Create and Manage Watermark Templates

This article will show you how to create a watermark template to reuse in your MediaSilo projects and Review Links. In addition, we’ll review how to edit, delete, or clone an existing template. 

Note that most options for managing watermark templates are only available to administrators. However, depending on your workspace-level settings, non-administrator users can create single-use watermarks for Review Links (See Create an Ad Hoc Watermark Template for a Review Link). 

• Create a Watermark Template
• Create an Ad Hoc Watermark Template for a Review Link
• Update a Watermark Template
• Delete a Watermark Template
• Clone a Watermark Template

Create a Watermark Template

As an administrator, you can create watermark templates that are available across your entire workspace.

Start by opening the Administration page (Click the gear icon in the navigation bar on the left.). Then, go to the SafeStream tab.

Here, you’ll see a list of existing templates in your workspace. The Type column indicates if the template can be applied to videos, images, or documents. 

Next, click the blue New Template button in the top right. Choose the type of template you want to create.

In this example, we’ll choose Video Watermark to design a template for video content. To learn about creating templates for images and documents, please click here. 

This opens the watermark template editor. By default, an email watermark appears in your new template, though you can edit this watermark as described below.

In the preview window, you can drag the watermark to any spot on the screen. (For recommendations on where to place your watermarks, please see Best Practices for Watermarking Your Video Content.) 

To add more watermarks to the template, click the Add Mark button in the bottom left.

With the watermark selected, you can adjust its settings in the panel on the left. Each new watermark defaults to an email watermark; under Watermark Type, you can choose from the following options:

• The viewer’s email address
• The viewer’s name
• Custom text 
• An image

If you select Custom Text, a text field appears directly below the Watermark Type menu. Here, you can enter any custom text you want to display, such as “Do Not Distribute” or “Property of [Insert Your Company Name].”

If you select Image, an upload window will appear below the Watermark Type menu. Be sure to upload an image file in PNG format. The file size cannot exceed 5MB, and we recommend image dimensions of 300 x 400 px. Transparency should be set in the file itself, since image transparency cannot be adjusted in the template editor. 

Once you upload an image, you can click the image icon to choose a different image or the trash-can icon to remove the image. Note that a single template can contain up to three image watermarks.

You can adjust the color, size, or opacity of a text watermark (name, email, or custom text) by selecting the watermark in the preview window and changing its settings on the left side of the template editor. 

Under Text Align, you can set a watermark’s position relative to the X button above the watermark itself. For example, clicking “Center” will center the watermark directly below its “X.” By default, a new watermark is left-aligned. 

With a watermark selected, click the Frame Center buttons to center it horizontally or vertically. Select both Frame Center options to lock the watermark in the very center of the screen.

To remove a watermark, click its X button in the preview window. Note that a template must have at least one watermark. The X button is disabled if you try to delete the only watermark in the template. 

When you’re done customizing your template, enter a title (required) and a description (optional) in the top left. These two fields are for your team’s internal reference only and do not appear in the template itself.  

Lastly, click Save Template. 

You’re now ready to apply the template to your content. To learn how, please see Enable SafeStream on a Project or Enable SafeStream on a Review Link.

Apply Custom Watermarking to a Project

You can apply watermarking to a project from the project settings window. As a project owner or administrator, you can: 

• Apply an existing watermark template to a project, or 
• Apply custom video watermarking without needing to create a new watermark template

On the Projects home page, click the three-dots button for the project you want to watermark. Then, select Edit Project from the options menu. 

In the settings window, go to the SafeStream section. Here, you can turn on the toggles for Visible Video Watermarking, Forensic Watermarking, and/or Visible Image and Document Watermarking.

If you add Visible Video Watermarking, you can select an existing watermark template from the template menu, or click Add Watermarks to apply custom watermarking. 

This will launch a new window where you can customize the watermarking for this project. You have the option to add the viewer’s name, the viewer’s email, an image file, custom text of your choosing, or any combination of these watermark types. Click Save Watermark when you’re done.

This option allows project owners and administrators to customize a project’s watermarking without having to create a new watermark template. The custom watermarking you apply to a project is not saved as a reusable workspace template.  

Back in the project settings window, be sure to click Save Changes.

This method of applying custom watermarking to a project is only available if the option Only Allow Templates is toggled off. This workspace-level setting is located under Administration > SafeStream > Watermark Settings.