Inject Energy Into YouTube Snapshots

Your YouTube video, or any other clip published on any forum, gets a larger number of hits if it has an attractive thumbnail. And, the fact is, a thumbnail becomes 10x more attractive when the main character that the image has have a neon border around it.

With that said, in the following sections, you will learn a couple of methods on how to add a YouTube thumbnail border around the main characters and/or objects that are significant to the clip.

Part 1: How to Add Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail for Free with Filmora

Being one of the most versatile and intuitive post-production tools available in the market today, Wondershare Filmora X allows you to add a neon border to a YouTube thumbnail quite conveniently. You can learn how to get this done on Windows or Mac by following the steps given below.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add Image to the Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora X on your PC (a MacBook Pro M1 is used here), ensure that the project aspect ratio is set to 16:9 (Widescreen) on the splash screen, and click New Project. On the main interface, click the Preview quality and display settings icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, click Change Project Aspect Ratio, click to select 1280 x 720 (HD) from the Resolution menu of the Project Settings box, and click OK to save the custom project settings.

Then select My Media from the menu bar if not already selected, click Project Media from the navigation pane, and click Import from the Media box to select and import the image of the main character or object that you want to use in the thumbnail.

Now, drag the image from the Media box to the Timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Clear Image Background, Add Border, and Add Custom Background

Go to Effects from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then AI Portrait from the navigation pane, and click and drag the Human Segmentation preset from the right box, and place it over the image track in the Timeline.

Double-click the image layer, scroll down the upper-left box to the Video Effects section, and use the Edge Thickness and Edge Feather sliders to adjust the character’s edges to make them as realistic as possible. Click OK when done.

Next, click and drag the Human Border preset over the image track in the Timeline, and follow the same procedure to customize the border. This will give the character a neon border effect.

Now, use the method explained earlier to import a custom image for the background, and drag and place it under the previous track in the Timeline.

If you are running the latest version of Filmora, you will find there are some neon light effects available under AI Portrait as well.

Step 3: Add Titles to Thumbnail

Go to Titles from the menu bar, click to select the Default tab and then Lower 3rds from the navigation pane, and click and drag your preferred lower-third preset from the right window to a separate layer in the Timeline. Double-click the lower-third layer, and use the available options in the upper-left window to change the text, its color, etc., and drag the textbox to place it to your preferred position on the image as well. Click OK to save the changes.

Next, click to select Titles from the navigation pane, and drag your preferred title from the right window to the upper-most track in the Timeline. Now use the method explained earlier to edit the text, its color, position, etc. to make it look professional.

For more tips and tricks for creating YouTube thumbnail, you can check this You Tube thumbnail creating guide.

Step 4: Get the Neon Border Thumbnail

Click the Snapshot (Camera) icon from the upper-right area of the Timeline, go to My Media from the menu bar, right-click the thumbnail of the screenshot you captured, and click Reveal in Finder (on Mac) or Reveal in Explorer (on Windows) to get to the folder the YouTube thumbnail border is saved in.

Part 2: How to Add a Glowing Neon Border in Your YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

Canva is another intuitive editing program that works on the web interface rather than having you download and install an app on your PC. You can add a neon border for YouTube thumbnails using Canva by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add a Background

After signing in to your Canva account, click Create a design from the top-right corner of the page, click Custom size from the bottom, define 1280 and 720 in the Width and Height fields on the box that appears respectively, and click Create new design.

Now, click to select Background from the navigation bar on the left (if the Background tool is not visible, click More and then choose Background from the expanded list), and click to select a background from the images available in the center pane.

Step 2: Upload an Image and Add Effects

Click Uploads from the navigation bar, click the More icon from the right of the Upload media button present at the top of the center pane, choose your preferred method to upload the image (with the transparent background) that you want to use, upload the image, and drag it from the center pane to the Canvas.

Note: You can use any of the tools available online to remove the background from your image for free.

To add a YouTube thumbnail border, make sure that the image that you added to the Canvas is selected, click the Duplicate icon from the upper-right area, and use the scaling handles of the copy of the image to increase its size a bit. Reposition the image back to its original location as well.

Then, click Edit image from the upper-left corner of the Canvas, click Duotone from the Edit image pane at the center, if need be, click See all, choose your preferred duotone effect to apply on the image, choose your preferred highlight and shadow colors from the box that appears next, and click Back from the top of the pane.

Next, click See all next to the Adjust section from the center pane, and drag the Blur slider to the right to increase the blur effect on the image.

