Add and edit elements

Elements are things you place on top of your video: text, images, video overlays, blur over private details, highlights, shapes, animated emoji, audio and sound effects. Add them from the Elements tab in the video editor, then set where they sit, how they animate and when they play.

Before you start#

• The Elements tab is in the video editor for how-to videos, product demos and Polish videos. Social clips add elements from the + button on the timeline; see Edit a social clip.
• You need edit rights on the video.
• Adding and editing elements is free. It doesn't use credits.

Add an element#

1. Move the playhead#

   Put the playhead where the element should start. New elements start there.

2. Click Add element#

   In the Elements tab, click Add element. The Add an element list opens, grouped by Text, Media, Annotate and Sound. Type in Search elements to filter it.

   

3. Pick an element#

   Click one. It's added at the playhead, selected, and its options open. Most elements last 5 seconds; a sound effect lasts 2 seconds.

4. Set it up#

   Choose its content (text, image, file or sound), then its placement and animation.

Change when an element plays#

Every element has its own block on the timeline.

The In this video list in the Elements tab shows every element with its time range, such as "0:03 – 0:07". Click one to select it and jump to it. Hidden elements are greyed out.

Elements are tied to a moment of the recording: when a step before an element gets longer or shorter, the element moves with it. See Understand the timeline.

Place an element#

Drag an element on the video to move it, or drag its handles to resize it. The Placement card gives exact control:

A Blur has no Placement card: drag it over what you want to hide and resize it with its handles.

Use the placement grid#

The placement grid helps you line elements up with each other and keep them a safe distance from the edges. It's an editing aid only: it never appears in the exported video.

• Show or hide it: press G, or click the grid button in the Placement card (Show grid (G) / Hide grid (G)). G doesn't work while you're typing in a field. The grid stays on until you turn it off, and the editor remembers your choice in this browser.
• What you see: a 12 × 12 grid of lines inside a dashed safe area that sits 5% in from each edge of the video.
• Click a region: with an element selected, hover the grid to see the region under the pointer, such as Top right or Bottom third, and click to move the element there. It's the same as picking that region in Position.
• Snap while dragging: hold Alt (Option on a Mac) while you drag. A moved element keeps its size and its nearest edge snaps to a grid line or to the edge of the video. When you resize, each edge you drag snaps on its own. Release Alt to drag freely again, even in the middle of a drag. Snapping works whether the grid is shown or not. Handles that keep an element's proportions don't snap.

The grid has 33 named regions, the same list Position offers:

After you drag an element by hand, Position reads Custom box: "Dragged off the grid. Pick a region, or draw a cell, to snap the frame back."

Fixed during zoom#

When the camera zooms in, the recording gets bigger and moves. An element can either ride along with it or stay where it is on the frame:

Blur and Highlight always zoom with the recording, whatever the setting, because they mark a spot on it: a blur that stayed still would slide off the email it hides.

Animate an element#

The Animation card has three tabs: Entrance, Idle and Exit. Its header sums up what's set, for example "Fade in · Float · Slide out".

Defaults: Speed Normal, Easing Smooth.

Keep an element moving (Idle)#

An idle animation keeps an element gently alive between its entrance and its exit, so a logo or a callout doesn't sit frozen while the video plays. Open the Idle tab and pick a Move; each tile previews it.

Speed is Slow, Normal (default) or Fast. Float, Pulse and Wiggle ease in after the entrance has settled and ease out before the exit starts, so the element never jumps.

Not every element has an Idle tab. Shapes have their own Loop animation instead (see Shapes), and elements whose content already moves on its own don't offer one.

Options for each element#

Text Box#

Image and Video#

Click Choose an image (or Choose a video) to open your media library, or Replace to swap it. Set Corners, Shadow and Border. A video also has Volume (default 100%) and Loop.

Blur and Highlight#

• Blur: Strength (0–100%) and Corners. Size the blur box over what you want to hide.
• Highlight: Color and Corners.

Shapes#

Pick a Shape (Arrow, Rectangle, Circle, Ellipse, Triangle, Star, Polygon, Heart, Callout, Spark) and a Loop animation (Blink Pulse, Shape Glow, Dotted Ants, or Arrow Push for arrows). Set Fill, Stroke, Stroke width and Corners. Arrows and callouts have a Direction (Pointer for callouts).

Animated Emoji#

Choose an emoji from Choose an emoji (search or browse by category) and whether it Plays on a Loop (default) or Once.

Audio and Sound Effect#

• Audio: click Choose audio to pick or upload a file. Set Volume (default 100%) and Loop.
• Sound Effect: pick one from Choose a sound effect (search, filter by category, and preview each with its play button), or Upload audio. Set Volume, Loop, and under More options, Fade in, Fade out and Start at ("Skips the start of the file.").

Save an element as a preset#

Use the bookmark button (Presets) at the top of an element's options: Save current as preset, enter a name and click Save. Saved presets are shared with your team; apply one from the same menu. Deleting one asks "Delete this preset?": it's removed for everyone on the team.

Your media library#

Images, videos and audio come from your team's media library. Click Upload or drop files anywhere in the window to add them. Filter with All (everything your team uploaded), This video or My uploads.

Deleting a file from the library doesn't break videos that use it: "Anything already using it keeps working."

Elements in other languages#

Each language of a video has its own elements. Elements you add before translating are copied into the translation as they are; text you typed in a text box isn't translated. Elements you add after translating appear only in the language you have open. See Understand language versions of a video.

Scenes, cards and transitions#

Full-screen scenes aren't elements. Add them with the + button in the timeline toolbar (Add to the timeline at the playhead):

Each scene opens its own editor; every field is explained in Edit scenes and cards. In the title card and intro card editors, Load title card template starts from a Built-in style or one Your team saved: "Built-in styles keep your text; team templates restore the whole saved design."

Transitions sit between scenes in recordings made with the desktop app and in uploaded videos: click the Add transition pill on the seam between two scenes on the timeline. Pick a Type (Fade, Slide, Wipe, Clock wipe, Iris, Zoom, Dreamy zoom, Film burn, Linear blur, Slide overlap, Zoom cross or Zoom swap), its Duration and Easing, and an optional Sound.

Troubleshooting#

Related#