Overview
This tutorial details one method of creating a thumbnail for your Kaltura media: using PowerPoint. Any Kaltura user can add a thumbnail to their Kaltura media, so this applies to everyone (instructors, staff, students, etc.).
Critical Concepts
Things to Keep in Mind
- This is just about creating a thumbnail, not adding it to the entry. See our tutorial on adding a thumbnail to a Kaltura entry if that's what you're looking for.
Prerequisites
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You need PowerPoint. While there are myriad ways to create images, this tutorial walks you through using PowerPoint.
Steps to Take
You'd be surprised how useful PowerPoint can be for creating images, including thumbnails. With that in mind, here's a possible workflow for creating your own thumbnail. Most of the details will be left up to you - it's your preferred design after all - but we'll lay the groundwork for you.
- Open PowerPoint on your computer and create a new presentation. If you want, you can use an existing template if you like the design. Otherwise, just create a blank presentation.
- Click Design at the top of the window to open the design ribbon.
- Click Slide Size and then select Widescreen (16:9).
- Design your thumbnail.
Thumbnail Design Tips
- If you're publishing to a Media Gallery, avoid using text. As of right now (November 2023), the default layout of the Media Gallery is the "grid view." This layout arranges thumbnails of videos in - you guessed it - a grid, and puts the video's title on top of the thumbnail. The point is that any text you put in your thumbnail will probably be blocked by the title that Kaltura lays on top of it.
- Remember that the thumbnail will be pretty small. So make sure you don't use a lot of words or very intricate pictures.
- Consider creating themes for media in the same category. If you have videos that are thematically linked, for example, consider using the same colors, fonts, and/or images to link them together visually, making similar videos easier to spot in your lists.
- Leverage shapes, clipart, or other objects. You can design images fairly easily in PowerPoint by adding shapes or using their clipart library. You can always just paste in images as well. (Try finding them at sites like Pixabay, though, which provide access to royalty-free images.)
- When you're done designing your slide/thumbnail, and with the appropriate slide selected (in case you have other slides in your deck), click File > Export at the top.
- In the pull-down menu next to "File Format," select PNG. (Note that you can use just about any image type you like with Kaltura.)
- Select the radio button for Save Current Slide Only.
- Set the width and height to 1920 and 1080, respectively.
- Click Export.
You now have an image file that you can use as your thumbnail. See our tutorial on adding a thumbnail to your Kaltura media to actually replace your existing thumbnail.