Protect your content: Add a watermark to your video
Your creative work, be it a photo, a short text, a painting, or a video, is an undeniable testimony of your time and commitment to art, as precious and powerful as the One Ring in Lord of the Rings. Would you leave the ring somewhere in Mordor, completely unprotected and without any safety precautions? The same goes for videos, and here’s where a watermark comes into play. When you watermark videos, you are clearly stating who the rightful creator and owner of the content is, making it impossible for any Gollums to claim unfair rights.
Your creative work, be it a photo, a short text, a painting, or a video, is an undeniable testimony of your time and commitment to art, as precious and powerful as the One Ring in Lord of the Rings. Would you leave the ring somewhere in Mordor, completely unprotected and without any safety precautions? The same goes for videos, and here’s where a watermark comes into play. When you watermark videos, you are clearly stating who the rightful creator and owner of the content is, making it impossible for any Gollums to claim unfair rights.
What is a watermark?
Watermarks have been around since the beginning of time… well, that is if you count art as the beginning of time. Most painting masterpieces feature the artist’s signature, a distinguishable mark that not only adds to their value but also protects them from wrongful claims, shedding any trace of doubt when it comes to ownership and who the creator is. Think of video watermarks as a Reserved by sign that you’d find on a restaurant table, preventing anyone else from swooping in. Watermarks most often come in the shape of a logo, a symbol, or even plain text that is stamped somewhere on a video. Most creators add video watermarks in the bottom right or left corners, but you can also see them displayed all across the screen. When you add watermarks to video, you can either opt for a slightly transparent logo or even go for a fully colored option. After all, the creator’s got all the power!
Why would I need to add a watermark to a video?
When you watermark videos, you’re basically feeding two birds with one scone: security and awareness. When you add watermarks to videos, you’re safeguarding your content and preventing unauthorized usage or copyright infringement through its reproduction by someone other than the original creator. We’ve previously touched upon the video watermark placement debate, and while many prefer a subtle, semi-transparent logo hidden in the bottom corners, it is important to know that this can easily be removed through cropping or basic editing that enhances the contrast and makes the transparent symbols disappear. This is why an increasing number of creators are opting for less opacity in their watermarks, which are displayed in the center of the video, making it virtually impossible to remove without explicit permission from the author.
Yet another reason why you should add watermarks to your videos comes from the branding aspect, which means better exposure and can encourage viewers to look up other videos of yours if they particularly liked a specific one that’s been watermarked. It’s literally free brand exposure! Besides, a watermarked video can be perceived as a symbol of professionalism and add more credibility to your materials, as they are made and edited by a skillful creator whom they can easily identify and get in touch with.
How to add watermarks to videos
By now, you’re for sure considering it, so let’s find out how to add watermarks to videos with ease and without having to purchase expensive software. There are, in fact, solutions that can help you watermark videos online so you can skip complicated installs and stop clogging your computer storage. Flixier is a web-based video editor that can help you with content creation, editing, and distribution from A to Z, as well as adding video watermarks. Yes, you read that right: you don’t need to download anything since Flixier runs directly in your browser. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to add watermarks to videos:
Step 1: Import your videos into Flixier
Pull up a tab of your favorite browser and head to flixier.com. Tap the Start Editing button and then go to the Import option to bring over your videos and logo. The best thing is that you can also connect your Google Drive, Dropbox, or One Drive account and import files straight from there, as well as from your smartphone. Pretty smooth, right?
Step 2: Adjust watermark size
Drag and drop your video on the canvas section, and then drag and drop the logo on top of the video to place your watermark. To adjust its sizing, simply drag the edges of your logo to make it bigger or smaller. As a bonus feature, Flixier has a social media safe zones feature that you can toggle on and off, so you can avoid any content overlap with interface buttons like the comment section or the text description.
Step 3: Adjust watermark placement
You can just as easily select the watermark and change its position on the video. Whether you’re opting for a center-placed video watermark or you’re going for the top or bottom corners, it’s effortless to adjust its placement.
Step 4: Tweak watermark opacity (optional)
Select your watermark and take a glance at the object inspector on the right side of the screen. You’ll find the Opacity slider, which you can drag down to add some transparency to your logo.
Step 5: Remove watermark color (optional)
If you’re going for an even more discreet look at your video watermark, go to the Color tab and select the Greyscale filter to remove vivid colors and have your logo look almost invisible.
Step 6: Adjust how long your watermark stays on
If you wish to have your watermark show up mid-video or to have it on during its entire duration, good news! Simply select the watermark in the timeline section and drag it horizontally to adjust how long it stays on the video.
Take pride in your work and keep it safe, all while promoting your personal brand– who would have thought something as subtle as a video watermark could have such a huge impact? Keep your content’s digital footprint intact and spread awareness like a real professional with the help of a watermark adder like Flixier for effortless results.
