Timers can be a handy addition if you want to emphasize the duration of a particular moment in a video. They are widely used for timelapses, progress videos, tutorials, and sports highlights. Countdown timers can also serve as teasers at the beginning of a video or a new scene.

If you’ve been looking for a way to add a countdown timer to your video, there are two easy ways to do that:

1. You can quickly add a simple timer right in VSDC Free Video Editor.
2. You can download a video with a countdown timer from a free marketplace and add it to your clip.

Depending on your goals, one of these methods will surely help you. Below, we’ll review them both, one after another.

How to add a countdown timer to a video in VSDC

VSDC allows you to quickly create a generic timer for a video. You can have it on throughout the entire video or you can display it for a short period.

To try it for yourself, follow the instructions below:

1. Install VSDC on your PC, launch it and import your footage.
2. On the left-hand side, find the “T” icon and select “Counter”.
3. In the pop-up window, select “Whole parent duration” if you want the counting to continue throughout the entire video. Otherwise, select “From cursor position” and hit OK.
4. Manually place the timer on the scene.

Once you’ve added the timer, you’ll be able to customize two things: the design of the numbers and the counting approach. To tweak the design of the numbers, use the text editing menu at the top. You can change practically anything: their size, font, color, outline, and opacity.

To change the counting approach, go to the Properties window on the right-hand side and use the following parameters:

Playing backwards – select ‘True’ if you need a countdown timer, and ‘False’ if you want a direct time count.

Object duration time – if you want to display the timer for a short period of time in the video, use this option to manually set count duration in seconds or in frames.

Pattern – select the desired display option from the dropdown menu. For instance, you can display total days, hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds, or frames.

And this is it for the first method! If you have any questions left, this video tutorial should make things clearer:

How to add stock countdown footage to your video

If you want to use a more stylized countdown timer in your video, here is a lifehack: use ready-made stock footage. That’s right, sometimes it’s the fastest and the easiest way to achieve the desired look.

1. Search for countdown timer videos on marketplaces like Videezy, Pixabay, Pexels, or Videvo.
2. Carefully read the terms of use and download the footage you like.
3. Place it before the scene you wanted to create suspense for.
4. Merge files using one of the transitions available in the Video Effects menu.

In the example at the beginning of this tutorial, we’ve used the ‘Wipe’ transition that imitates the movement of the clock.

VSDC Pro user? Check this video tutorial

If you happen to be a VSDC Pro user, you can create your own circular progress bar from scratch and customize it the way you want. Watch the tutorial below to find out how.

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If you’re using your own videos to promote your business, stamping them with a logo might be a good idea. Not only does it help you increase brand recognition, but it’s also a surefire way to protect your content from being used by someone else.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to quickly add a logo to a video in VSDC, free video editing software for Windows. VSDC is a non-linear editor which means you can display several videos and images in the same scene by blending and overlaying them.

Before getting started, make sure you have your logo in high quality at hand. You’ll first learn how to overlay it on a video file, then we’ll go over the ways to make it monochrome and semi-transparent.

Here is how to add a logo to a video in VSDC

If your logo was created by a professional designer, you probably had it delivered in one of the following formats: AI, EPS, PDF, SVG, PNG, or JPG. For our purposes, a .PNG logo with a transparent background will be the best option. Such logos look more natural as if they were initially embedded in the video. However, if you don’t have a .PNG file, it’s not a problem. You’ll be able to place any image over a video in VSDC.

Step 1. Launch VSDC and upload your footage using the Import content button on the start screen.

Step 2. Use the Add object menu and select Image. Then find the logo on your PC.

When you select the logo from your computer, the Object’s position settings window will pop up and prompt you to adjust the image position on the timeline. Make sure to select Add new layer. This way, the image will be placed one layer above the footage on the timeline, and it will be easier to tweak.

Step 3. Resize and place the logo wherever you want. For instance, you can place it in the corner or stretch it to the size of the scene and make it nearly transparent so it will look like a watermark.

Once you add the logo to the video, all you need is to make sure that the logo is visible throughout the entire clip. To achieve that, simply match the duration of the files in the scene. The easiest way to do that is by manually stretching the logo file on the timeline. If you want the logo to appear in the video for a short period of time, again, just manually shorten its duration and relocate the file on the timeline if needed. For example, sometimes, instead of displaying a logo non-stop, creators make it appear multiple times during the video.

How to make your logo semi-transparent or monochrome

To make the logo in your video semi-transparent, you need to decrease its opacity: it’s as easy as 1-2-3. Select the logo on the timeline and go to the quick Tools menu at the top. Next, select the wrench icon and toggle the Opacity control to achieve the desired effect.

You can also use color filters to adjust the logo or even make it monochrome by applying one of the quick styles from the menu.

No logo? Create a text watermark within seconds

Instead of a logo, you can add a text watermark to your video. Use this option to feature the name of your brand, your social media handle, or your website address.

