Making a screensaver for a YouTube video is easier than it seems. You don’t have to be a Photoshop guru to do it (though we’ll cover the work in this program, too). You can make attractive screensavers (previews) right from your phone.
And today we are going to learn how to create screensavers both from your phone through apps, and with the help of online services, and programs for the computer. But first, let’s define what a preview is.
The preview in a YouTube video, or screensaver, is the image we see when we search for a video on our topic. It’s more important than the title of the video because it’s the first thing that catches the eye.
If the picture doesn’t catch on, the user will pass by and won’t watch the video. So how do you create captivating screensavers? Let’s go through it all in order.
How to make a screensaver from your computer
Let’s take a look at some popular programs and online services for creating video screensavers.
Useful Links: Who is an SMM specialist, What is collaboration, Tools for promotion in social networks.
In Adobe after effects
Step-by-step instructions on how to make a simple animated screensaver in Adobe after effects:
Download the program from the official site.
Run the installation file and wait for the installation to complete.
Open the program.
Click on the Project tab, and then select New Composition.
Enter the name of the project, select the format and duration, and click “OK”. How long should the screensaver be? The optimal length is 5 seconds. However, keep in mind the content of your screensaver. For example, if it presents some additional information (contact phone number, link to the site, slogan, etc.), you can increase the duration. If it’s just a picture (animation), then 3-5 seconds is enough.
Click on the tab with the screensaver preset, and then select New, and then – Solid.
Go to the Effects & Presets tab, then search for Ramp and apply it to the selected solid (left-click on the effect and drag it to the field with the preset).
Go to the effect control panel and click Start of Ramp, and then change the number to the values we want.
In the Ramp Shape section, select Radial Ramp and increase the End Ramp value.
In the Start Color and End Color fields, select the colors that appeal to us. This is the color scheme of the future screensaver.
Go to the Horizontal Type Tool and write the text that we will place on the screensaver. In the section with the text settings, we work on the color and the font.
Go to the Effects & Presets tab and select the Animation Presets effect, and then select Text. A list of effects opens. Select the one you like and drag it to the preset.
After that, the screensaver is ready. It remains to save the file. To do this, go to the Composition tab, click Add to Render Queue, select the folder to save it to, and adjust the format. Press Render.
In Photoshop
Step-by-step instructions on how to make a simple screensaver for your YouTube video in Photoshop:
Download and install Photoshop, open the program on your computer.
Click “File” and then “Create”. Give the project a name and configure the parameters. Pay attention to the size of the photo. Set it to 1280 by 720 pixels.
Press “Move” and move the line from the ruler to the right by 105 pixels, that is as if we were cutting our workpiece. Do the same with moving the border from left to right. This indentation is necessary for your screensaver to display correctly on any future thumbnails (in search, recommendations, similar videos, etc.).
Find the photo (picture) you want to put on your screensaver and drag it into the working area, right onto our preset. Stretch, rotate, move the photo as you want. When this step is finished, press Enter.
Remove the background (if, for example, you want to cut only your figure). To do this, click on the eraser, set “Opacity” and remove everything unnecessary. For a more precise definition of the figure boundaries, select the “Magic Wand” tool, select the object whose outlines you want to accurately select with it, then select the eraser and quietly walk over the photo.
Find a photo on your computer that you want to be the background and move it to the workpiece. In the level settings on the right, move the slide with the background to the next place after the slide with the cut-out figure. If you want, change the background color or apply a filter to it.
Find the letter T on the left and click it to insert text. The cursor appears on the workpiece. Write what we need. Adjust the color and font, rotate the text if necessary, etc. When the text is finished, press Enter.
Press “File” and “Save for Web”, choose a folder to save, name the file.
For clarity, I recommend watching the video about creating a screensaver in Photoshop on YouTube.
In Adobe premiere
Step-by-step instructions on how to make a simple screensaver for your YouTube video using Adobe premiere:
Download the program and install it on your computer, run the utility.
Enter the name of the project (the form to be filled in will open immediately upon launching). In the “Location” line, specify the folder in which you will save your files. Then click “OK”.
Click the “Edit” section. You will see the “Project” section.
Drag and drop what you want to work with into the “Project” section. It can be pictures, sounds, or something else. In general, anything that you have already prepared and want’s to put on your screensaver.
Drag the file you want to start with from the Project panel to the Timeline section. After that, drag the other files to the same place.
Edit each of the layers (elements). You can adjust the volume (for sounds) and brightness (for photos), add effects and transitions, delete unwanted elements or trim files, etc.
Click the “Graphics” section to add text. Select the appropriate template and drag it to the work panel.
Save the file. To do this, click File, then Export, and then click Media Content. Give the file a name, customize the settings, and save it.
Through online services
Let’s briefly highlight some of the popular online services for creating screensavers:
Canva
You will need to register on the Canva website. After registering, enter “Youtube Screensaver” in the search bar and choose the template you like.
Use the toolbar on the top menu to edit it. We can change the text, the picture, the individual elements. Absolutely everything can be edited here.
When you have finished processing, click “File” on the top left and then “Download” and select the file format. Done. The screensaver is saved on your computer and you can now embed it in your video.
Bannersnack
Another simple and intuitive online editor. The interface is similar to Canva, but the language is different – everything here is in English. However, it is still understandable. And if you have a built-in translator in your browser, you won’t have any problems at all.
Crello
Graphic online editor, similar in interface to the previous two. Only there are more templates and they are different. You need to register to work.
After that, select Create, and then select YouTube Preview. Then choose a template and start editing it. You can add photos and videos from the database or choose something of your own, including royalty-free music, and add text.
There is a function of animation, replace the background. In general, the possibilities are many, and the management is very simple. You download the finished file to your computer.