Step 3: Position the Layers

While keeping the duplicate image selected, click the Position button from the upper-right area of the Canvas, and click Background to send the second image behind the first one to get the neon border effect for the photo.

Part 3: How to Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Because YouTube thumbnails are nothing but static images, creating YouTube thumbnail border with Adobe Photoshop is comparatively easier. The process of doing this is given below:

Step 1: Define Document Preferences and Import an Image

Launch Adobe Photoshop on your PC, click Create new, and on the New Document customization box, define the width and height values to 1280 and 720 pixels respectively. Select Transparent from the Background Contents menu as well if not already selected. Click Create from the bottom to create a new Photoshop document with the specified document settings. Next, open the folder that contains the source image, drag the photo to Photoshop, and press Enter to place the photo.

Step 2: Remove Background from the Image

Make sure that the image layer is selected in the Layers panel on the right, go to Select from the menu bar at the top, and click Subject. From the bottom of the Layers panel, click the Add a mask icon to get rid of the background, leaving only the human on the Canvas.

Step 3: Add a Custom Background and an Outline Around the Subject

Use the method explained earlier to import a background image of your choice to Photoshop. Drag the background image layer to the bottom in the Layers panel. Double-click the masked layer, click to select Stroke from the left pane of the Layer Style box, and use the options available on the right to manage the size, color, position, etc. of the stroke that has been added around the human subject. Click OK when done, and then export the image normally to use it as a YouTube thumbnail border.

Summary

It is important to know that the default resolution of a YouTube thumbnail is 1280 x 720 pixels that is usually written and referred to as 720p. While adding a YouTube thumbnail border, it is also imperative to have a good sense of color combination and fonts. Furthermore, a decent tool like Wondershare Filmora X must be used to add an appealing neon border around the main subject in the thumbnail image easily and quickly.

02 Add a Glowing Neon Border in YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

03 Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Part 1: How to Add Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail for Free with Filmora

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add Image to the Timeline

Now, drag the image from the Media box to the Timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Clear Image Background, Add Border, and Add Custom Background

Next, click and drag the Human Border preset over the image track in the Timeline, and follow the same procedure to customize the border. This will give the character a neon border effect.

Now, use the method explained earlier to import a custom image for the background, and drag and place it under the previous track in the Timeline.

If you are running the latest version of Filmora, you will find there are some neon light effects available under AI Portrait as well.

Step 3: Add Titles to Thumbnail

For more tips and tricks for creating YouTube thumbnail, you can check this You Tube thumbnail creating guide.

Step 4: Get the Neon Border Thumbnail

Part 2: How to Add a Glowing Neon Border in Your YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add a Background

Step 2: Upload an Image and Add Effects

Note: You can use any of the tools available online to remove the background from your image for free.

Next, click See all next to the Adjust section from the center pane, and drag the Blur slider to the right to increase the blur effect on the image.

Step 3: Position the Layers

Part 3: How to Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Because YouTube thumbnails are nothing but static images, creating YouTube thumbnail border with Adobe Photoshop is comparatively easier. The process of doing this is given below:

Step 1: Define Document Preferences and Import an Image

Step 2: Remove Background from the Image

Step 3: Add a Custom Background and an Outline Around the Subject

Summary

02 Add a Glowing Neon Border in YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

03 Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Part 1: How to Add Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail for Free with Filmora

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add Image to the Timeline

Now, drag the image from the Media box to the Timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Clear Image Background, Add Border, and Add Custom Background

Next, click and drag the Human Border preset over the image track in the Timeline, and follow the same procedure to customize the border. This will give the character a neon border effect.

Now, use the method explained earlier to import a custom image for the background, and drag and place it under the previous track in the Timeline.

If you are running the latest version of Filmora, you will find there are some neon light effects available under AI Portrait as well.

Step 3: Add Titles to Thumbnail

For more tips and tricks for creating YouTube thumbnail, you can check this You Tube thumbnail creating guide.

Step 4: Get the Neon Border Thumbnail

Part 2: How to Add a Glowing Neon Border in Your YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add a Background

Step 2: Upload an Image and Add Effects

Note: You can use any of the tools available online to remove the background from your image for free.

Next, click See all next to the Adjust section from the center pane, and drag the Blur slider to the right to increase the blur effect on the image.

