In Wistia, there are four types of overlays that can be added to videos in the editor: video, text, images, and graphics.
Video overlays are videos from your library layered on top of your main video, without disrupting the main video's audio.
Text overlays are fully custom copy overlaid on your video (not to be confused with burnt-in captions, which are transcript-driven).
Image overlays are still photos placed on top of your video that can be uploaded, generated with AI, or selected from Unsplash.
Graphics are animated icons (such as emojis and shapes) that can be pulled from our graphics library and added to your video.
To access these features, open the editor and click "Add" from the side panel.
We'll walk you through adding each overlay below.
Add overlays
Add a video
Open the "Add" panel in the editor and choose "Videos." Here, you can add a video overlay from your Media library, or create a new one via upload, import, or record. You can read more about creating media within the editor here.
To add a video overlay to your video, drag it from your Media library onto either the overlay track on the timeline or the video preview. Dropping it on the preview also sets its on-screen position.
Audio from the overlay video is removed by default so it doesn't compete with your main video's audio.
Note
Your main video sets the overall duration, so a video overlay won't play past the end of the main video track. When an overlay runs longer than the main video, the extra length is shown with stripes on the timeline.
Add an image
To add an image overlay to your video, open the "Add" panel in the editor and select "Image." Under "My images," upload an image from your computer or type a prompt in the text box to generate an image with AI.
Note
Images you upload or generate with AI are added to "My images" and stay available across your future editing sessions. However, other users won't see these images in their Overlay panel.
Alternatively, switch over to the "Creative library" tab to search for and apply free, high-res photos from Unsplash.
Hover over your desired image from the "Add image overlay" panel and click the "+" icon to add it to the timeline. Or, drag and drop the image onto the video preview or timeline.
Add text
From the "Add" panel in the editor, choose the "Text" option to start adding custom text directly to your video.
Click the "+" icon next to the preset of your choice (Title, Subcopy, or Body text). Double-click the text box on the video preview to enter your message. You can further customize the appearance of the text from the "Style" tab.
In the Style tab, text customization options include:
Font (Type, Color, Size, Alignment, Capitalization)
Stroke (Weight, Color)
Shadow (Size, Color)
Text background (Color, Opacity)
Animation style
You can also access some of these text customization options from the Overlay menu bar.
To animate your text, visit the "Animation" tab.
From the Animation tab, you can choose an animation for when your text comes into view and/or when it goes out. Text animation options include:
Fade
Scale
Bounce
Rise
Typewriter
And more! Hover over each option to see a preview of an animation or click an option directly to apply it to your text.
Add graphics
From the "Add" panel in the editor, click "Graphic." Here, you can add animated emojis and shapes (i.e., visualizers, basic shapes, callouts) on top of your video.
From the "Emojis" or "Shapes" tab, click the "+" icon while hovering over a graphic or drag and drop a graphic to add it to the timeline.
Customize overlays
When customizing an overlay, you can:
Drag and drop it anywhere on the video (including on top of other overlays)
Resize and rotate it
Crop it by double-clicking it on the video preview (videos and images only)
The Overlay menu bar below the video previewer allows you to make additional changes to your overlay's appearance.
The options available depend on the type of overlay selected. When customizing a Video, Image, or Graphic overlay, you can:
Adjust the corner roundness
Change the opacity
Flip the overlay horizontally or vertically
Add a shadow and change the shadow color
Add a border and change the border color
Add an entry/exit animation
Remove the overlay from the video
If you have a Text overlay selected, you can choose the font type, color, size, and format from the menu bar or delete the overlay.
Tip
Looking for more text customization options? Check out the Style tab of the Text panel.
Using the ellipsis button on the Overlay menu bar, you have the option to copy, paste, or reset the current overlay style. This comes in handy if you have multiple overlays that require the same customizations.
You can also change the layering order of overlapping overlays from here.
Overlay timing and placement
Overlays can be split, trimmed, copied, and pasted like other clips. Slide the overlay along the editor timeline to determine when it should appear in the video. To adjust the duration for which it appears, drag either end of the overlay on the timeline to your desired length.
Multiple overlays can overlap in the timeline. If two or more are in the same area, the timeline will automatically expand to accommodate them.
To change the layering order of overlapping text, images, or graphics, click the ellipsis button on the Overlay menu bar or right-click on the overlay from the timeline. Use these options to bring the overlay to the front, back, upward, or downward.
Delete overlays
To remove an image, graphic, or text from your video, select it from the video preview or timeline, then click the trash icon or press the "Delete" key on your keyboard.
To delete an uploaded or AI-generated image from your image library, hover over the image in the "Add image overlay" panel and click the trash icon.
