Would you like a simple trick to make your presentations stand out? Try using timeline videos! Timeline videos are a popular format for visually representing events, progressions, or histories in a sequential manner. They are particularly effective for educational content, corporate presentations, project overviews, historical documentaries, or social media posts.
If you’ve hesitated to create them because they seem complex, timeline video templates are the perfect solution for you. They simplify the process and produce professional-looking results without the hassle of starting from scratch.
So today, you’ll learn where to find high-quality timeline video templates in 2024 and how to customize them to suit your needs.
In this article
Part 1. What Is The Purpose of Using A Timeline Video?
Timeline videos are used to visually represent events or progressions in a clear, chronological order. They help in illustrating the sequence of events, milestones, or stages, so it’s easier for your audience to follow and retain the details of the event.
For example, in education, timeline videos can illustrate historical events, scientific discoveries, or literary timelines. In business, they can show project timelines, company histories, or product development stages. In marketing, they can display the brand journeys or campaign progressions.
When making timeline videos, you start by outlining the key dates and events that you want to include. Once you have your outline, you can use video editing software to create a timeline video. This might involve adding text, images, and animations to highlight each event and its significance.
But for an easier approach, there are now timeline video templates that you can easily find, download, and edit. These templates often come with pre-designed elements, so all you need to do is choose a design you are after and then customize it to fit your content and brand.
Part 2. Types of Timeline Video Templates
When looking for a timeline template video, you'll encounter several popular types. Each type is suited for different purposes. Here are some common types and their best uses:
- Timeline Infographics:Ideal for presenting data-driven information, such as statistical progressions, comparisons, or survey results. For example, you can use it to show the growth of internet usage over the past decade.
- Timeline Story: Great for narrating a journey or process in a compelling way. It’s ideal for storytelling, such as showing the development of a product from concept to market launch.
- History Timeline: Excellent for educational purposes, especially for illustrating historical events or significant milestones over time. For example, a chronological timeline of major world events in the 20th century.
- Company Timeline: Useful for corporate presentations to show the evolution of a business, its achievements, and major milestones. You can use it to display a company's growth, key product launches, and major partnerships.
- Roadmap:Ideal for planning and strategic presentations, outlining future goals, and key milestones. For example, presenting a product development roadmap or a marketing campaign plan.
Part 3. Download Editable Timeline Video Templates
Once you know the type of timeline template video you need, the next step is to find and download it. A quick Google search will direct you to these top sites where you can access and download timeline video templates.
- Envato Elements
Envato Elements is a subscription-based service offering high-quality, professionally designed video templates, including timeline templates. With a subscription, you gain access to thousands of creative assets, from video and motion graphics templates to stock footage and music. Subscription prices start from $8.99/month.
After downloading the timeline template video, you will need compatible editing software to edit and customize them. It usually includes Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, or another video editing application that supports the template's format. You can filter templates by style categories and software compatibility to find options that work with your preferred editing tools.
- Powtoon
Powtoon is an online platform that specializes in animated video templates and presentations. You can create and customize timeline videos directly within the browser. The platform features categories based on various purposes, such as marketing, education, sales, and training, to help you easily find and sort the templates you need.
Once you find the templates you want, you can click “Edit This Template” and it will direct you to the video editing interface for that timeline template. You can then edit and customize the template video. But for full access to all the features and export it in MP4 format, you may need to subscribe to its paid plan, starting at $15/month.
- Pikbest
Pikbest is another top source where you can download a timeline video template. Free users can download 2 free timeline video templates per day for sharing and learning purposes only. For broader access, including those for commercial use, you can subscribe for $19.90 per month.
There are over 1,600 timeline video templates available for download on Pikbest. After downloading, you'll need to import the templates into compatible video editing software, such as Adobe After Effects, to use them in your projects and make any necessary edits.
Part 4. Design Your Own Timeline Video Template
If you can’t find a timeline video template that fits your needs or the video editing software required to edit such templates is costly and difficult to use, you can design and create one easily using Wondershare Filmora.
Filmora offers a library of video templates that you can download, edit, and customize in one place. You can use available templates, combine them, and take advantage of Filmora's powerful yet intuitive tools and features to create your own timeline video from start to finish.
Some of Filmora features:
- A library of video templates with different themes and styles
- Access to stock media, including photos, videos, and music
- AI Image Creator for generating unique images
- AI Sticker Generator for custom stickers based on your prompt
- AI Copywriting for generating compelling descriptions, titles, or captions
- A variety of animated transitions and effects for smooth and professional videos
When deciding to use Filmora, make sure you have downloaded the latest version to enjoy all the features. Some of Filmora's templates and tools are available on the free version, but you can upgrade your plan to get the full experience starting from $9.99/month* for cross-platform.
*) Prices may vary depending on the country, devices used, and ongoing promotions.
How to design timeline video templates using Filmora
For this tutorial, we’ll create a Timeline Story in a slideshow style for your vacation itinerary presentation. Start with a b introduction by using Filmora’s templates.
Go to the Template tab > Templates and open the Slideshow category. Choose a template that suits your video’s theme and drag it to the timeline. Customize the template by trimming the only part you need. Then, click the “Click to Replace the Material” button on the timeline to open more settings.
Here, you can edit and resize the text to your liking. Click Save to proceed.
Next, add a slideshow timeline video from the template and drag it to the timeline, next to your intro. Then, click the “Click to Replace the Material” button on the video clip to edit and customize the template. Replace each photo and text with your own content to match your vacation itinerary. Arrange them according to the dates.
Now, let’s design your own summary timeline video of your journey to wrap up your video content. First, insert a background image or video. You can use and add a solid color background from Filmora’s Stock Media, then import any image of your choice at the top of the background track.
If your imported image has a background you want to remove, you can use the Chroma Key feature to remove the background image. To do it, select the image, go to Image > AI Tools,and enable Chroma Key. Then, select the background color you want to remove using the eyedrop and it will automatically remove the background.
After that, go to the Sticker tab and search for “Travel.” Look for an arrow sticker that shows the transition from one destination to another and add it to your timeline. You can resize and reposition it according to your needs.
To provide more context, add text for each destination stop in your video timeline. Go to the Titles tab, select the Title Effect you like, and add them to the timeline. You can edit the text by selecting the Title clip on the timeline, and then navigating to Titles > Basic settings.
To make your video smoother, you can add transitions between each clip. Go to the Transitions tab and drag your desired transition effect between each pair of clips on your timeline. This simple addition will help create a seamless flow from one part of your video to the next.
Next, add background music to give your video more depth and emotional impact. You can import your own audio or music, or choose from Filmora’s music libraries by going to Audio > Music. Select a track based on category and drag it to your timeline.
Conclusion
Timeline videos are an effective format for presenting information in a sequential manner. By visually organizing events, milestones, or processes in chronological order, these videos make complex data easier to understand. And with various types of video timeline templates available for download, creating impactful timeline videos has never been easier.
Even if you're looking for an easy-to-use solution to design your own timeline videos, video editing software like Wondershare Filmora is a great option. Filmora offers a range of customizable templates and intuitive tools that make it simple to create professional-quality timeline videos, even if you have little to no experience with video editing.
