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A thumbnail is the small picture people see before they click your video. A good thumbnail and title help people choose your video. Cutaway makes three ideas for you, from real moments in your video and the words you said.
The Package page with three thumbnail ideas on the left and the chosen thumbnail and title in the middle

Make a thumbnail and title

1

Open Package

Click Package in the top bar.
2

Press Create three concepts

Cutaway makes three thumbnail and title ideas.
3

Pick one

Press Choose this pair under the one you like best.
4

Change anything

  • Click the words on the thumbnail to change them.
  • Pick a different Layout: Headline, Banner or Badge.
  • Change the Title in the box under the thumbnail.

Add layers

A thumbnail is made of Layers, stacked on top of each other. You’ll find them on the right. Use the small buttons next to Layers to add:
  • Add text: new words you can type.
  • Add a shape: a block, pill or circle of colour.
  • Add the frame at the playhead: a real picture from your video, at the spot where the playhead is.
  • Add an image file: a picture from your Mac, like a logo.
Click a layer to change it. Drag it on the thumbnail to move it, or use the arrow keys to nudge it. Use Bring forward and Send back to change the order. Delete layer removes it.

Make a background picture with AI

Under AI picture, Cutaway can make a new background picture for your thumbnail. This needs Codex installed and signed in on your Mac.
  1. Describe the picture in the box, or leave it empty to follow the title.
  2. Press Generate picture.
The picture has no words, faces or logos, so your text stays editable. Press Make another for a new try.
To make the picture, your title, a few of your words and up to two stills from your video are sent to OpenAI. Nothing else in the thumbnail needs Codex.

Pick a different title

Under the Title box, Alternatives shows the titles from your other ideas. Press Use here to swap one in. The alternatives are also saved in your YouTube package.

Check before you publish

If something might hurt your title or thumbnail, a box called Worth a look before you publish appears. For example, it warns you when:
  • the title is too long for a phone screen, or over YouTube’s 100-character limit
  • the title is all capitals
  • the thumbnail has more than five words
  • the thumbnail repeats the title
These are only tips. Cutaway never changes your words for you.

See how it looks on YouTube

Under At browsing size, Cutaway shows your thumbnail as small as it’ll look in a list of videos. Make sure the words are still easy to read.

Write a description and chapters

Further down the page:
  • Description: what your video is about, in your own words. It’s saved as description.txt. If you leave it empty, it’s left out.
  • Chapters: the parts of your video, shown on YouTube’s progress bar. Press Add first chapter, then Add at playhead for each new part. YouTube needs at least three chapters, each ten seconds or longer, starting at 00:00. When they’re right, you’ll see Valid for YouTube.
Chapter times follow your edit. If you cut something later, the times update on their own.

Tips for beginners

  • Short words win. Three or four big words are easier to read than a sentence.
  • Show a face. Thumbnails with a face often get more clicks.
  • Say what people get. For example, “Share a list in 1 minute”.
The thumbnail and title are saved when you export a YouTube package. See Export.