Looking to create engaging videos without spending too much time or resources? Maybe you want to send personalised videos to your customers or produce a large number of videos with different content to highlight various products or services. This is where dynamic videos come in.
Dynamic videos have elements that can change based on the input data. For example, you can create a video template for a product promotion, and change the product name, image and price based on the data you provide. This way, you can create multiple versions of the same video with different content, without having to edit each one manually.
The key to creating dynamic videos is picking a video editing tool with an intuitive user interface and functionality that allows you to create video templates with merge fields and automate video generation.
For example, Shotstack, a video editing API, lets users generate videos at scale. This means being able to create thousands of different videos from a single video template in minutes, not days.
Shotstack is used and loved by both developers and no-code users. Technical customers are able to create personalised videos using code and with the help of our robust and reliable APIs.
Meanwhile, no-code users can create or customise video templates using the Shotstack Studio, a web-based video editor that looks and feels familiar to anyone who has previously used a video editing tool, and automate their video editing workflow through the integration of no-code tools such as Zapier and Make.
We’ll take you through a step-by-step guide on creating a dynamic video template using Shotstack Studio, our web-based video editor, and using your template to build personalised and multi-version videos.
If you prefer to use code, head over to our documentation or explore our get started articles. Make sure you’ve also signed up for your FREE Shotstack account before following the steps below.
Now that you have your newly designed video template, it’s time to match the merge fields with your data to generate personalised videos or different video versions automatically.
You can connect to any data source. Common examples include your CRM, CSV files or spreadsheets.
For example, if you want to automate the creation of videos from your real estate listings, you may need a spreadsheet that contains data that matches the merge fields of your video templates. These could be addresses, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and parking spaces, photos of the different amenities and descriptions.
Here's an example spreadsheet.
Developers can use their favourite programming language to generate hundreds or thousands of videos. We have SDKs available for Node.js, PHP, Ruby and Python.
As for no-code users, you can connect your data source to Shotstack using no-code tools. We have pre-built templates on Zapier and Make that can get you started quickly. For example, you can use these workflow templates to automatically generate videos from data records on Airtable or responses on Google Forms.
Render the different video variations, share them on your dynamic landing page or app or send them directly to your audience via email.
When using Shotstack, all videos rendered using the API are automatically transferred to Shotstack’s own hosting service so you can serve your files directly to users without manually setting up a hosting service or copying files. But you also have the option to use your own hosting service, store them on AWS S3 or Google Cloud Storage or stream directly via Mux.
You can also use Make or Zapier to send your rendered videos directly to your email marketing provider, preferred social media channel or website.
And you're done! Keen to build more videos? Why not convert your text to video or build Spotify Wrapped style videos or create personalised customer videos. There’s so much you can do with Shotstack so dig into your creative side.
curl --request POST 'https://api.shotstack.io/v1/render' \
--header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
--data-raw '{
"timeline": {
"tracks": [
{
"clips": [
{
"asset": {
"type": "video",
"src": "https://shotstack-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/footage/beach-overhead.mp4"
},
"start": 0,
"length": "auto"
}
]
}
]
},
"output": {
"format": "mp4",
"size": {
"width": 1280,
"height": 720
}
}
}'