Your first video

The two ways to start in Mozaik — from a template or a blank project — and why your first goal is a reusable pipeline, not a one-off video.

Written By David Kettner

Last updated 1 day ago

Everything you make in Mozaik starts as a project. There are two ways to create one: from a template or from a blank project. This article shows both and helps you pick — and points you at the one that turns your first video into a repeatable format.

Open Projects in the web app and choose Create new project → With template. Mozaik asks which template to use and opens the picker. Pick one from the Library (Mozaik's pre-built formats) or a Custom template your team already built, and the project opens in the editor — scenes, layouts, and your brand already in place. You add footage and text; the structure and look are done.

This is the fastest route to a finished video, and it's the one that scales: a template is reusable, so every future video of that format starts the same way. For how templates work and how to build your own, see How video templates work.

Or start from a blank project

Choose Create new project → Without template when you want to build structure from scratch or make a quick one-off. Mozaik asks you to pick a video format:

  • Portrait — for mobile-first placements: Instagram and Facebook Stories, Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, WhatsApp status.
  • Landscape — for desktop-first placements: YouTube and websites.

Pick one and choose Start project to open an empty project in the editor.

Good to know: Whichever format you pick, Mozaik automatically adds a square (1:1) variant alongside it — so every project gives you two ready-to-publish formats: your chosen orientation plus square.

Which one should you use?

If you'll produce this format more than once — a series, a recurring update, an employer-branding or social format — start from a template. If you're experimenting or building a structure that doesn't exist yet, a blank project gives you a clean canvas you can later save as a template.

Good to know: Your first goal in Mozaik isn't one finished video — it's one reusable pipeline: a template with your brand applied and a way to bring in footage. Once that's set up, every future video of the format is minutes of work.

What happens after you create a project

Both paths open the same editor. You bring in footage and text, Mozaik applies your brand automatically, and you export in your chosen format plus the square (1:1) variant Mozaik adds automatically. From here you can also add automation so the repetitive steps — cutting, branding, captions — run on their own.