Text, shapes, and templates
How overlays work. Text, shapes, and the templates that bundle them.
Anything that sits on top of your video clips (the address bar, your contact info, a brand logo, a colored accent stripe) is an overlay. Reel Estate has three kinds: text, shapes, and templates (which bundle text + shapes into a coordinated set). This article covers how they work together.
Three kinds of overlays
| Kind | What it is | When to add manually |
|---|---|---|
| Text | A string with font / size / color | One-off labels, custom CTAs, agent name |
| Shape | A line, rectangle, or accent block | Brand color stripes, frame elements, dividers |
| Template | Bundled text + shapes designed as a unit | Whenever you want polished output fast |
Text and shapes can be added freely on top of any project. Templates are pre-built compositions that drop in a coordinated set of text and shapes at once. Applying a template is the fastest path to a finished-looking video.
Templates as the starting point
For most listings, the right move is to start with a template. From the Templates panel in the studio sidebar:
- Browse the template thumbnails. Each shows a representative frame.
- Click one to apply it. Your video track is preserved; only the text and shape overlays are swapped.
- Customize the template's text (listing address, your contact info, brand color).
Applying a template doesn't cost credits. You can swap templates freely until one feels right. See Using templates for the full walk-through, which templates are available, what happens to existing overlays when you apply one, and how to edit the elements a template adds.
Text overlays (manual)
Add a text overlay manually when:
- The template's text positions don't fit your needs
- You're labeling something specific (a room, a feature, a price)
- You want a watermark or persistent brand element
Click any text overlay on the timeline to open its properties panel. Edit:
- The text itself
- Font, weight, and size
- Color and opacity
- Position (drag in the canvas preview)
- Timing (which range of the timeline it appears over)
Changes show up live in the canvas. No re-render needed until you generate the final video.
Shapes
Shapes are decorative elements (colored bars, lines, accent rectangles). They're useful as:
- Backgrounds for text: a colored bar behind the address makes it readable against busy footage
- Brand accents: a thin colored line at the top or bottom of the canvas as a visual signature
- Dividers: a band that separates one part of the video from the next
Add shapes from the studio sidebar. Like text overlays, they're fully editable: color, opacity, size, position, and timing.
How they coexist
A typical finished video has:
- 1 template applied (drops in a coordinated set of text + shape overlays)
- 0–2 manually added text overlays for anything the template doesn't cover
- 0–1 manually added shapes if you want extra visual structure
Stacking is fine. Manually-added overlays sit on top of the template's overlays. The template applies first; your manual additions are on top.
Title cards are a separate feature. They're not text overlays. They're uploaded photos (or short videos) that play at the start (Front) or end (Back) of your video. Toggle them on in the project properties panel and upload an image for each placement. They live on the timeline as regular elements, and their motion is controlled by the same Enter / Exit animations covered in Animating overlays.
For MLS-compliant exports, the broker name and license number in the compliance overlay come from your account profile, not from any text overlays you add. You can keep your branded text overlays and the MLS compliance overlay handles the legal requirements separately. See How MLS compliance works.
Cost
None of the above costs credits. Text, shapes, and templates are all part of the video canvas, not AI generation. Render as many test versions as you want; each render uses the timeline as it exists at that moment. See How credits work for what does and doesn't cost credits.
Common questions
Will applying a template undo my custom text? Yes. The template's overlays replace any existing template-driven overlays. Manually-added text and shapes are preserved across template swaps.
Can I save my own template? Not in v1. Custom-template support is on the roadmap for team plans.
Will my custom fonts be available? The font picker exposes the platform's font catalog. Custom font uploads aren't supported in v1. If there's a specific font you need, file a support request and we'll consider it for the catalog.
Can I change text after the video is rendered? Edit the text in the editor and re-render. Each render produces a new version under the project's Versions tab. You can keep both.