Add Overlay

Add a new overlay of any type to the timeline at a specified position. For data visualizations (charts, graphs, KPIs), use add_data_viz instead. For cinematic templates (including intros), use add_cinematic_template or insert_cinematic_as_intro instead.

How It Works

overlay_type must be a valid OverlayType (lowercase kebab-case). properties dict varies by type. Do NOT use this for charts/graphs/data — use add_data_viz instead. FOR AUDIO OVERLAYS — three distinct types, pick the right one: sound — Background music, ambient tracks, instrumentals. Use when user says "add music", "background music", "add a beat", "ambient sound", "add a track". Goes on the BGM mixer channel (gets automatically ducked under voiceover). sfx — Sound effects, transitions, impacts, whooshes, risers. Use when user says "add a whoosh", "transition sound", "impact", "ding", "boom", "notification sound", "applause". Goes on the SFX mixer channel. voiceover — AI-generated narration. Do NOT use add_overlay for voiceover — use adhoc_vo_solo instead, which generates the audio from text via TTS. For sound and sfx: set media_query to describe what the user wants (e.g. "upbeat electronic", "dramatic whoosh", "soft piano", "crowd cheering"). The system searches the audio library and auto-fills the real asset URL. NEVER put a URL in properties. properties for sound/sfx: {content: "display label", styles: {volume: 0.8}}. FOR MAPS: Use place NAMES, not coordinates. The backend auto-resolves to real coords via PostGIS (5M+ cities, 4.4K regions, 236 countries). overlay_type determines the map skin — pick based on user intent: map — basic clean map (default if user just says "add a map") map-satellite-zoom — satellite imagery with zoom-in effect (space-to-ground reveals) map-route-tracker — animated vehicle following a route (car, plane, boat, motorcycle, train) map-tactical — military/intelligence briefing style (green phosphor, grid, targets) map-vintage-explorer — old explorer/treasure map aesthetic (sepia, compass, landmarks) map-news-broadcast — TV news broadcast style (headline, brand color, data items) map-neon-city — cyberpunk/neon nightlife style (glowing markers, particles) map-topographic — hiking/trail with elevation data (waypoints, elevation chart) map-flight-path — airline route arcs (flights, plane icons, info cards) map-data-choropleth — data visualization heat map (regions with values, color scales) map-cinematic-split — split screen with map on one side and video on the other Location — set ONE of: cityName:"Tokyo", iso_a2:"JP", regionName:"California". Backend resolves coords. Camera motion — use cameraCombo for preset motion instead of manual camera values: smooth-zoom, dramatic-drop, bounce-land, slow-rotate, quarter-orbit, full-orbit, tilt-reveal, crane-down, cinematic-swoop, flyover, satellite-descent, epic-reveal. Easing: easeOutExpo (default), spring, easeOutBack, easeOutElastic, easeOutBounce, easeInOutCubic, linear, steps. Tile base: tileStyle — liberty, bright, positron, dark_matter, satellite, topo, watercolor, terrain. Pin icons: pinIcon — dot, pulse, modern-pin, pin, plus, x-mark, flag, anchor, skull, summit, camp, trail. Points of interest: points:[{label:"London"},{label:"Paris"}] — unified array, backend resolves coords. Routes: routes:[{fromLabel:"London", toLabel:"Paris", curved:true}] — backend resolves coords + arcs. Effects: vignette, grain, bloom (boolean) + vignetteAmount, grainAmount, bloomAmount (0-1), opacity (0-1). Borders: borders:{show:true, color:"#hex", width:2}. Fills: fills:{countries:["US","CA"], color:"#hex"}. Skin-specific arrays (backend migrates these into unified points[]): route-tracker: waypoints[{label}], tactical: targets[{designation, type}], vintage-explorer: landmarks[{label, icon}], neon-city: locations[{label}], topographic: waypoints[{label, elevation}], flight-path: flights[{fromLabel, toLabel}], data-choropleth: regions[{isoA2, value}], cinematic-split: syncPoints[{label, videoTimestamp}]. FOR STICKERS: overlay_type='sticker'. Properties must include: content — REQUIRED. "premium:{id}" for built-in SVG or "giphy:{giphy_id}" for GIPHY animated stickers. category — Social, Reactions, Arrows, Badges, Bubbles, Decorative, Emoji, Info (premium) or Search (GIPHY). src — GIPHY stickers need the transparent GIF/WebP URL. styles — {scale: 0.1-3, opacity: 0-1, fill: "#hex" (SVG only), animation: {enter: "fade"|"bounce"|"pop"|"spin"|"shake"|"float"}}. Premium sticker IDs match their name in kebab-case. Categories contain 8-18 stickers each. If unsure which sticker, emit a sticker_grid UI block with category filter so user can browse and pick. FOR TEXT OVERLAYS: overlay_type='text'. properties must include content and styles. Minimum required style keys: fontSize, fontWeight, color, backgroundColor, fontFamily, fontStyle, textDecoration. All additional keys from change_text_style are also supported (letterSpacing, lineHeight, textTransform, textShadow, background, WebkitBackgroundClip, WebkitTextFillColor, padding, borderRadius, border, boxShadow, backdropFilter, opacity, filmGrain, vignette, breathe, cinemaComposition, animation). To apply a design template after creation, follow with apply_text_template. Quick-start: properties: { content: "Your Text", styles: { fontSize: "48px", fontWeight: "700", color: "#FFFFFF", backgroundColor: "", fontFamily: "font-sans", fontStyle: "normal", textDecoration: "none" } } Available fonts: font-sans (Inter), font-serif (Merriweather), font-mono (Roboto Mono), font-retro (VT323), font-league-spartan, font-bungee-inline, font-poppins, font-playfair-display, font-oswald, font-bebas-neue, font-pacifico FOR COUNTER OVERLAYS: overlay_type='counter'. properties MUST include: value — REQUIRED (number). The target number to count up to (e.g. 1000, 99.9, 50). The counter animates from 0 to this value. label — text shown above the digits (e.g. "SUBSCRIBERS", "REVENUE", "GOALS"). prefix — text before digits ("$", "#", "+"). suffix — text after digits ("%", "pts", "K", "views"). decimals — decimal places (0-4, default 0). Use 1-2 for currency/percentages. skin — visual style. Pick based on user intent: "rolling-digits" (default split-flap board), "scoreboard" (LED sports display), "ticker-tape" (stock market/finance), "digital-clock" (7-segment LED), "neon-counter" (glowing neon, PRO), "odometer" (car mechanical), "minimal" (clean thin), "circular-progress" (ring with number), "milestone" (achievement burst, PRO), "hud" (sci-fi readout, PRO). Skin selection guide: sports → scoreboard, finance/stats → ticker-tape, tech/sci-fi → hud or digital-clock, celebrations → milestone, clean/modern → minimal, retro → rolling-digits or odometer, futuristic → neon-counter. Style overrides (optional): digitColor (#hex), labelColor (#hex or rgba), bgColor (#hex or transparent), ringColor (#hex for progress bar), digitFont (font-family string), labelFont (font-family string), opacity (0-1), scale (0.1-3), easing (linear|ease-out|spring|bounce), totalFramesOverride (animation duration in frames, default ~36 = 1.2s). Quick-start: properties: { value: 1000, label: "SUBSCRIBERS", skin: "rolling-digits" } Example: "add a counter showing $50K revenue" → properties: { value: 50000, label: "REVENUE", prefix: "$", suffix: "K", skin: "ticker-tape" } FOR CALENDAR OVERLAYS: overlay_type='calendar'. Similar to counter — uses nested props.

