How to Make a Video Collage in PowerDirector
Show several clips at once with customizable split-screen templates and animated frames.
Updated Oct. 29, 2026 · 3 min read
In a hurry? Use the Video Collage Designer quick guide instead.
PowerDirector's Video Collage Designer plays several clips side by side in a split-screen layout and adds the collage to your timeline as one clip. Templates set the layout, and you control the border, the animated intro or outro, and when each clip starts. Use it to show several moments of a trip or event on one screen.
- In PowerDirector, open Tools > Video Collage Designer.
- Choose a layout under Choose layout.
- Drag a clip from the Media tab into each cell.
- Set the Border and choose a Frame animation.
- Set Start clip playback and Before/after clip playback, then click Advanced Settings.
- Choose a Playback timing and click OK.
- Click OK to add the collage to your timeline.
Steps to Make a Video Collage
Step 1: Open Video Collage Designer
Open the Tools menu at the top of the PowerDirector window, then choose Video Collage Designer. The designer opens in its own window, with your media on the left and the layouts across the top.
Step 2: Choose a Layout
The layouts run across the top of the designer under Choose layout. Use the arrows to scroll through them, and click one to use it. The numbers in the cells set the order the clips start playing.
Or click the grid button at the right end of the row to see every layout at once. The list is longer than the window, so scroll for more. In the Choose Layout window, select a layout and click OK. This example uses the four-cell grid.
Step 3: Drag Your Clips into the Cells
Drag a clip from the Media tab on the left into each cell of the layout, and the cell shows the clip's length. Or click Import Media at the top of the tab to bring in clips that aren't listed yet.
Hover over a cell to see its two buttons: the scissors trim that clip, and the speaker mutes it.
Step 4: Style the Border and Frame Animation
In the panel on the right, check Border to frame each cell, then set its Size and Color. Interclip size sets the gap between the cells, and Fill type sets what fills that gap. This example uses a gray border at size 20 and a white gap.
Below that, the Frame animation menu animates the cells into place. Choose From Beginning to open the collage with it, During Closing to end with it, or Off to skip it.
Step 5: Set When the Clips Play
Scroll down the right panel. Under Start clip playback, choose whether the clips start With frame animation or After frame animation.
Under Before/after clip playback, choose what a cell shows before its clip starts or after it ends. It matters when the clips have different lengths or start at different times.
| Option | What the cell shows | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze the video | The clip's first or last frame, held still. | You want every cell to keep a picture. |
| Display color board | A solid color, set with the swatch next to it. | You want a clean block of color until the clip plays. |
| Restart playback | The clip again from its start. | You want short clips to keep moving. |
Then click Advanced Settings at the bottom of the panel.
Step 6: Set the Playback Timing
In the Advanced Settings window, Playback timing sets when each clip starts, in the order of the numbers in the layout.
| Option | What it does | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|
| All at once | Starts every clip together. | You want the whole collage moving from the first frame. |
| Delay | Starts each clip a set number of seconds after the one before it. | You want the cells to come alive one by one but still overlap. |
| One after another | Starts each clip when the one before it ends. | You want viewers to follow one clip at a time. |
| From MultiCam Designer | Keeps the timing you synced in MultiCam Designer, and stays grayed out otherwise. | Your clips are camera angles of the same moment. |
This example uses a 1-second Delay and keeps All Videos under Match collage duration to, which sets how long the collage runs. Click OK to go back to the designer.
Step 7: Add the Collage to Your Timeline
Click OK at the bottom right of the designer. To reuse this layout later, click Save As first and save it as a new template.
PowerDirector adds the collage to your timeline as one clip, and the preview shows all four cells. To change it later, select the clip and click Video Collage above the timeline.
We tested these steps in PowerDirector 365 version 25.0.10 on Windows.
Don't have PowerDirector yet? Put several clips on one screen with split-screen templates, borders, and animated frames.
Download PowerDirector Free →FAQ About Video Collage Designer
Right-click the clip in its cell and choose Remove. To change which part of the clip shows, drag it inside the cell.
Yes. Select the collage on the timeline and click Video Collage above the timeline to open it in Video Collage Designer again.
Yes. The designer's Media tab lists both videos and images, and the All Media menu filters them. A photo's cell has a button that sets how long the photo stays on screen.
