Last Updated on 7 July 2022 by Seb
There’s no doubt that Canva is a powerhouse when it comes to creating visuals for social media. But what are the best ways to use it for video?
In this blog post, we’ll share some Video tips and tricks that will help you create amazing videos using nothing but Canva.
It is a great way to easily create videos for your social media channels. From adding text to customizing animations, we’ve got you covered!
So whether you’re just getting started with video or you’re looking for some new ideas, read on and happy creating!
- Tip 1 – Quickly Import Videos
- Tip 2 – Cropping and Resizing Videos
- Tip 3 – Trimming Videos
- Tip 4 – Adding Footage
- Tip 5 – Transitions
- Tip 6 – Fade To Black Transition
- Tip 7 – Quickly Add Text Over Videos
- Tip 8 – Animate Text
- Tip 9 – Animate Page
- Tip 10 – Animate Elements
- Tip 11 – Search Filters
- Tip 12 – Colour Overlays
- Tip 13 – Splitting Clips
- Tip 14 – Add Multiple Audio Tracks
- Tip 15 – Zoom Thumbnails Button
- Tip 16 – Letter Frame Effect
- Tip 17 – Create Video Intros And Outros
- Tip 18 – Share Templates
- Tip 19 – Record Yourself
- Tip 20 – Additional Resources
- Canva Video Tips & Tricks Conclusion
Tip 1 – Quickly Import Videos
Say you want to import videos into your project. On the homepage click on Video and then select a video size you want to work with. From here you can just drag and drop a video file straight onto the page. This is super useful and will save you lots of time.
Tip 2 – Cropping and Resizing Videos
Once the video is on the page you crop it by using the handles on the sides of the video. You can also click crop and choose a specific selection. Then click enter to save that selection. You can resize it by clicking and dragging the corners.
Tip 3 – Trimming Videos
To do this just select the video clip you want to trim then click the scissors icon in the top menu.
Now you can click and drag the handles to adjust the start time and end time. You can also click and drag on the selected part to change the selection. You can also trim the video directly on the timeline at the bottom of your screen.
Tip 4 – Adding Footage
To add stock footage click on the videos tab on the left-hand side of your screen and search for what you want then drag it onto the timeline.
You can add multiple clips one after the other. If you want a blank page click on the plus sign at the end of the timeline along the bottom of the screen. Then you can have a fresh slate to add text, elements or pictures or videos to that clip.
Tip 5 – Transitions
To add transitions between video clips, you can click on the plus sign between the two video clips. You’ll have the option to add a page or add a transition. Click on Transition and Canva will show you the available ones on the left-hand side of the screen. By default, it’s set to none. If you hover over one of the options you can see a preview of what it will look like. Once you click on one you can see options to change the duration or direction of the transition. You can apply it once or between all pages.
Then you can see what it looks like on the play-head.
Tip 6 – Fade To Black Transition
Sometimes you might like a video clip to fade to black to show the passing of time or to end a scene. This is a really common transition that is used all the time. To create a fade-to-black transition between clips you add a page – shorten the length – Change the background colour to black then set the transition to dissolve.
You can do the same thing with any other colours. By adjusting the duration you can have it fade out slower or longer. This is good for ending a scene.
Tip 7 – Quickly Add Text Over Videos
Simply use the text shortcut T on your keyboard to add Text on top of the video. You can then edit the font, as usual, using the options at the top of the screen.
Tip 8 – Animate Text
A new feature Canva added is the ability to animate text separately from the page.
Select the text and click animate in the top menu. Now you can select one of the text animations displayed on the left hand side.
Tip 9 – Animate Page
To animate the page, click Page animations in the top left-hand corner of the page and choose from any of the animations. A great way to bring your videos to life!
Tip 10 – Animate Elements
You can also animate elements. If you click R on your keyboard you can add a rectangle. Selecting this element allows you to animate this as well.
Alternatively, you can search for elements with the element tab on the left-hand side of the screen.
This leads us to Tip 11 – Search Filters
Tip 11 – Search Filters
When searching for something you can filter down your search using the button on the right-hand side of the search bar. You can filter the elements search by colour, orientation or animation. You can also find this button on the templates tab, the photos, and the audio tabs.
Tip 12 – Colour Overlays
You can create your own coloured filter over a video by adding a rectangle on it. (Use the shortcut R to add a rectangle). Re-size it to cover the page. Then drop the transparency so you can see the video underneath. The transparency button can be found on the top right-hand side when the rectangle is selected.
Now by changing the colour of the overlay you can change the look of the video. You can make it look warmer by adding orange or colder by adding blue.
Tip 13 – Splitting Clips
You can even split the clip and make the scene go from day to night.
