Creating your own thumbnails for videos

[dhaveron]

Hello, 

Many users, including myself, would like to see a way to save a thumbnail of our choosing when we send a video link to a client, and without needing to purchase or rent any up-sell software. If it can be done with Vimeo, Youtube, and Frame IO, it can be done here on Dropbox too.

All too often I will share a link with a professional client for a video I've created, and the thumbnail image that opens up for the client is of the on-camera talent caught in an embarrassing pose with their mouth open and their eyes half closed.

Hello Dropbox, can this idea be turned into a reality? You need to help us users look more professional in the eyes of our clients. This is why we pay for the Dropbox service. To my fellow Dropbox users... if you agree with this please "like" it, or add to the thread.

[Jay]

This idea is open. 

If you like this idea, please share how this would help you, and vote to show your support. 

Our top-voted ideas are shared with our product teams to investigate in our regular reviews.

[julersf]

Let us choose our own thumbnails for our videos, please. Such a basic thing.

[bd1997]

Adding my support to this as well. The existing system pulls a thumbnail from the 0:08 sec mark, which more often than not, is unflattering or somebody mid-sentence with mouth open.

As a professional filmmaker using Dropbox as a dedicated video file delivery medium, the thumbnail is super important. It's the first thing the client sees, and it's what displays as a preview when the link is shared.

One way this could be solved is by allowing us to choose a different timestamp from within the video file to generate the thumbnail from. Instead of 0:08, maybe I want it at 0:34 or 1:52. 

Another way would be an option to upload a custom thumbnail. Often times, we already have a thumbnail generated for a project once it gets to the final destination social media site. Dropbox is behind in this regard and it's becoming increasingly frustrating. I've thought about this feature being missing for years, and have gone out of my way looking for answers multiple times in the past, ultimately finding this thread and taking the time to make a username and comment.

[ankabardeleben]

Hello fellow members!

I've just recently started to try out dropbox, am a visual content creator since 15 years and just now send my first two videos, sadly with a total random thumbnail and this is highly frustrating.

Hey dropbox! A thumbnail functions as a COVER!! This is THE first impression, a vital part of the presentation of mostly days of hard work on each single frame to make it top-notch.... I am baffled, that this essential feature is not possible in dropbox and am most likely not going to continue my membership because of this issue! Which is very sad, given that the service and other features are really promising, but looking into this forum and realising, that this CORE-element has been known and not amended by drop box since the 8 years when the first users started to suggest this is not a good sign by dropbox at all!