-confidence from positive feedback

  • Starting friendships with collab partners

  • Building a personal brand or creative portfolio

  • Monetization through TikTok‘s Creator Fund or sponsorships

But risks involve:

  • Dealing with negativity from random strangers on a massive platform

  • Losing control of your image or creative content

  • Pressure to constantly top your viral moment and grow your audience

Having a strategy helps avoid getting caught off-guard if a video suddenly goes huge. Turn on comment filters, don‘t read every notification, and focus on your real purpose vs. clout chasing.

From small creators to big brands, everyone wants a slice of TikTok virality. Companies crave that marketing exposure when their product gets featured in a trend.

Participating also helps brands seem fun and culturally relevant to attract young consumers. Teens are more likely to buy McDonald‘s if they see it embraced in a wacky TikTok meme.

But companies can‘t force trends – they originate organically from user creativity. While branded partnerships increasingly appear on TikTok, their reception varies.

Authenticity is key. If content feels too promotional instead of entertaining, it falls flat. Marketers muststrike a balance between capitalizing on trends and crowbarring their way in.

One rising concern around viral TikTok sounds involves licensing and royalties. Creators often use popular songs without owning legal rights.

Record labels and publishers are increasingly asking for payment when a track gets used in multiple TikTok videos. For smaller creators, licensing fees add up quickly.

TikTok does offer various public domain songs and a $50 per month SoundOn subscription for its massive music library. But for commercial use, sorting out copyright is complex.

expecting all users to get individual licenses is unrealistic. With viral sounds driving TikTok‘s culture, resolving this issue poses a major challenge.

The Rise of Capcut as TikTok‘s Go-To Editing App

Capcut is the perfect companion to TikTok – and a must for creating effects like the Grimace Shake. The editing app is specifically designed for short social content.

Released in 2016 by Chinese tech company Bytedance, Capcut first focused on the Asian market before expanding worldwide. It offers easy tools like:

  • Trimming/splitting clips
  • Adding filters, text, and stickers
  • Changing speed and adding slow-mo
  • Green screen/PIP effects
  • Transitions between scenes
  • Color grading presets
  • Voiceovers and background music

Capcut streamlines piecing together professional-looking TikToks. It powers most of the elaborate videos and memes like the Grimace Shake.

Capcut vs. Other Social Media Editing Apps

How does Capcut compare to editing platforms for other social networks? Here‘s a quick overview:

App Platform Key Features
Capcut TikTok Filters, effects, speed changes
iMovie Instagram Transitions, titles, green screen
Splice Instagram, YouTube Slow/fast motion, filters
Snapchat Snapchat Text, stickers, drawing
Premiere Rush YouTube, Facebook Color correction, audio mixing

For fast and intuitive editing optimized for short videos, Capcut leads for TikTok. Its preset effects simplify viral meme creation.

But iMovie remains the gold standard for polished, complex storytelling. Splice offers timeline-based editing for streaming longer video to YouTube.

Step-by-Step: Deleting the Grimace Shake in Capcut

Now that you know the Grimace Shake‘s viral origin and context, let‘s dive into the steps to remove it from your Capcut edits:

  1. Open Capcut and locate the TikTok video containing the Grimace Shake effect in your template library.

  2. Tap on the purple shake overlay to select it. Drag your finger inward to reduce its size on the screen.

Capcut screen recording dragging shake

  1. Use two fingers to pinch and minimize the shake further. Keep pinching until it becomes very small.

  2. When minimized enough, a trash can icon will appear. Tap it to delete the shake overlay completely.

Capcut screen recording deleting shake

  1. The Grimace Shake effect will now be removed from your video!

  2. Finish any other editing you want to do – trimming clips, adding music, etc.

  3. Export your video out of Capcut without the shake effect to post on TikTok.

And that‘s all it takes to get rid of the Grimace Shake! With it gone, you‘re free to get creative and make the next viral TikTok meme.

Shooting Steady Video Content

Before editing your TikToks in Capcut, start with recording high-quality footage:

  • Use a tripod or phone gimbal stabilizer to avoid shake
  • Stand with feet shoulder-width for better balance
  • Hold phone close to your body to reduce hand jitter
  • Move slowly and take small steps when panning the camera
  • Try a selfie stick to eliminate shake from hand movements

Stabilized video gives you smoother end results and more editing flexibility.

Using Capcut Beyond Premade Templates

While Capcut‘s meme templates are great for instantly viral effects, the app has many other powerful tools:

  • Trim and rearrange clips to highlight the best parts

  • Layer filters, text, stickers, and graphics

  • Adjust speed with fast or slow motion

  • Split clips and rearrange scenes in the timeline

  • Voiceovers and background music for storytelling

  • Picture-in-Picture and green screen effects

  • 100+ sound effects to punch up moments

Take time to explore all of Capcut‘s options. Moving beyond premade templates allows you to give videos your own creative spin for a unique style that stands out.

Conclusion

TikTok‘s wacky effects come and go faster than you can film a react video these days. But while the Grimace Shake is hot, you can still make the meme your own. With the deletion steps above, you‘ll get more control over customizing viral TikTok templates.

Hopefully this guide gave you ideas beyond the shake effect alone. Shooting stable footage and using Capcut‘s tools can level up your overall editing game. Stay tuned for the next big TikTok trend that will inevitably wash through all our feeds!

AlexisKestler

Written by Alexis Kestler

A female web designer and programmer - Now is a 36-year IT professional with over 15 years of experience living in NorCal. I enjoy keeping my feet wet in the world of technology through reading, working, and researching topics that pique my interest.