Step 3: Position the Layers

Part 3: How to Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Because YouTube thumbnails are nothing but static images, creating YouTube thumbnail border with Adobe Photoshop is comparatively easier. The process of doing this is given below:

Step 1: Define Document Preferences and Import an Image

Step 2: Remove Background from the Image

Step 3: Add a Custom Background and an Outline Around the Subject

Summary

02 Add a Glowing Neon Border in YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

03 Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Part 1: How to Add Neon Border to YouTube Thumbnail for Free with Filmora

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add Image to the Timeline

Now, drag the image from the Media box to the Timeline at the bottom.

Step 2: Clear Image Background, Add Border, and Add Custom Background

Next, click and drag the Human Border preset over the image track in the Timeline, and follow the same procedure to customize the border. This will give the character a neon border effect.

Now, use the method explained earlier to import a custom image for the background, and drag and place it under the previous track in the Timeline.

If you are running the latest version of Filmora, you will find there are some neon light effects available under AI Portrait as well.

Step 3: Add Titles to Thumbnail

For more tips and tricks for creating YouTube thumbnail, you can check this You Tube thumbnail creating guide.

Step 4: Get the Neon Border Thumbnail

Part 2: How to Add a Glowing Neon Border in Your YouTube Thumbnail with Canva

Step 1: Define Project Settings and Add a Background

Step 2: Upload an Image and Add Effects

Note: You can use any of the tools available online to remove the background from your image for free.

Next, click See all next to the Adjust section from the center pane, and drag the Blur slider to the right to increase the blur effect on the image.

Step 3: Position the Layers

Part 3: How to Outline a Person in a YouTube Thumbnail with Photoshop

Because YouTube thumbnails are nothing but static images, creating YouTube thumbnail border with Adobe Photoshop is comparatively easier. The process of doing this is given below:

Step 1: Define Document Preferences and Import an Image

Step 2: Remove Background from the Image

Step 3: Add a Custom Background and an Outline Around the Subject

Summary

Time Travel for Video Views: YouTube Upside-Down Guide

Best YouTube Video Reverser Online

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

While working on the movies in a professional post-production environment, there might be instances where you want to reverse YouTube video to show flashback effect, or to replay a sequence so the audience can experience more thrills while watching.

With that said, not every media player or video editing application is capable enough to reverse a movie clip, not at least with merely a few mouse clicks. Therefore, the following sections suggest some such programs that can help you play YouTube video backward.

Part 1: Best Free YouTube Video Reversers Online

There are a few online web programs that are capable of reversing YouTube videos with efficiency. However, some of them may have certain restrictions like file size limit, number of supported formats, fewer or absolutely no editing options, etc.

Nevertheless, the best five online solutions to reverse YouTube video along with the process of using them are discussed below:

1. Clideo

Clideo is not merely a video reverser, but can also convert media files to your preferred format. You can paste the URL of a YouTube video to upload or import the videos from your computer, Dropbox or Google Drive storage. At the time of this writing, Clideo allows only up to 500MB videos to be uploaded to reverse or convert. As for the acceptability, the portal supports almost all the commonly used formats.

To play YouTube video backward with Clideo:

Visit Clideo’s online reverse tool page: https://clideo.com/reverse-video ;
Hover mouse over the down arrow icon next to the Choose file button and paste the URL of the YouTube video that you want to reverse;
After Clideo fetches the video and opens the next page, choose your preferred speed from the right section
Leave the Mute video box checked, or uncheck it if required and then click Reverse button to reverse YouTube video. The maximum reverse speed that you can apply is 2X.

2. Kapwing

This web solution also supports almost all types of video formats including 3GPP, AVI, MP4, etc. When talking about the limitations of a free user, you can only upload the videos that are up to 7 minutes long. At the time of this writing, Kapwing can accept the source files from your computer, and from the YouTube URL.

To reverse YouTube video with Kapwing:

Go to Kapwing’s online video reverser page: https://www.kapwing.com/tools/reverse-video ;
Paste the URL of the YouTube video in the Paste a URL field;
Select your preferred playback speed of the reversed video from the Reverse speed section in the left pane;
Choose whether or not Kapwing should mute the output video;
Optionally, click Trim video from the upper-left corner of the right window to edit the footage if needed;
Click CREATE from the bottom-left corner to play YouTube video backward. The maximum reverse speed that you can apply on Kapwing is also 2X.

3. EZGIF

With the ability to support almost all major video formats, and the capability to accept the media files of up to 100MB, Ezgif allows you to upload the footages from your PC, or paste their URL if they are published on YouTube. Even though the landing page has a few distracting adverts, the overall process to play YouTube video backward and save it to your PC is simple.

