3D Photo Trend Phonky Town

2021Video editing trend / photo montagesemi-active

Also known as: 3D Photo Effect · #3DPhotoEffect · Phonky Town Trend

3D Photo Trend Phonky Town is a 2021 TikTok video trend featuring 11-image montages with 3D zoom effects in CapCut, set to the phonk track "Phonky Town" by PlayaPhonk.

The 3D Photo Trend is a TikTok video format where users create 11-image montages with a 3D zoom effect using the CapCut editing app, set to the phonk track "Phonky Town" by PlayaPhonk. The trend exploded across TikTok in May 2021, with top posts pulling millions of views, before spreading to other platforms in the following months.

tiktok sound trendsphonk music memescapcut memes2021 memesslideshow memes

Overview

The 3D Photo Trend follows a specific formula: users select 11 photos, apply a 3D zoom effect in CapCut (a free video editing app by ByteDance), and sync the montage to a cut version of "Phonky Town"1. The zoom effect creates an illusion of depth and motion on still images, making flat photos look like they're popping out of the screen1. The result is a quick, punchy slideshow that feels cinematic despite being made from regular photos. Most versions run around 15-20 seconds and feature personal photos, fan edits of characters, or animal images.

On October 29, 2020, music producer PlayaPhonk uploaded "Phonky Town" to SoundCloud2. The track is a phonk song built on heavy bass and Memphis-style production. Over the next nine months, it racked up nearly 6 million streams and over 137,000 likes on the platform4.

Before the 3D trend took off, "Phonky Town" circulated on TikTok in various unrelated videos during mid-May 20214. Then around May 19, 2021, a new format clicked into place: 11-image montages using CapCut's 3D zoom effect, synced to a chopped version of the song4. The exact first post is unknown, but on May 19, TikTokers @phlip._.phlop and @creatorofgarf uploaded the earliest known viral versions4. The @phlip._.phlop post pulled over 2.5 million views and 638,000 likes, while @creatorofgarf's version hit 4.6 million views and 252,900 likes within two months4.

Origin & Background

Platform
SoundCloud (song), TikTok (video trend)
Key People
PlayaPhonk, @phlip._.phlop, @creatorofgarf
Date
2021

On October 29, 2020, music producer PlayaPhonk uploaded "Phonky Town" to SoundCloud. The track is a phonk song built on heavy bass and Memphis-style production. Over the next nine months, it racked up nearly 6 million streams and over 137,000 likes on the platform.

Before the 3D trend took off, "Phonky Town" circulated on TikTok in various unrelated videos during mid-May 2021. Then around May 19, 2021, a new format clicked into place: 11-image montages using CapCut's 3D zoom effect, synced to a chopped version of the song. The exact first post is unknown, but on May 19, TikTokers @phlip._.phlop and @creatorofgarf uploaded the earliest known viral versions. The @phlip._.phlop post pulled over 2.5 million views and 638,000 likes, while @creatorofgarf's version hit 4.6 million views and 252,900 likes within two months.

How It Spread

The trend caught fire fast on TikTok in late May 2021. On May 21, the Smudge the Cat TikTok account posted a 3D photo edit featuring the famous dinner table cat, and it blew up to 6.9 million views and 2 million likes. The next day, fitness TikToker @leanbeefpatty dropped a JoJo's Pose-themed version that reached 9.1 million views and 1.6 million likes.

The trend jumped off TikTok on May 25 when Coub user zawarudo posted a Big Floppa edit using images from the VK page floppa_cat. That post hit 244,000 views and 2,900 likes. By late June 2021, a re-edited version of zawarudo's Big Floppa montage went viral in its own right, sparking a wave of 3D zoom edits across platforms outside TikTok.

CapCut's accessibility played a big role in the trend's spread. The app is free on both iOS and Android, and its 3D zoom effect requires no advanced editing skills. Users could download the app, import their photos, apply the effect, and export a finished video in minutes. The hashtag #3DPhotoEffect became the main tag connecting all versions of the trend.

