Video Element Parameters

Control video playback, trim settings, and audio dynamically using video parameters

Overview#

Video element parameters allow you to dynamically control video content, playback settings, and trim points when rendering templates as video. You can pass custom video URLs and configure playback behavior at render time.

Video parameters only apply when rendering templates with video elements as MP4, WebM, or GIF formats.

How It Works#

When you add a video element to your template and set a parameter ID (e.g., bgVideo), you can override its properties using the format:

parameterID.property

Supported Video Parameters#

Parameter	Type	Description
`{id}`	string	Custom video URL to replace the template video
`{id}.trimStart`	number	Start time in seconds
`{id}.trimEnd`	number	End time in seconds
`{id}.muted`	boolean	`true` to mute audio, `false` to include audio
`{id}.loop`	boolean	`true` to loop the video

Basic Usage#

Replace Video URL#

Pass a custom video URL using the parameter ID:

{
  "modifications": {
    "bgVideo": "https://example.com/custom-video.mp4"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}

Trim Video#

Control which portion of the video to use:

{
  "modifications": {
    "bgVideo": "https://example.com/video.mp4",
    "bgVideo.trimStart": 5,
    "bgVideo.trimEnd": 15
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}

This extracts a 10-second clip from 5s to 15s of the source video.

Control Audio#

Include or exclude audio from the video:

{
  "modifications": {
    "bgVideo": "https://example.com/video.mp4",
    "bgVideo.muted": false
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}

GIF format does not support audio. The muted parameter is ignored for GIF outputs.

Enable Looping#

Loop a short video to fill the duration:

{
  "modifications": {
    "bgVideo": "https://example.com/short-clip.mp4",
    "bgVideo.loop": true
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}

Complete Example#

Combine all video parameters:

{
  "templateId": "your-template-id",
  "modifications": {
    "bgVideo": "https://example.com/product-demo.mp4",
    "bgVideo.trimStart": 0,
    "bgVideo.trimEnd": 10,
    "bgVideo.muted": false,
    "bgVideo.loop": false,
    "title": "Product Launch",
    "title.fontSize": "48px"
  },
  "response": {
    "type": "url",
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}

Multi-Page Templates#

For templates with multiple pages containing videos, prefix with the page number:

{
  "modifications": {
    "page1@introVideo": "https://example.com/intro.mp4",
    "page1@introVideo.trimEnd": 5,
    "page2@demoVideo": "https://example.com/demo.mp4",
    "page2@demoVideo.muted": true
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}

Combining with Style Parameters#

Video parameters work alongside other dynamic parameters:

{
  "modifications": {
    "bgVideo": "https://example.com/video.mp4",
    "bgVideo.trimStart": 2,
    "bgVideo.trimEnd": 12,
    "overlayText": "Summer Collection",
    "overlayText.fontSize": "64px",
    "overlayText.color": "#ffffff",
    "logo": "https://example.com/logo.png"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "mp4"
  }
}

API Integration Examples#

REST API#

curl -X POST https://api.orshot.com/v1/studio/render \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "templateId": "video-template-id",
    "modifications": {
      "productVideo": "https://example.com/product.mp4",
      "productVideo.trimStart": 0,
      "productVideo.trimEnd": 15,
      "productVideo.muted": false,
      "headline": "New Arrival",
      "headline.fontSize": "56px"
    },
    "response": {
      "type": "url",
      "format": "mp4"
    }
  }'

Video Duration & Pricing#

The output video duration is determined by:

Template video settings - If no custom trim is passed
Custom trim settings - trimEnd - trimStart in seconds
Source video duration - If trim exceeds source length

Video generation uses more renders than images or PDFs since each second of video requires additional processing. Longer videos consume proportionally more renders — trimming clips to shorter durations helps reduce render costs.

Supported Video Formats#

Orshot accepts the following video URL formats:

.mp4 (H.264 recommended)
.webm (VP9)
.mov

Ensure your video URLs are publicly accessible for Orshot to fetch and process them.

Limitations#

URL Access - Video URLs must be publicly accessible (no authentication)
File Size - Large videos may increase processing time
Audio in GIF - GIF format does not support audio
Single Audio Source - Only one unmuted video element's audio is included in the output