Using the Overlay and Composition Editor

Introduction

The Composition Editor is playout.video's built-in visual editor for creating overlay-rich video segments for your live stream. You can add logos, text, captions, stickers, audio visualizers, now-playing displays, and more: all without any design software or technical skills.

Compositions are standalone media items that combine background content with overlay elements. Once created, you add them to your stream's playlist alongside regular videos. When a composition plays in your stream, all overlays are rendered together into the final output.

One of the most powerful workflows is editing directly from playlist items while your stream is running. From a playlist item's Edit button, you can:

• edit an existing composition and save a new version, or

• edit a video in the composition editor and save it as a new composition that replaces that video item in the playlist.

In both cases, you can push updates to the live stream without stopping playback.

What Is a Composition?

A composition is a visual layout that combines multiple overlay elements on a canvas. Think of it as a design template for a segment of your stream. For example:

• A lo-fi music composition: background image + audio visualizer + now-playing display + channel logo

• A starting soon composition: branded background + countdown text + social media handles

• A intermission composition: background video loop + "Be right back" text + logo

Compositions live in your media library just like videos. You can reuse them across multiple streams and playlists.

Accessing the Composition Editor

There are several ways to open the composition editor:

From the Media Library

1. Navigate to Files in the main navigation

2. Click the Create button

3. Select Composition

4. Choose a name and aspect ratio

5. The editor opens so you can add overlays before saving

During Stream Creation

1. When creating a new live stream, you can add compositions to your playlist if we select multiple audio, video or image items.

2. Click Create Composition in the playlist setup step

3. The editor opens inline so you can design your composition as part of the stream setup
   Pick a video and audio, click Add

4. 

   Composition editor pops up

   

From the Playlist

1. Open your stream's management page

2. Go to the Playlist tab

3. Find the item you want to change

4. Click the playlist item's Edit button

   

5. If it's a composition item, the composition opens in edit mode

6. If it's a video item, the composition editor opens in video-edit mode

7. 

This is the recommended path when your stream is already live and you need fast on-the-fly overlay updates.

Dedicated Editor Page

Each composition has its own editor page at /composition/{compositionId}. You can navigate there directly from any composition link in the app.

Overlay Types

The editor sidebar provides access to all overlay types. Click an icon to open its panel, then add elements to the canvas.

Video

Add video clips as overlay layers on your composition:

1. Click Video in the sidebar

2. Browse or search for video content

3. Click to add the video to the canvas

4. Position and resize by dragging

Videos play as part of the composition's timeline. You can trim their start and end points using the timeline editor at the bottom of the canvas.

Image

Add your channel logo, watermark, or any image:

1. Click Image in the sidebar

2. Upload an image or select from available stock images

3. Position it on the canvas by dragging

4. Resize by dragging the corner handles

Best practices:

• Use PNG with transparency for logos so the background doesn't show

• Place logos in a corner where they won't obstruct important content

• Keep logos small enough to be visible without being distracting

Text

Add custom text for titles, announcements, or branding:

1. Click Text in the sidebar

2. Choose from text style presets or start with a blank text element

3. Type your content and customize the appearance: font, size, color, background, and alignment

4. Position and resize on the canvas

Common uses:

• Channel name or tagline

• "Subscribe" reminder

• Schedule information

• Social media handles

Captions

Add captions or subtitles to your composition:

1. Click Captions in the sidebar

2. Configure caption style (font, size, color, background)

3. Position the caption area on the canvas

Captions improve accessibility and help viewers who watch without sound.

Audio

Add background music or sound effects to your composition:

1. Click Audio in the sidebar

2. Upload audio files or browse available sounds

3. Adjust volume and timing on the timeline

Audio overlays play alongside any video content in the composition.

Audio Visualizer

The audio visualizer creates a dynamic visual representation of your composition's audio, perfect for music channels and lo-fi streams:

1. Click Visualizer in the sidebar

2. Choose a visualizer style

3. Customize colors to match your branding

4. Position and resize on the canvas

The visualizer reacts to the audio playing in the composition, creating an engaging visual experience for viewers.

Ideal for:

• Lo-fi music streams

• Podcast streams

• Ambient/relaxation channels

• Any stream where audio is the primary content

Now Playing

Show viewers what's currently playing:

1. Click Now Playing in the sidebar

2. Configure the display style (text format, font, colors)

3. Position on the canvas

The Now Playing overlay displays track information, which is especially useful for music channels where viewers want to know what song is playing.

