Add a square, circle, triangle, diamond, star, hexagon, or arrow from the Shapes section of Overlay in the editor sidebar. Use shapes to frame part of the screen, point at something, or build a simple graphic behind your text.
Add a shape
- Open your video in the editor.
- Move the playhead to where you want the shape to appear.
- Open Overlay in the sidebar, or press
V.
- Under Shapes, click a shape, or click the plus button to add a square.
The new shape starts at the playhead, filled with Tella purple, and appears on the timeline. Click it on the canvas or timeline to open its settings.
Make a rectangle or an oval
Every shape stretches to fill its box. Drag a side or corner handle on the canvas to change the box, so a square becomes a rectangle and a circle becomes an oval. Drag the rotation handle to turn the shape.
Switch to a different shape
Select the shape, then click another tile under Shape in its settings. The fill, border, shadow, timing, and position stay the same.
Change the fill
- Select the shape.
- Under Shape, click the swatch next to Fill.
- Pick a color, gradient, image, video, or animated gradient.
The fill is cut to the shape’s outline. Ambient backgrounds aren’t available for shapes.
Round a square’s corners
Select a square, then choose Square, Round, or Squircle under Corners. Corners only apply to squares.
Add a border
- Select the shape.
- Under Decoration, turn on Border.
- Use Border color and Width to style it.
The border is drawn just inside the shape’s outline. Turn Border off to remove it.
Add a shadow
Select the shape, then choose None, Subtle, or Deep from Shadow under Decoration.
Animate the shape in and out
Select the shape and use Animation in its settings to choose how it enters and leaves, the same way as for media overlays. You can also set its Depth to Behind presenter so you appear in front of it. See Put overlays behind the presenter.
Set when it appears
Drag the start or end of the shape’s card on the timeline to change its duration, or drag the card to move it. Shapes stay attached to the footage underneath, like text: cutting out footage under a shape shortens how long it shows.
To copy a shape, open the menu in its detail header and choose Duplicate. To remove it, click Delete shape below its settings.
Draw a custom outline
The editor has no pen tool. To draw your own outline, use the MCP server or public API, which accept SVG path data for a shape. A custom shape shows a Path tile in its settings, so you can switch it back after trying another shape. Last modified on October 28, 2026