There are many more online editors – choose what you like. For example, there are also such good services: Renderforest, Animoto, Biteable, and wants, Flixpress, Intromaker.
How to make a screensaver from your phone
The screensaver can be a picture or an animation. Both can be processed from your phone using special applications.
On your Android phone
You can create a screensaver from your Android using the following apps:
Intro Maker. The application is available on Google Play. Rating – 4.7. Inside the program, there are ready-made templates for introductions, a large selection of themes and styles, a library of text layouts and functions to work with fonts. And you can also upload your image and process it: add smiles, stickers, music, sound effects. With this simple editor, you can create professional screensavers of any type. There is a preview function, you can edit already created and saved screensavers at any time.
XEFX. The application is available on Google Play. The rating is 4.7. The service helps turn photos into animations. There is an augmented reality function. You can create live pictures, gif animations, video loops. In addition, you can add text and also animate it. The library contains more than 200 effects for working with pictures. You can create musical slideshows, use them as a photo and video editor.
Video Maker for Videos icon (yes, yes, that’s the weird name of the app). Available on Google Play. Rating – 4.7. This is a creative studio for creating miniatures and videos. There is a built-in photo gallery, font templates, an album of stickers and stickers. You can create drawings or collective images (photomontage). The application is suitable for creating logos, screensavers, flyers, posters, and other graphic design elements.
MovePic. The application is available on Google Play. The rating is 4.4. With this application, you can turn photos and pictures into animations. There are built-in effects, the ability to replace the background. You can mix photos, for example, superimpose one on top of another.
On an iPhone phone
Applications for iPhone with which you can create a screensaver for your YouTube video:
Intro Maker:
The app is available on the App Store. The rating is 4.6. The service offers 20 screensaver templates (including themed templates, for example, for birthdays), but you can also work with your images. There is a rich selection of filters and effects, a sound library, and the ability to upload your music. The application is suitable for creating screensavers, announcements, inserts, and titles for any YouTube video. The free period of use of the service is 3 days.
YouTube Studio.
The app is available on the App Store. The rating is 3.9. This is the mobile version of the creative studio YouTube. This means you can post and edit videos right from your phone.
Tips for creating a screensaver
The splash screen should attract viewers’ attention, make your video stand out from competitors, reflect the content of the video and the theme of the channel, and motivate them to watch the video.
What you need to keep in mind when creating a screensaver for your YouTube video:
Think about the purpose of your video (teaching, informing, encouraging people to buy, etc.). The backdrop should also fit that purpose, evoke that emotion, and leave that impression that you wanted to evoke and leave. The splash screen should reflect the essence of the video. Otherwise, you’ll get negative feedback from users and risk getting banned from YouTube.
Select a screensaver style. For example: animation, drawing, retro photos, etc. The style of the splash screen may vary from video to video, but it should always correspond to the format and the general concept of the channel, the portrait of the target audience.
Let the viewer know that you are appealing to them, that the video is tailor-made for them. This can be some kind of appeal or some attribute reflecting certain characteristics of the audience. This helps not only to attract attention but also to retain it.
What else is important to keep in mind:
- Create screensavers in a single style, one that matches the format of the entire channel;
- Keep in mind the optimal duration of the screen saver – 5 seconds (3 to 15 seconds);
- Make large inscriptions, choose easy-to-read fonts;
- stick to the same color scheme in all screensavers;
- Take care of the image quality (the best option – 1280×720, the size can not exceed 2 megabytes, otherwise the picture will not load).
Your logo and the name of your channel must be on the splash screen. This makes the videos recognizable. The screensaver should be bright and colorful. Don’t forget to analyze the screensavers of your competitors. Remember that you need to outshine them.
Use another tip for making a quality screensaver – use YouTube Analytics. The service shows which screensavers get more clicks. You can use it to figure out what works best for your audience, learn from other bloggers’ experiences, and uniquely customize it.
Useful tips: How to put hashtags, how to create a content plan, how to talk about yourself creatively.
How to change the screensaver in your YouTube video
You’ve already created a screensaver, all that’s left is to embed it in the video. Where and how can you do this? In the Creative Workshop of YouTube. Let’s look at the step-by-step instructions:
- Log in to your account and go to the creative studio.
- Click “Control Panel”.
- Find the clip we are interested in and click “Change”.
- Select the desired option, for example, “End screen saver”.
- On the timeline below the roller select the moment of insertion.
- Download the prepared file from the computer.
- Save.
Another option is to insert a screensaver into the video immediately during editing. Then you upload your video to YouTube with the screensaver already built into it. Isn’t their somewhere where you edit your videos? That’s where you can add a screensaver. For example, you can do it with the handy and simple Movavi Video Editor 15 Plus.
And you can also choose a ready-made screensaver from YouTube’s library. However, you understand that you can’t talk about individuality and uniqueness here.
Conclusion
Note that in the original, a splash screen is a short introduction or conclusion to a video, an insertion in the middle, or elsewhere in the video (for example, if you are giving a lecture and want to take a break and separate the blocks of the meaning). And the splash page we see in the search is called the video cover, or preview.
In practice, both the preview and the inserts in the clip itself are called a screensaver. In principle, the techniques we’ve discussed are as relevant for creating a splash page as they are for creating a cover.
But if it’s a splash screen, you need to take care of the music as well. It should be a separate sound or music that makes your channel recognizable. When choosing a track, be aware of copyrights.
Now you know everything about how to make a screensaver for a Youtube video. All that’s left is to try it out in practice. Remember that your screensaver is your brand’s calling card. A high-quality screensaver is an element of successful channel promotion.
And you can create screensavers not only for your videos, but also do it for other people for money. Why don’t you post a quid on a freelancing exchange called “I create unique screensavers for YouTube videos”? In my opinion, it’s a great part-time job.
