Overview
Adding shapes to images and video assets lets you highlight, frame, and draw attention to specific parts of your content while guiding the viewer's focus. They can also enhance the overall design of your scene, making your video more engaging and effective.
Once placed, the shapes can be fully customized according to your creative needs using a wide selection of tools.
The process for adding a shape to an image is slightly different from adding one to a video asset. This article walks you through both methods step by step.
Note:
When you add a shape to a media asset in the Media Editor, the shape becomes embedded in the asset itself. Once saved, the shape and media are merged into a single asset. To edit the shape later, you'll need to reopen the Media Editor.
This differs from adding a shape in the form of a media overlay in the Studio. Unlike an embedded shape, a media overlay remains separate from the media asset, making it editable and available for personalization.
Use Case Examples
The following examples show how shapes can be used effectively in both images and video assets. These use cases can help you decide when and where to add shapes in your own projects.
| Use a rectangle with a dark-to-transparent gradient over an image to add contrast under text: | Use a badge to highlight special offers and promotional deals: |
| Use an arrow to direct focus on a specific area: | Use a circle to focus on the person speaking: |
Adding a Shape to an Image
| 1. | Open the image in the Media Editor. Not sure how? Follow the steps in Accessing the Media Editor. |
| 2. | Click Shapes on the sidebar. |
| 3. | Click the shape that you want to add. |
| The shape is added to the image. ▶ By default, the shape has a black fill color. |
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| 4. | Use the options at the top of the screen to customize the shape as needed. ▶ In the example below, a rectangle was used to create a highlight over two dishes next to the cutting board. After the shape was added to the image, the fill color was changed to green and the opacity set to 40%. |
| 5. | Click Apply in the upper-right corner to save your changes. |
Adding a Shape to a Video Asset
| 1. | Open the video asset in the Media Editor. Not sure how? Follow the steps in Accessing the Media Editor. |
| 2. | Open the timeline by clicking Timeline in the lower-right corner. |
| 3. | Click Shapes on the sidebar. |
| 4. | Click the shape that you want to add. |
| The shape is added to a new track above the main track, so it appears on top of the video asset. ▶ By default, the shape has a black fill color, and its duration is five seconds. |
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| 5. | Use the options at the top of the screen to customize the shape as needed. ▶ In the example below, a circle highlights one of the people in the video asset. After adding the shape, the fill color opacity was set to 0%, and the circle's border was changed to blue. ▶ In the timeline, the shape element (circle) was dragged slightly to the right so that it appears shortly after the video begins and disappears after five seconds. |
| 6. | Click Apply in the upper-right corner to save your changes. |
Shape Editing Options
When a shape is selected in the Media Editor, a toolbar with various editing options appears. Use the expanders below to learn how each option works.
Note:
Many of the shape editing options are relevant only if the shape fill color has a low level of opacity. Refer to the Color expander below to learn how to set the opacity of a fill color.
Applies to: all shapes
By default, the fill color is black.
Select a fill color from the Brand Palette, or click Edit to open the color picker and choose a custom color.
After selecting a fill color, you can change the opacity to make the color more transparent.
Click Edit and then use the opacity slider to control the percentage of transparency, or click the pencil icon to enter a specific percentage directly.
Applies to: all shapes except Line
The stroke is the visible outline (border) of a shape.
By default, this option is disabled. After selecting Stroke on the toolbar, you will also need to enable the option by clicking the eye icon to access all its settings.
After enabling the Stroke option, you can define the following settings:
| a. | Color: the color of the stroke (border) |
| b. | Stroke width: the width of the stroke, in pixels |
| c. | Stroke style |
| d. | Position: the position of the stroke relative to the shape edge (inside, outside, or center) |
| e. | Join: the style that defines how two strokes are joined (miter, bevel, round); in most cases, these will be the shape corners. |
Applies to: all shapes
Use the adjustment settings to optimize the fill color of the shape.
Applies to: all shapes
Apply a filter to the fill color selected for the shape. After selecting a filter, you can use the slider beneath the selected filter to define the intensity.
Note that some filters will only have an effect if the fill color of the shape has a low level of opacity.
Applies to: all shapes
Apply a special effect to the fill color selected for the shape. Each effect can be finetuned by configuring the settings beneath each one.
Note that some special effects will only be visible if the fill color of the shape has a low level of opacity.
Applies to: all shapes
Apply a blur to the fill color selected for the shape. Each blur can be finetuned by configuring the settings beneath each blur option.
Note that if the fill color of the shape is fully opaque, the blur will not have any effect.
Applies to: all shapes
Use this option to create a shadow along the edges of the shape.
By default, this option is disabled. After selecting Shadow in the toolbar, you will also need to enable the option by clicking the eye icon to access all its settings.
After enabling the Shadow option, you can define the following settings:
| a. | Color: the color of the shadow |
| b. | Angle: the angle of the shadow in relation to the shape |
| c. | Distance: the start and end point of the shadow in relation to the position of the shape. The larger the distance, the larger the shadow. |
| d. | Blur: the degree to which the edges of the shadow are feathered |
Applies to: Rectangle, Line, Star, Polygon
Use the Shape option to configure attributes specific to a shape as detailed below:
| Shape | Attributes |
| Rectangle | Degree of corner roundness |
| Line | Line width |
| Star | Number of points in star; inner diameter of star |
| Polygon | Number of polygon sides; degree of corner roundness |
Applies to: all shapes
If you have added more than one shape to a media asset, you can use the Move settings to change the layer order of the stack.
Use the Align to Page settings to align the shape on the media asset.