Export your video with a logo

Once ready, open the Export project tab and select the desired format to export your video. Remember, you can change the video codec, quality, resolution, size, and other parameters before saving the file. You can also upload it directly to YouTube by selecting the Web >> For YouTube option.

Go ahead and try it for yourself! Download the latest version of VSDC to your PC and add a logo to your videos. VSDC is completely free, it reads all multimedia formats and places no unwanted watermarks on your video after export.

Planning to feature your brand in the video intro or outro? You can apply various effects to the logo and display it in a creative way! Check out this glitched logo intro tutorial as an example:

Download VSDC 8.1 now

The Face Landmarks feature in VSDC is designed to quickly add a motion tracked face mask to a video. Due to the face detection and tracking algorithm, even when the face moves, it remains covered with the mask. The gallery below includes mask template collections you can use for free; however, you can also upload custom images and use them as masks in your video.

Watch the tutorial below and learn how to use Face Landmarks. Then download one of the template collections and try it for yourself.

Motion tracking is a powerful feature that helps you apply a movement trajectory of any object in the video to any added object: it can be an image, a piece of text, a mask, or a shape. At VSDC, we’ve received a few questions about applying motion tracking to text (or, in plain English, “sticking text on a moving object”). To help you out with this task, we decided to publish this detailed tutorial.

If you’re new to VSDC, it is a lightweight and budget-friendly video editor for Windows with motion tracking on board. If you, for some reason, can’t afford the Adobe subscription or can’t use it because your computer isn’t powerful enough, VSDC is a fantastic alternative to rely on. It’s available for $19.99 per year and it requires as little as a couple of gigabytes of RAM on your PC.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to motion track text in a video. Then, we’ll show you how to make motion-tracked text look better by adding a perspective, shadow, and opacity.

How to apply text tracking effect in VSDC Pro

Before you get started, you need to have a clear idea of which object the text will be following in the video. Suppose you want a piece of text to be attached to a person, just like in the example above. In that case, you need to decide in advance which part of the person’s body the text should be following while moving.

We recommend watching the video version of the tutorial first and then, reading the text guide below.

Here is a step-by-step text version of the guide:

1. Launch VSDC and upload your main video.
2. Make a right-click on the video and select Create movement map from the context menu.
3. You’ll be prompted to save that map on your PC. Later, when you need to apply the movement map to the text, you’ll pull it from the place on your computer where you’ve saved it.
4. Place the tracking frame around the spot whose movement you want to track. In our case, it is a person’s head.
5. Hit the Start analysis button and wait until the process is over.
6. If the movement trajectory is correct, click Apply editing.
7. Go back to the main timeline and add a text object using the toolbar on the left-hand side.
8. Adjust the style of the text using the formatting menu at the top. Then make a double click on it.
9. Open the Add object menu and select Movement >> Movement map.
10. You’ll be prompted to select the map you’ve created earlier. Hit OK.

Your video meme is ready! Use the Preview feature to see if everything looks the way you expected. Below, we’ll cover a few tricks you can use to make the text look more professional.

How to make motion-tracked text look better in a video

Most video memes are made in a fast-paced style and contain very simple text captions. However, you can achieve a much better look if you do one of the following:

• Highlight the text
• Add a shadow
• Increase opacity
• Add perspective
• Add an arrow

Notice how different the motion-tracked text looks with these adjustments in place.

You can apply just one effect or combine a few of them; below is the instructions to help you out.

How to highlight motion-tracked text

The “highlighter” effect is called “Brush” in VSDC, and it’s located in the text editing menu. To access it, make sure you’re in the main timeline tab and make a single click on the text object. Then select the Brush color and toggle the opacity control.

How to add a shadow to motion-tracked text

The shadow effect will help you add volume to the text. To apply it, select the text object by clicking on it, then open the Video effects menu, proceed to Special FX and select Shadow.

Notice that the Properties window will slide-in from the right-hand side. This is where you can tweak the settings of the effect: the size, angle, and color of the shadow, for example. You can also switch to the Long shadow option if you want it to be more prominent.

How to increase or decrease opacity of motion-tracked text

Alternatively, you may want to make the text less prominent or even opaque. To achieve that, select the text object, go to the formatting menu at the top, open Text color and toggle the Opacity control.

How to add perspective to motion-tracked text

Adding perspective to text means slightly turning or rather swaying it horizontally or vertically. To apply this effect, click on the text object, open the Video effects menu, proceed to Transforms and select Perspective.

Then go to the Properties window, select a vertical or horizontal perspective and adjust the angle.

How to add a pointing arrow to motion-tracked text

Finally, if your text is attached to a small object or if you have multiple captions that are assigned to different objects, you can add arrows pointing at those objects and moving along with the text. The best way to do that is by adding a .PNG arrow image with a transparent background to the scene and assigning the same movement map to it you assigned to the text earlier.

Time to experiment with motion-tracked text!

You now have all ins and outs of working with motion tracked text. Go ahead and try it for yourself. If you need inspiration, make sure to check out our YouTube channel.

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