diff --git a/src/components/FramingControl.tsx b/src/components/FramingControl.tsx
index 75d93bc0..49f07905 100644
--- a/src/components/FramingControl.tsx
+++ b/src/components/FramingControl.tsx
@@ -11,38 +11,64 @@ interface Props {
 
 export default function FramingControl({ recipe, onChange }: Props) {
   return (
-    <div className="flex gap-2">
-      {(["fit", "fill"] as const).map((mode) => {
-        const Icon = mode === "fit" ? Maximize2 : Crop;
-        const active = recipe.framing === mode;
-        return (
-          <button
-            type="button"
-            key={mode}
-            title={mode === "fit" ? "Fit: Adds black bars (letterbox) to fill empty space" : "Fill: Crops the video to fill the entire frame"}
-            onClick={() => onChange({ framing: mode })}
-            className={cn(
-              "flex-1 min-h-[44px] min-w-[44px] flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-2 py-4 rounded-lg border transition-all duration-150 hover:scale-[1.02] active:scale-[0.98]",
-              active
-                ? "border-film-500 bg-film-50 text-film-700"
-                : "border-[var(--border)] text-[var(--muted)] hover:border-film-300 bg-[var(--surface)]"
-            )}
-          >
-            <Icon size={18} aria-hidden="true"/>
-            <span className="sr-only">
-              Set framing to {mode === "fit" ? "fit within frame" : "fill frame by cropping"}
+    <div className="flex flex-col gap-3">
+      <div className="flex gap-2">
+        {(["fit", "fill"] as const).map((mode) => {
+          const Icon = mode === "fit" ? Maximize2 : Crop;
+          const active = recipe.framing === mode;
+          return (
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              key={mode}
+              title={mode === "fit" ? "Fit: Adds black bars (letterbox) to fill empty space" : "Fill: Crops the video to fill the entire frame"}
+              onClick={() => onChange({ framing: mode })}
+              className={cn(
+                "flex-1 min-h-[44px] min-w-[44px] flex flex-col items-center justify-center gap-2 py-4 rounded-lg border transition-all duration-150 hover:scale-[1.02] active:scale-[0.98]",
+                active
+                  ? "border-film-500 bg-film-50 text-film-700"
+                  : "border-[var(--border)] text-[var(--muted)] hover:border-film-300 bg-[var(--surface)]"
+              )}
+            >
+              <Icon size={18} aria-hidden="true"/>
+              <span className="sr-only">
+                Set framing to {mode === "fit" ? "fit within frame" : "fill frame by cropping"}
+              </span>
+              <div className="text-center">
+                <p className="text-xs font-heading font-semibold uppercase tracking-wider">
+                  {mode === "fit" ? "Fit" : "Fill"}
+                </p>
+                <p className="text-[10px] text-[var(--muted)] mt-0.5">
+                  {mode === "fit" ? "Letterbox / pillarbox" : "Crop to frame"}
+                </p>
+              </div>
+            </button>
+          );
+        })}
+      </div>
+
+      {recipe.framing === "fit" && (
+        <label
+          htmlFor="blurBackground-toggle"
+          className="flex items-center gap-3 cursor-pointer p-3 rounded-lg border border-[var(--border)] bg-[var(--surface)] hover:border-film-300 transition-colors"
+        >
+          <input
+            id="blurBackground-toggle"
+            type="checkbox"
+            checked={recipe.blurBackground || false}
+            onChange={(e) => onChange({ blurBackground: e.target.checked })}
+            className="w-4 h-4 rounded border-gray-300 text-film-600 focus:ring-film-500 bg-white"
+          />
+          <span className="sr-only">Pillarbox Blur</span>
+          <div className="flex flex-col">
+            <span className="text-sm font-medium text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100" aria-hidden="true">
+              Pillarbox Blur
+            </span>
+            <span className="text-xs text-[var(--muted)] mt-0.5">
+              Fill empty space with blurred video
             </span>
-            <div className="text-center">
-              <p className="text-xs font-heading font-semibold uppercase tracking-wider">
-                {mode === "fit" ? "Fit" : "Fill"}
-              </p>
-              <p className="text-[10px] text-[var(--muted)] mt-0.5">
-                {mode === "fit" ? "Letterbox / pillarbox" : "Crop to frame"}
-              </p>
-            </div>
-          </button>
-        );
-      })}
+          </div>
+        </label>
+      )}
     </div>
   );
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib/constants.ts b/src/lib/constants.ts
index 976307a4..3cc60550 100644
--- a/src/lib/constants.ts
+++ b/src/lib/constants.ts
@@ -19,5 +19,6 @@ export const DEFAULT_RECIPE: EditRecipe = {
   saturation: 1,
   stabilization: false,
   soundOnCompletion: false,
+  blurBackground: false,
   normalizeAudio: false,
 };
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib/exportEstimate.test.ts b/src/lib/exportEstimate.test.ts
index a79e7236..19494b7d 100644
--- a/src/lib/exportEstimate.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/exportEstimate.test.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { describe, test, expect } from "vitest";
 import { estimateExportSize, formatEstimatedSize } from "./exportEstimate";
 import { EditRecipe } from "./types";
 
diff --git a/src/lib/ffmpeg.ts b/src/lib/ffmpeg.ts
index 4f215075..87028d4d 100644
--- a/src/lib/ffmpeg.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ffmpeg.ts
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ function buildSessionId(): string {
   return `${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(16).slice(2)}`;
 }
 