To reverse YouTube video with Ezgif:

Go to the reverser tool page: https://ezgif.com/reverse-video and then paste the URL of the YouTube video in the available field;
Click Upload video and optionally click the speed icon from the toolbar at the top;
Use the checkboxes and input fields to mute the audio and adjust the playback speed as needed;
Choose your preferred encoding method from the Output format and encoding drop-down list and then click Reverse video to reverse the video.

Note: It seems that you can’t customize the reverse speed on EZGif but you can choose to mute the reversed audio or not.

4. VideoReverser

Although this web solution has an extremely simple interface, the files that you can upload must not exceed 10MB in size. The portal supports formats like MPG, MPEG, MP4, AVI, M4V, 3GP, etc. for reversing. In addition to uploading the clips from your PC, VideoReverser also allows you to paste the URL of the footages if they are published on YouTube.

To play YouTube video backward with VideoReverser:

Launch your favorite Internet browser, and then visit https://www.videoreverser.com/ ;
Paste the URL of the YouTube video in the available text field;
Choose your preferred output format from the Select output format drop-down list;
Use the Remove audio track checkbox to get rid of the acoustics or leave the sound enabled;
Click Start to reverse YouTube video.

5. Pixiko

With almost all formats’ support, Pixiko is yet another web-based media editor that can also reverse YouTube video with a few mouse clicks. At the time of this writing, Pixiko only accepts the source files from your PC, which means you can’t paste the YouTube link to it directly. At first, you need to download or save the YouTube video on computer and then either drag those clips from your local hard drive to the portal.

To play YouTube video backward with Pixiko:

On the page https://pixiko.com/editor/video-reverse , click anywhere inside the Blue rectangle;
Locate, select, and upload the downloaded YouTube source video from your PC;
Click Reverse from the lower-right section of the video player window;
Follow the on-screen instructions from there to manage and reverse YouTube video as needed;

Bonus: Reversing YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

With easily reachable editing options and self-explanatory buttons, Wondershare Filmora has gained a decent amount of popularity in the recent years. The program is available for both Windows and Mac platforms, and gives tough competition to other leading tools of the industry such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, etc.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

When talking about the playback speed, with the help of available presets, it can be increased or decreased by 100x or 0.01x respectively. One of the presets also enables you to reverse the direction of the playback quite easily, i.e. while keeping the speed intact. In addition, the ‘Custom Speed’ option lets you control the preferences more granularly.

You can follow the simple instructions given below to reverse YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora:

Note: To remain compliant with the terms and conditions, and to respect the copyright policies, Wondershare Filmora doesn’t allow you to download other people’s videos from YouTube. However, once you have a footage on your PC, you can jump to the following step-by-step process to reverse its playback.

1. Import the Source Video to the Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora on your Windows or Mac computer (Windows 10 here), making sure that the Media button in the standard toolbar at the top is selected, click inside the Media window, and select and import the YouTube source video to the program. Next, drag the YouTube video clip to the Timeline, and when the confirmation box appears, click the Match to Media or Keep Project Settings button as needed to get the footage to the Timeline.

2. Reverse the Video (Using the Preset)

Click and select the media clip in the Timeline, click the Speed icon present above the Timeline itself, and click the Reverse option from the menu that appears to reverse the video playback.

3. Reverse the Video (Manual Control)

Select the media clip in the Timeline and click the Speed icon as explained in the previous step. From the menu that appears, click Custom Speed this time. When the Custom Speed box appears, use the Speed slider to adjust the playback speed of the media clip, and check the Reverse box to reverse YouTube video. Optionally, you can also modify the Duration and Ripple options to customize the preferences. Finally, click OK to save the changes.

4. Export the Video or Upload to YouTube Directly

Back on the main window, click EXPORT from the top. Filmora provides several ways to saving and sharing the video.

You can select the Local tab, choose your preferred output format from the list in the left, in the right window, define a name and location for the file that you are about to export, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner to export the video with the reverse playback.

Or, go to the YouTube tab and sign in your YouTube account to upload the reversed video to YouTube directly. In the YouTube upload interface, you can optimize the YouTube SEO elements and revise the video title, description, category and tags.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Conclusion

Even though the online video reversers are free and offer simple process to get the job done, the desktop programs like Wondershare Filmora offer more flexibility when it comes to making changes to the media clips, controlling the playback speed, adding effects, applying the modifications only to certain sections of the footage, selecting output preferences, etc. before you can reverse YouTube video.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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