Going live in 3 - 2 - 1
Every streamer needs a countdown timer video for taking quick breaks and starting up new sessions. Canva provides an easy way to create the countdown timer. You can use the Canva free plan to make a basic design. Obviously, the Canva Pro plan gives you more options.
Follow the steps below to get a countdown timer for your live stream:
Sign up and log in to the Canva dashboard.
Click on the "Create a design" button in the top right corner of the main dashboard.
A sub-menu will appear. You can either search for "Video" or scroll down and select the "Video" option, which provides the correct video size of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
You should now see a plain white rectangle canvas in front of you. Move your mouse to the left side of the screen where you are currently on the "Design" tab. At the top, you'll find a white "Search video template" box. Below this box, Canva will display a list of videos. Click inside the search box, type "countdown 60", and press Enter.
This will display all the 60-second countdown videos available in Canva. If you need a different duration, such as a 10-second, 30-second, or 5-minute video, simply adjust the number in the search box accordingly. For example, type "countdown 30" for a 30-second video.
After you select your video, something like the above will be displayed, where you need to click 'Apply all pages'. If you have Canva Pro there will be many more designs available to choose from.
Note: If the countdown timer doesn't fill your workspace, you can reposition it and adjust its width and height to fit your project.
At this point, you could finish the process, as you have successfully created a countdown timer. You can then download it in MP4 format and upload it to Yostream. But if you wish to add your custom text and elements carry on with this tutorial.
I have added 'Sunday Show' and a vector spiral element on Page 1 of the canvas. If you want to show it on all the pages of the design then you should copy the text element and paste it on all the pages one by one. Select each page and press Ctrl+V. Continue doing this for each page.
Now it's time to save your new countdown timer. Navigate to the top right of your screen and click the "Share" button. In the drop-down menu, select the option to Download it, another menu opens where you choose the MP4 video and click "Download".
That's it! You have your countdown video.
Now upload it to Yostream studio. Open Studio from the Yostream dashboard and in the bottom right corner click on "Brand". In the 'Brand' panel you will find the option for 'Video'. Select it and upload your countdown timer.
Your uploaded video will always remain inside your Yostream studio after you have once uploaded it. When you click to go live, tap on your new countdown timer, and it will begin to play in your stream.
Yes, just like you have added a video in your Yostream studio, you can also add music. Choose "Audios" from the bottom right tabs and upload your music audio file.