Abstract: Some embodiments provide a media editing application for generating and editing shadows. The media editing application provides a set of editing tools for creating a composite presentation from first and second media clips, and a preview display area for displaying a preview of the composite presentation. In some embodiments, the media editing application provides a shadow generation tool for generating a shadow for the second media clip and displaying the shadow in the preview display area. The shadow is composited with the first and second media clips to create the composite presentation. The shadow projection tool of some embodiments includes a set of on-image controls for display in the preview display area near the second media clip. The set of on-image controls can be moved on the preview display to modify a set of attributes of the shadow.