Working with the Canvas

Aspect Ratios

The composition editor supports multiple aspect ratios to match your streaming needs:

• 16:9 (Landscape): standard for YouTube, Twitch, and most platforms

• 9:16 (Portrait/Vertical): ideal for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts

• 1:1 (Square): works well for Instagram and Facebook

The aspect ratio is set when you create the composition and should match your stream's aspect ratio for the best results.

Timeline

The timeline at the bottom of the editor controls when each overlay appears and disappears during the composition's playback:

• Drag overlay bars to change when they appear

• Resize bars to change how long they're visible

• Layer order in the timeline corresponds to the visual stacking order on the canvas

Layering

Overlays are stacked in layers. Elements added later appear on top of earlier ones. You can:

• Reorder layers to control which elements appear in front

• Show/hide layers to temporarily disable overlays without deleting them

Preview

The editor includes a preview that shows how your composition will look with all overlays applied. Use this to fine-tune positioning and timing before saving.

Versioning

Every time you save a composition, a new version is created. This means:

• You can load previous versions from the settings panel to revert changes

• Your stream continues using the version that was active when the playlist was last updated

• After editing a composition, you may need to update your stream's playlist for the changes to take effect

Using Compositions in Your Stream

Compositions are added to your stream just like videos:

1. Open your stream's management page

2. Go to the Playlist tab

3. Click Add and select your composition from the media library

4. Drag to reorder it within the playlist

When the stream reaches a composition in the playlist, it renders all the overlays together and plays the result as a single video segment. The composition is rendered once and cached, so subsequent plays use the cached version for efficiency.

Updating a Running Stream

If you edit a composition while your stream is running:

1. Open your stream's management page and go to Playlist

2. On the composition item, click Edit

3. Make your changes in the composition editor and save (this creates a new version)

4. Return to the stream's management page

5. The system detects that the composition has been updated

6. Click Update Playlist to push the new version to the running stream

7. The next time the composition plays, it will use the updated version

This lets you iterate on overlays in real time without stopping or recreating the stream.

Editing a Video Item as a Composition (from Playlist)

You can also click Edit on a video item in the playlist:

1. Open your stream's management page and go to Playlist

2. On a video item, click Edit

3. The composition editor opens with that video as the background layer

4. Add overlays (text, logo, visualizer, now-playing, etc.)

5. Click Save & Apply

6. A new composition is created from your edit

7. The playlist item is updated by replacing the original video item with the new composition at the same position

If that item is currently playing, the system applies the change with smart timing so the transition is smooth for viewers.

Tips for Great Overlays

Keep It Clean

• Don't overcrowd the canvas with too many overlays

• Leave the main content area clear and visible

• Use 2-4 overlay elements maximum for a clean look

Consistent Branding

• Use your brand colors across all text and overlay elements

• Keep your logo in the same position across compositions

• Use consistent fonts for a professional appearance

Readability

• Make sure text is large enough to read on mobile devices

• Use contrasting colors (light text on dark backgrounds, or vice versa)

• Add a semi-transparent background behind text for better readability over video

Performance

• Use optimized images (PNG for logos, JPG for backgrounds)

• Keep image file sizes reasonable (under 2MB for overlays)

• Shorter compositions render faster than very long ones

Troubleshooting

Overlay not showing on the stream?

• Make sure the overlay is visible (not hidden) in the editor

• Check that the overlay is positioned within the canvas area

• Save your composition and update the stream's playlist

Composition changes not appearing on the stream?

• Open the composition from the playlist item's Edit button and save your changes

• After saving, go to the stream's management page

• Check if the playlist update badge is showing

• Click Update Playlist to push the new composition version

I edited a video item, but I still see the original video in playlist

• Make sure you clicked Save & Apply (not just close)

• Confirm the save completed successfully in the editor

• Refresh the playlist view to verify the video item was replaced by a composition

• If needed, click Update Playlist to push the updated playlist to the running stream

Image overlay looks blurry?

• Use a higher resolution source image

• For logos, use high-resolution PNG files

• Make sure you're not stretching a small image to a large size

Audio visualizer not reacting?

• Verify that your composition has audio content (an audio or video overlay with sound)

• Check that the visualizer is properly configured and visible

Text is hard to read?

• Add a background color behind the text

• Increase the font size

• Use a contrasting color combination

Next Steps

• Best Practices for Overlay Design on Live Streams: detailed design tips

• Building and Managing Playlists: manage your stream content

• How to Create Your First 24/7 Live Stream: complete setup guide