How to Add a Countdown Timer in Ecamm Live (MAC Only)

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In this tutorial, I'll be explaining step-by-step how to set up a countdown timer inside of Ecamm. 

Getting Started

The first thing we're going to do inside of Ecamm is to create a scene. 

If you don't see the scenes menu, all you need to do is go to 'Window' at the top of your screen and then select 'Scenes'. 

To add your new scene, press the plus sign icon. Let's name this "Countdown Timer" and then press 'Enter'. 

Getting Your Timer Overlay

Next, you're going to want to have a countdown timer overlay. This is a pre-made animated graphic template that has a five-minute countdown timer that matches your branding, design, or the game that you're going to be playing. 

For this tutorial, I'll be utilizing an animated countdown timer overlay from Stream Designz. There are lots of different options to choose from to match your theme or aesthetic. Not only do they have countdown timers, but they also have animated overlays, single transitions, animated alerts, and more. 

For this example, I'll be using the "Zen Zone" countdown timer. 

This is going to count down from five minutes and will match the branding that I have for the rest of the stream with a nice animation which helps to make my stream look professional and put together. 

If you got your countdown timer from Stream Designz, it will be in a zip file. On a Mac, all you need to do to unzip this is double-click it. This will create a folder that will give you access to the overlay. 

Once you have your countdown timer, you can head back over to Ecamm. 

Adding Your Countdown Timer Overlay

Now that you have your countdown timer, there are two different ways to be able to add this. 

The first way is to select the 'Countdown Timer' scene, come to 'Overlays', and then select the icon that you can see in the photo below. 

Now, you'll find the folder with your countdown timer overlay, and go ahead and add it. You'll select 'Add Animated Overlay' and then it should appear on your screen. 

You can adjust the size of this by making it bigger so that it fits the screen. If you ever decide that you don't want these controls here, go back to 'Window' and select 'Hide Main Window Controls'. 

At the bottom of the countdown timer, you'll find a few different options for what you can do with this overlay. You can select 'Do Nothing', 'Hide Temporarily', 'Hide (Stay Hidden', or 'Loop'. Then, you can also select 'Start From Beginning' or 'Start From Last Location'. 

If you're going to switch to the next scene manually, then these are all fine features to use. Personally, I prefer to have it where as soon as the timer is up, it automatically switches to my next scene, whether that be my 'Just Chatting' scene or to me. In order to achieve that, you'll need to set this up in a different way. 

I'll start by clicking on the 'Countdown Timer' scene. Next, I'll go to the menu bar, select 'Source', and then select 'Blank'. Staying on the menu bar, I'll now go over to 'Window' and select 'Show Main Window Controls'. 

Now, on Ecamm, you'll see a little movie icon at the top of the video space.

Click on that and then select 'Choose File'. Now, you'll find your countdown timer overlay file again. 

It's super important to note that when you add this, it's going to automatically mute your microphones. So, you'll want to make sure to unmute those so that you're still able to talk if you choose to. 

You'll see now that you've got some different options here. When you do it this way and then click on the little drop-down menu, you'll see that it now says 'Do Nothing', 'Loop Video', 'Go to Next Scene', or 'End Broadcast'. 

You'll want to select 'Go to Next Scene'. You'll also need to be sure that in your scenes, 'Countdown Timer' is after 'Starting Soon'. What's going to happen now is that once your countdown timer ends, it will automatically transition into your next scene which is what you want to happen. 

If you want to step this up even more, you can add stinger transitions so that when your scenes switch, an animation happens which makes your stream look even more professional and put together. To learn how to add these, check out this video here where I walk you through step-by-step how to add stinger transitions into Ecamm.