If you hover over a clip and then click the 3 dots that appear in the corner you can split the clip. Then by changing the colour overlay you make the scene go darker.
Tip 14 – Add Multiple Audio Tracks
Another new feature that Canva added is the ability to add multiple audio clips. So you can add a voiceover, add background music and sound effects all on the timeline.
Simply drag in your own audio if it’s a voiceover or add music from Canva’s audio tab on the left. You can trim the audio as normal by dragging the ends and if you double click you can change the selection. You can adjust the volume by clicking the speaker in the top right.
Tip 15 – Zoom Thumbnails Button
If you have a lot of clips on your timeline a useful new feature is the “Zoom Thumbnails” button.
If you click it you can toggle between “zoom page” and “zoom thumbnails”. When on zoom thumbnails you can use the slider to zoom into your timeline making it easier to fine tune clips.
If you change it to zoom page this will make the preview window larger or smaller. This is a little-known feature that’s useful to know.
Tip 16 – Letter Frame Effect
Tip 16 is the Letter Frame Effect or the Text Mask Effect. This is a cool feature to add to videos. Canva have now added 4 more Fonts to their letter frames. If you click on Elements then type one of the following into the search bar;
+Letter +Frame +anton
+Letter +Frame +abril
+Letter +Frame +tropikal
+Letter +Frame +agrandir
You can easily find the letter effect frames. Once you have added your letters you can drag a video into the frame.
Double-clicking the letter lets you choose the selection and size. You can also add +lower or +upper to the end of the search to narrow it down further. You can search for a specific number this way or a specific letter.
Tip 17 – Create Video Intros And Outros
Another useful thing you can do with Canva video is made simple Video Intros and Outros.
Simply go to templates and search for intros. Then you can customise any of these existing templates to create your intro. Just add your logo or business name. The same goes for outros. Lots of cool pre-made outros you can use out of the box or customise yourself.
If you use another video editor as well as Canva you can export the MP4 and then import it into your video editor of choice. I personally use Camtasia to screen recording my YouTube videos.
Some of these templates contain premium content so if you have the free version you will have to upgrade to pro to use it. (Click the link at the end of this post to sign up!)
If you can’t find the exact video intro you would like you can get more premium templates from a site called Videobolt.net. They have lots of high-quality video intros that you can also customise. This is how I created the Glitch effect intro I used in my “20 Canva Video Tips and Tricks” video.
I have another video on my channel, Learn With Seb, about how to use Videobolt. Feel free to check it out or visit the site directly.
Tip 18 – Share Templates
Canva gives you the ability to share templates and designs and this means you can also sell templates. To get a shareable link to your design click share in the top menu. Click the drop-down where it says share a link to edit and then select “Share a link to use as template”. Then click “copy link” and now you can send that link to anyone and all they have to do is open it in a browser and they can edit it.
If you wanted to sell your Canva templates you just provide this link at a point of sale.
So make sure you SAVE the Link you just copied and then use your own eCommerce store or a marketplace like Fiverr, Creative Market or Etsy to promote your designs.
Once a sale happens you can send the customer a link to the template or better yet, just add the link to an auto-generated Order Confirmation email or Thank You Email once a sale happens.
A lot of these platforms allow you to customise the thank you email so you can just put the links straight in there.
Just add something like, “Thank you for your order. Here is a link to your purchase:”
This way only people who buy the product will see the link.
If you are thinking of doing this just remember that you can only sell your unique designs. You cannot sell existing Canva Templates.
Tip 19 – Record Yourself
Another cool thing you can do with Canva is record yourself. If you click on the uploads tab you’ll see a button called record yourself.
Once you click on the button you’ll be taken to the recording studio. It may ask you for permission to access your camera and mic.
Once confirmed you can select the microphone in the top right-hand corner and the camera if you have different ones set up. Then just click the red recording button to record yourself.
Tip 20 – Additional Resources
Lastly Tip 20 is a list of useful resources you can use in conjunction with Canva to help you create amazing content.
Free Stock Video Sites
Free Stock Photo Sites
https://icons8.com/photos/transparent – Transparent PNGs of Stock Photos
Free Audio Editor
Audacity – Audio recording
Premium Video Templates
Free Screen Recorder and Live Streaming Software
If you want more advanced screen recording and live streaming you can look at OBS. This is used by a lot of Twitch streamers and YouTubers.
I could go on but these should be enough to get you started!
Canva Video Tips & Tricks Conclusion
Thank you for reading this post. I hope you found it jam-packed with useful information. Canva is a great tool that can help you create amazing content. With these Canva Video tips and tricks, you can take your Canva skills to the next level.
Feel free to share this post with your friends and followers. For access to the full range of Canva content click the link below and sign up for Canva Pro! Happy creating!