What is a video editing API and why you need one

A video editing API is the modern solution to a common and costly problem: creating video content at scale. While traditional desktop software and browser-based tools are useful, these options have some limitations and drawbacks, such as:

• They require manual work and human intervention, which can be time-consuming, error-prone and expensive.
• They are not scalable or flexible enough to handle large volumes of videos or complex workflows.
• They are not compatible with all devices, formats or resolutions.
• They are not easy to integrate with other applications or services.

What if you could automate the entire process with an API for video editing?

What is a video editing API?

A video editing API is a web service that allows you to edit videos programmatically using code. You can use a video editing API to automate the generation of videos at scale, customise them according to your needs and preferences, and deliver them to your audience in the most efficient way possible.

How does a video editing API work?

A cloud video editing API works by accepting JSON data that describes the arrangement of a video edit. JSON is a lightweight and human-readable data format that can be used to specify the assets (such as images, video clips, audio tracks, text and transitions) and the effects (such as animations, filters, overlays and captions) that you want to apply to your video.

For example, here is a JSON snippet that defines a simple video edit:

{
  "timeline": {
    "tracks": [
      {
        "clips": [
          {
            "asset": {
              "type": "image",
              "src": "https://example.com/image1.jpg"
            },
            "start": 0,
            "length": 3,
            "effect": {
              "type": "zoomIn"
            }
          },
          {
            "asset": {
              "type": "video",
              "src": "https://example.com/video1.mp4"
            },
            "start": 3,
            "length": 10,
            "transition": {
              "in": {
                "type": "fade"
              }
            }
          },
          {
            "asset": {
              "type": "title",
              "text": "This is a video editing API",
              "style": "minimal"
            },
            "start": 13,
            "length": 5
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "output": {
    "format": "mp4",
    "resolution": "sd"
  }
}

This JSON data tells the video editing API to create a video that consists of three clips: an image with a zoom-in effect, a video with a fade-in transition and a title with a minimal style. The output format is MP4 and the resolution is standard definition.

You can send this JSON data to the video editing API using HTTP requests. The API will then fetch and edit your assets, merge them into a single video file and return a URL where you can download or stream your video.

What are the benefits of a video editing API?

Using a video editing API has many advantages over traditional video editing methods, such as:

• Slash production time and costs: An automated video editing API eliminates the need for manual work, drastically reducing labor costs and production time from hours to minutes.
• Achieve unprecedented scale: Need to create thousands of personalized product videos? A video API can handle massive volumes concurrently, something that is impossible with a manual workflow.
• Enable personalization and dynamic content: Automatically insert user-specific data into your videos. The rise of the AI video editing API is making this even more powerful, with capabilities for dynamic scene selection and content generation.
• Gain full creative control: APIs offer deep flexibility. You control every element of the video, from branding and styling to complex animations and conditional logic.
• Seamlessly integrate into your apps: Build video editing features directly into your own platform or service, whether it’s for web, an iOS video editing API, or an Android video editing API.

How to choose a video editing API?

There are many video editing APIs available in the market, but not all of them are created equal. Some factors that you should consider when choosing a video editing API are:

• Features and functionality: Does the API support the assets, formats, and effects you need? Look for support for various media types, transitions, filters, and output formats like MP4 and GIF.
• Performance and reliability: How fast and reliable is the rendering process? A good API should offer high-speed, parallel rendering to handle large batches of videos without compromising on quality or uptime.
• Ease of use and documentation: Is the API well-documented? Clear documentation with code examples in multiple languages (like a video editing API for JavaScript, Node.js, Python, or PHP) is essential for a smooth integration.
• Pricing and support: Does the pricing model align with your needs? Look for a free video editing API tier for testing and development, along with responsive customer support.

One of the best video editing APIs that meets all these criteria is Shotstack. Shotstack is a cloud-based platform for editing videos using code that enables developers, marketers and designers to automate the generation of videos at scale. Shotstack uses a REST based API hosted in the cloud that uses JSON data describing the arrangement of a video edit.

Shotstack has many features and benefits that make it stand out from other video editing APIs, such as:

• It supports a wide range of assets (images, videos, audio tracks, titles), effects (animations, filters), transitions (cuts, fades) and formats (MP4, GIF).
• It provides high performance and reliability by rendering thousands of videos concurrently in minutes using its scalable infrastructure.
• It offers easy integration with popular platforms such as Zapier, Make, Mux and AWS S3.
• It has clear and comprehensive documentation with example code snippets in various languages (Node.js, PHP, Python or Ruby).
• It has affordable pricing plans with a free account to get your started.

Try Shotstack out for yourself with and sign up for a free account.