Media

How to Use This Meme

The format is straightforward:

1

Download CapCut (free on iOS and Android)

2

Gather 11 photos. These are typically personal photos, character fan edits, pet pictures, or themed image sets

3

Import the photos into CapCut and apply the 3D zoom effect to each image

4

Add the "Phonky Town" audio (usually a shortened cut of the track)

5

Sync the photo transitions to the beat drops

6

Export and upload to TikTok with the #3DPhotoEffect tag

Cultural Impact

The trend turned CapCut into a household name among TikTok creators. While CapCut already had a large user base as ByteDance's in-house editor, the 3D Photo Trend drove a wave of new downloads from people specifically wanting to recreate the effect. Marketing guides and brand strategists started pointing to the trend as a template for commercial TikTok content, recommending that businesses use the format for product showcases and brand storytelling.

"Phonky Town" itself got a massive boost from the trend. PlayaPhonk's SoundCloud track was already popular in phonk circles, but the TikTok trend pushed it to a much wider audience. The song became one of the most recognizable TikTok sounds of mid-2021.

Fun Facts

The standard format calls for exactly 11 photos, a number that became part of the trend's identity even though there's no technical reason for that specific count

PlayaPhonk's "Phonky Town" hit nearly 6 million SoundCloud streams in its first nine months, with the TikTok trend driving a significant chunk of that growth

The trend spread from TikTok to Coub (a Russian-based video platform) before hitting mainstream Western platforms outside TikTok

CapCut's 3D zoom effect existed in the app before the trend, but most users didn't know about it until "Phonky Town" montages made it go viral

Derivatives & Variations

Big Floppa 3D Edit:

Coub user zawarudo's May 2021 edit using Big Floppa cat images became the breakout version outside TikTok, spawning its own round of re-edits[4]

JoJo's Pose Edits:

@leanbeefpatty's JoJo-themed version (9.1 million views) kicked off a subcategory of anime-themed 3D photo montages[4]

Smudge the Cat Edit:

The dinner table cat's official TikTok account rode the trend to 6.9 million views, one of the top-performing individual posts[4]

Brand and Tutorial Adaptations:

Marketing platforms like HeyGen built tutorial content around the format, teaching brands how to create their own 3D photo montage ads[1]

Frequently Asked Questions

3D Photo Trend Phonky Town

2021Video editing trend / photo montagesemi-active

Also known as: 3D Photo Effect · #3DPhotoEffect · Phonky Town Trend

3D Photo Trend Phonky Town is a 2021 TikTok video trend featuring 11-image montages with 3D zoom effects in CapCut, set to the phonk track "Phonky Town" by PlayaPhonk.

The 3D Photo Trend is a TikTok video format where users create 11-image montages with a 3D zoom effect using the CapCut editing app, set to the phonk track "Phonky Town" by PlayaPhonk. The trend exploded across TikTok in May 2021, with top posts pulling millions of views, before spreading to other platforms in the following months.

tiktok sound trends phonk music memes capcut memes 2021 memes slideshow memes

Overview

The 3D Photo Trend follows a specific formula: users select 11 photos, apply a 3D zoom effect in CapCut (a free video editing app by ByteDance), and sync the montage to a cut version of "Phonky Town". The zoom effect creates an illusion of depth and motion on still images, making flat photos look like they're popping out of the screen. The result is a quick, punchy slideshow that feels cinematic despite being made from regular photos. Most versions run around 15-20 seconds and feature personal photos, fan edits of characters, or animal images.

On October 29, 2020, music producer PlayaPhonk uploaded "Phonky Town" to SoundCloud. The track is a phonk song built on heavy bass and Memphis-style production. Over the next nine months, it racked up nearly 6 million streams and over 137,000 likes on the platform.

Before the 3D trend took off, "Phonky Town" circulated on TikTok in various unrelated videos during mid-May 2021. Then around May 19, 2021, a new format clicked into place: 11-image montages using CapCut's 3D zoom effect, synced to a chopped version of the song. The exact first post is unknown, but on May 19, TikTokers @phlip._.phlop and @creatorofgarf uploaded the earliest known viral versions. The @phlip._.phlop post pulled over 2.5 million views and 638,000 likes, while @creatorofgarf's version hit 4.6 million views and 252,900 likes within two months.