Specifications

Category
Overlays
Execution
instant
Credit Cost
Free
Overlay Types
text, image, shape, video, sound, voiceover, sfx, caption +16 more
Tags
creation, timeline

Example Prompts

add a text overlay
insert an image here
add a logo
put a lower third at 5 seconds
add some background music
add a whoosh sound effect
add upbeat music

Required Parameters

overlay_type (string)
Type of overlay (e.g. 'text', 'image', 'video', 'caption', 'lower-third'). For charts use add_data_viz.
from_frame (number)
Start frame for the new overlay
duration_frames (number)
Duration in frames

Optional Parameters

properties (object)
Type-specific properties (text content, styles, layout). Do NOT include src/URL for video/image/sound — use media_query instead.
media_query (string)
For video/image/sound overlays: short content description of what to search for (e.g. 'sunset beach', 'mountain landscape', 'upbeat music'). The system auto-resolves real asset URLs. Do NOT provide URLs.
footage_type (string)
For video overlays: set 'A' if user wants content with speech or dialog (interview, talking head, news report, testimonial, reaction, vlog, presenter, podcast, explainer, commentary, announcement). Set 'B' if user wants visual-only footage (cinematic, drone, aerial, scenic, ambient, background, establishing shot, timelapse, stock footage, b-roll, cutaway, montage, texture). Omit or set 'any' if unclear.
skin (string)
Visual skin for the overlay. Valid skins vary by type: video=[clean,device-phone,device-laptop,polaroid,film-strip,broadcast,cinema,pip,split-screen,vintage-tv], lower-third=[broadcast-news,cinematic,corporate,documentary,glass-panel,gradient-bar,minimal-line,social-media,sports,tech], counter=[rolling-digits,neon-counter,scoreboard,ticker-tape,digital-clock,milestone,odometer,circular-progress,minimal,hud], calendar=[flip-clock,neon-glow,editorial,glass-morphism,gradient-wave,handwritten,hud,minimal-mono,cinematic,sports-ticker], image=[ken-burns,cinematic-vignette,polaroid,gallery-frame,magazine,parallax,glitch,mosaic,duotone,3d-perspective]
user_text (string)
undefined

Use Cases for Overlays

Add lower-thirds and name titles for YouTube interviews
Layer data visualizations over B-roll for corporate presentations
Place map overlays on travel vlogs to show locations

How to Get Started with Add Overlay

1.Open any project in the 6trim editor or create a new one.
2.Type a prompt in the AI assistant — for example: "add a text overlay".
3.The Add Overlay result appears as a text overlay on your timeline. Drag to reposition or resize.

Frequently Asked Questions

Try Add Overlay Free

Type a prompt or use the toolbar. No download required.

Use Add Overlay

More Overlays Tools

Insert Cinematic as Intro
Insert any cinematic template at frame 0, shifting all existing overlays forward. Same 37 templates as add_cinematic_template but with intro behavior.
Add Cinematic Template
Add a cinematic template overlay at the playhead. 37 templates across 4 categories (framework, creative FX, newspaper/editorial, social) with media slots, color grading, transitions, and VFX.
Add Data Visualization
Add a data visualization chart overlay at the playhead. 11 chart types across 7 categories with full data customization, theming, and animation.
Change Chart Properties
Modify data, titles, or styling of an existing chart overlay. Shallow-merges props_patch into overlay.props.
Change Map Properties
Modify styling, camera, or post-processing of an existing map overlay. Shallow-merges props_patch into overlay.props.