Clips

Subtitles in a video timeline

Every line of a narration in one clip, timed to the words, styled once.

Shown on A narration over Ban Jelačić square in Zagreb

After · rendered from the request below
Transcript

High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold.

The entry

Use it as a clip's asset, on a track above the footage.

{
  "asset": {
    "type": "subtitles",
    "cues": [
      {
        "start": 0.1,
        "end": 3.4,
        "text": "High above the city, on a tall column,"
      },
      {
        "start": 3.4,
        "end": 6.1,
        "text": "stood the statue of the Happy Prince."
      },
      {
        "start": 6.1,
        "end": 10.1,
        "text": "He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold."
      }
    ],
    "style": {
      "font": "Inter",
      "size": 40,
      "weight": 700,
      "color": "#FFFFFF",
      "stroke": {
        "color": "#0B0F0D",
        "width": 5
      },
      "shadow": {}
    }
  },
  "transform": {
    "position": {
      "x": "50%",
      "y": "78%"
    }
  },
  "start": 0
}

Run it

The whole request behind the render above. Paste it as it is, or swap the file for your own.

job.ts
import { createClient, outputUrl } from "@rendobar/sdk";


const rb = createClient({ apiKey: process.env.RENDOBAR_API_KEY });


const job = await rb.jobs.run({
  type: "compose",
  params: {
    schemaVersion: 1,
    output: {
      format: "mp4",
      resolution: {
        width: 960,
        height: 540
      }
    },
    timeline: {
      tracks: [
        {
          clips: [
            {
              asset: {
                type: "video",
                src: "https://cdn.rendobar.com/compose/showcase/media/narrated.mp4"
              },
              start: 0
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          clips: [
            {
              asset: {
                type: "subtitles",
                cues: [
                  {
                    start: 0.1,
                    end: 3.4,
                    text: "High above the city, on a tall column,"
                  },
                  {
                    start: 3.4,
                    end: 6.1,
                    text: "stood the statue of the Happy Prince."
                  },
                  {
                    start: 6.1,
                    end: 10.1,
                    text: "He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold."
                  }
                ],
                style: {
                  font: "Inter",
                  size: 40,
                  weight: 700,
                  color: "#FFFFFF",
                  stroke: {
                    color: "#0B0F0D",
                    width: 5
                  },
                  shadow: {}
                }
              },
              transform: {
                position: {
                  x: "50%",
                  y: "78%"
                }
              },
              start: 0
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  },
});


console.log(outputUrl(job));

Install with npm i @rendobar/sdk. jobs.run() submits and waits, so it returns the finished job in one call.

terminal
curl https://api.rendobar.com/jobs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $RENDOBAR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"type":"compose","params":{"schemaVersion":1,"output":{"format":"mp4","resolution":{"width":960,"height":540}},"timeline":{"tracks":[{"clips":[{"asset":{"type":"video","src":"https://cdn.rendobar.com/compose/showcase/media/narrated.mp4"},"start":0}]},{"clips":[{"asset":{"type":"subtitles","cues":[{"start":0.1,"end":3.4,"text":"High above the city, on a tall column,"},{"start":3.4,"end":6.1,"text":"stood the statue of the Happy Prince."},{"start":6.1,"end":10.1,"text":"He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold."}],"style":{"font":"Inter","size":40,"weight":700,"color":"#FFFFFF","stroke":{"color":"#0B0F0D","width":5},"shadow":{}}},"transform":{"position":{"x":"50%","y":"78%"}},"start":0}]}]}}}'

Returns immediately with a job id. Poll GET /jobs/{id} or register a webhook rather than blocking on the request.

Questions

What does the subtitles clip do in compose?

Every line of a narration in one clip, timed to the words, styled once.

How do I add subtitles to a video with an API?

Send a compose job to the Rendobar API with this entry in the timeline: {"asset":{"type":"subtitles","cues":[{"start":0.1,"end":3.4,"text":"High above the city, on a tall column,"},{"start":3.4,"end":6.1,"text":"stood the statue of the Happy Prince."},{"start":6.1,"end":10.1,"text":"He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold."}],"style":{"font":"Inter","size":40,"weight":700,"color":"#FFFFFF","stroke":{"color":"#0B0F0D","width":5},"shadow":{}}},"transform":{"position":{"x":"50%","y":"78%"}},"start":0}. Use it as a clip's asset, on a track above the footage. The request on this page is complete and renders as shown.

Footage and sound

More in the reference

Text stroke An outline round the glyphs. White text over bright water is unreadable without one, and a 4 to 6 pixel black stroke fixes it. Text shadow A shadow behind the text. Softer than a stroke, and enough on footage that is not fighting the text. Text background A solid box behind the text. The most readable of the three, and the one that reads as a caption rather than a title. Text align Which way the lines line up, and which edge of the text sits on the clip's position. left starts there, right ends there. Text entrance An entrance. The title slides up into place while it fades in, instead of simply being there. Shape gradient Two colours instead of one makes the fill a gradient, running the way `gradient` names.

See all 77 in the effects reference →