Origin & Background

Platform
SoundCloud (song), TikTok (video trend)
Key People
PlayaPhonk, @phlip._.phlop, @creatorofgarf
Date
2021

On October 29, 2020, music producer PlayaPhonk uploaded "Phonky Town" to SoundCloud. The track is a phonk song built on heavy bass and Memphis-style production. Over the next nine months, it racked up nearly 6 million streams and over 137,000 likes on the platform.

Before the 3D trend took off, "Phonky Town" circulated on TikTok in various unrelated videos during mid-May 2021. Then around May 19, 2021, a new format clicked into place: 11-image montages using CapCut's 3D zoom effect, synced to a chopped version of the song. The exact first post is unknown, but on May 19, TikTokers @phlip._.phlop and @creatorofgarf uploaded the earliest known viral versions. The @phlip._.phlop post pulled over 2.5 million views and 638,000 likes, while @creatorofgarf's version hit 4.6 million views and 252,900 likes within two months.

How It Spread

The trend caught fire fast on TikTok in late May 2021. On May 21, the Smudge the Cat TikTok account posted a 3D photo edit featuring the famous dinner table cat, and it blew up to 6.9 million views and 2 million likes. The next day, fitness TikToker @leanbeefpatty dropped a JoJo's Pose-themed version that reached 9.1 million views and 1.6 million likes.

The trend jumped off TikTok on May 25 when Coub user zawarudo posted a Big Floppa edit using images from the VK page floppa_cat. That post hit 244,000 views and 2,900 likes. By late June 2021, a re-edited version of zawarudo's Big Floppa montage went viral in its own right, sparking a wave of 3D zoom edits across platforms outside TikTok.

CapCut's accessibility played a big role in the trend's spread. The app is free on both iOS and Android, and its 3D zoom effect requires no advanced editing skills. Users could download the app, import their photos, apply the effect, and export a finished video in minutes. The hashtag #3DPhotoEffect became the main tag connecting all versions of the trend.

Media

How to Use This Meme

The format is straightforward:

1

Download CapCut (free on iOS and Android)

2

Gather 11 photos. These are typically personal photos, character fan edits, pet pictures, or themed image sets

3

Import the photos into CapCut and apply the 3D zoom effect to each image

4

Add the "Phonky Town" audio (usually a shortened cut of the track)

5

Sync the photo transitions to the beat drops

6

Export and upload to TikTok with the #3DPhotoEffect tag

Cultural Impact

The trend turned CapCut into a household name among TikTok creators. While CapCut already had a large user base as ByteDance's in-house editor, the 3D Photo Trend drove a wave of new downloads from people specifically wanting to recreate the effect. Marketing guides and brand strategists started pointing to the trend as a template for commercial TikTok content, recommending that businesses use the format for product showcases and brand storytelling.

"Phonky Town" itself got a massive boost from the trend. PlayaPhonk's SoundCloud track was already popular in phonk circles, but the TikTok trend pushed it to a much wider audience. The song became one of the most recognizable TikTok sounds of mid-2021.

Fun Facts

The standard format calls for exactly 11 photos, a number that became part of the trend's identity even though there's no technical reason for that specific count

PlayaPhonk's "Phonky Town" hit nearly 6 million SoundCloud streams in its first nine months, with the TikTok trend driving a significant chunk of that growth

The trend spread from TikTok to Coub (a Russian-based video platform) before hitting mainstream Western platforms outside TikTok

CapCut's 3D zoom effect existed in the app before the trend, but most users didn't know about it until "Phonky Town" montages made it go viral

Derivatives & Variations

Big Floppa 3D Edit:

Coub user zawarudo's May 2021 edit using Big Floppa cat images became the breakout version outside TikTok, spawning its own round of re-edits[4]

JoJo's Pose Edits:

@leanbeefpatty's JoJo-themed version (9.1 million views) kicked off a subcategory of anime-themed 3D photo montages[4]

Smudge the Cat Edit:

The dinner table cat's official TikTok account rode the trend to 6.9 million views, one of the top-performing individual posts[4]

Brand and Tutorial Adaptations:

Marketing platforms like HeyGen built tutorial content around the format, teaching brands how to create their own 3D photo montage ads[1]

Frequently Asked Questions