-function buildVideoFilter(recipe: EditRecipe, targetW: number, targetH: number): string {
+export function buildVideoFilter(recipe: EditRecipe, targetW: number, targetH: number): string {
   const filters: string[] = [];
 
   if (recipe.trimStart > 0 || recipe.trimEnd !== null) {
@@ -110,10 +110,20 @@ function buildVideoFilter(recipe: EditRecipe, targetW: number, targetH: number):
   }
 
   if (recipe.framing === "fit") {
-    filters.push(
-      `scale=${targetW}:${targetH}:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease`,
-      `pad=${targetW}:${targetH}:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:color=black`
-    );
+    if (recipe.blurBackground) {
+      const preStr = filters.length > 0 ? filters.join(",") + "," : "";
+      filters.length = 0; // clear existing filters, we will push the complex chain
+      const bgScale = `scale=${targetW}:${targetH}:force_original_aspect_ratio=increase,crop=${targetW}:${targetH},boxblur=20:20`;
+      const fgScale = `scale=${targetW}:${targetH}:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease`;
+      filters.push(
+        `${preStr}split=2[blur][main];[blur]${bgScale}[bg];[main]${fgScale}[fg];[bg][fg]overlay=(W-w)/2:(H-h)/2`
+      );
+    } else {
+      filters.push(
+        `scale=${targetW}:${targetH}:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease`,
+        `pad=${targetW}:${targetH}:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:color=black`
+      );
+    }
   } else {
     filters.push(
       `scale=${targetW}:${targetH}:force_original_aspect_ratio=increase`,
diff --git a/src/lib/tests/ffmpeg.test.ts b/src/lib/tests/ffmpeg.test.ts
index c2e42e74..add3a9db 100644
--- a/src/lib/tests/ffmpeg.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/tests/ffmpeg.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
-import { buildAudioFilter } from "../ffmpeg";
+import { buildAudioFilter, buildVideoFilter } from "../ffmpeg";
+import { DEFAULT_RECIPE } from "../types";
 
 describe("buildAudioFilter", () => {
   it("should return an empty string for 1.0x speed", () => {
@@ -46,3 +47,40 @@ describe("buildAudioFilter", () => {
     expect(result).toContain("loudnorm");
   });
 });
+
+describe("buildVideoFilter", () => {
+  it("should generate standard letterbox filters when blurBackground is false", () => {
+    const recipe = {
+      ...DEFAULT_RECIPE,
+      framing: "fit" as const,
+      blurBackground: false,
+    };
+    const filter = buildVideoFilter(recipe, 1080, 1920);
+    expect(filter).toContain("scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease");
+    expect(filter).toContain("pad=1080:1920:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:color=black");
+  });
+
+  it("should generate complex split and blur filters when blurBackground is true", () => {
+    const recipe = {
+      ...DEFAULT_RECIPE,
+      framing: "fit" as const,
+      blurBackground: true,
+    };
+    const filter = buildVideoFilter(recipe, 1080, 1920);
+    expect(filter).toContain("split=2[blur][main]");
+    expect(filter).toContain("scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=increase,crop=1080:1920,boxblur=20:20[bg]");
+    expect(filter).toContain("scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease[fg]");
+    expect(filter).toContain("[bg][fg]overlay=(W-w)/2:(H-h)/2");
+  });
+
+  it("should generate crop filters when framing is fill", () => {
+    const recipe = {
+      ...DEFAULT_RECIPE,
+      framing: "fill" as const,
+    };
+    const filter = buildVideoFilter(recipe, 1080, 1920);
+    expect(filter).toContain("scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=increase");
+    expect(filter).toContain("crop=1080:1920");
+  });
+});
+
diff --git a/src/lib/types.ts b/src/lib/types.ts
index 521a82c2..f8abf2db 100644
--- a/src/lib/types.ts
+++ b/src/lib/types.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ export interface EditRecipe {
   contrast: number;
   saturation: number;
   soundOnCompletion: boolean;
+  blurBackground: boolean;
 }
 
 export type OverlayPosition =
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_RECIPE: EditRecipe = {
   contrast: 0,
   saturation: 0,
   soundOnCompletion: false,
+  blurBackground: false,
 };
 
 export const MAX_FILE_SIZE =