Video Editor with Effects: How to Integrate It Into Your App

Must-Have Features of a Video Editor With Effects

The “video effects editor” part seems pretty self-explanatory: a piece of software that can cut, add soundtracks, and otherwise modify a recording. However, there are many features that it may or may not include:

• Video recording.
• Trimming. Cutting the beginning and end of the clip, removing the excessive footage.
• Overlays. This includes basics like pictures, GIFs, and text/subtitles.
• Sound effects. Managing the soundtracks in the video and adding various effects (e.g. Darth Vader voice)
• Slideshows. Turning several photos into a video. The pictures can be taken on the spot or selected from a gallery.

The “with effects” one also needs a bit of explanation.

The thing is, there are many kinds of visual elements that can be included in a video editor:

• Beautification. Automatic or user-controlled improvement to the appearance of people in the picture. This includes smoothing the skin, whitening teeth, removing eye bags, and more.
• LUTs (“Instagram filters”). Pioneered by Instagram, these effects change the color scheme for the entire clip (e.g. by turning it black-and-white).

• Augmented reality masks. From simple stickers to advanced video filters. See this article for further explanation.

• Virtual makeup. Applying lipstick, mascara, powder, and other cosmetic products to a person’s face on the screen. We have recently published an article, explaining how it works, check it out.

• Video effects. Stylish distortions that change the look and feel of the video (e.g. Rave, Zoom, or Flash).

• Acceleration/Slo-mo

• Background replacement. Detecting a person in the picture and substituting the rest of the frame. The background can be replaced with an image, a gif, or even a 3D room. 

The special effects video editors differ from one software to another, so this becomes a major factor in choosing the right one, especially in the case of short video apps. 

LUTs | Video Editor with Effects

Video Editing SDK: What Is It & How It Helps

This is a pre-made module that has the functionality of a special effects video editor. Using them has become quite popular in communications and short video apps, as they allow to decrease time-to-market and initial investment. They also don’t require you to have a team of developers proficient in augmented reality.

By our estimation, using an SDK for a video editor with effects could save about 5600 man-hours of work. 

Choosing the right video editing SDK is another challenge. There are at least 7 popular products on the market, each with its own specific positioning, feature set, and technical aspects. To save time, we've already prepared a detailed comparison of the best mobile video editing SDKs so you can find the one that perfectly fits your needs.

How To Integrate a Special Effects Video Editor Into Your App

One of the main benefits of video editing SDKs is that integrating them takes very little time. So in this section, we will show you how to do so. We will use our Banuba AI Video Editor SDK as an example because it is compatible with both native and cross-platform technologies (e.g. React Native and Flutter).

Step 1. Get a 14-Day Free Trial

At Banuba, we follow a try-before-buy approach and offer a 14-day free trial to test our video editor SDK. To start with, request the trial token from our customer relations team, and they will send it to you as soon as possible.

The token can be included in your app or stored on Firebase for ease of updates. Moreover, it will work for both video effects editor SDK and Face AR SDK (the module that controls the augmented reality features in the app). Note that they are separate products with separate pricing.

Step 2. Integrate It Into Your Android, iOS, or Hybrid App

As our video editing SDK supports multiple platforms, we decided to prepare easy-to-use step-by-step manuals to save your time. Separate detailed article on the integration of iOS Swift Video Editor SDK. The detailed instructions with code samples are posted on our GitHub:

• Android (Java/Kotlin)
• iOS (Swift/Objective-C) 
• React Native
• Flutter.

The integration takes only a few commands, although the pages also contain other important information: dependencies, video output parameters, file size, etc.

AR masks | Video Editor with Effects

Step 3. Release and Engage

This is pretty much all it takes to add video editor with effects to your app. However, there is another option: integration done by the vendor. Our team will connect the SDK to your application, make sure everything works as intended, and give you a finished product. This is a great way for people with small development teams. 

Banuba Video Editor

3 Use Cases of Adopting a Video Effects Editor

The technology is most often used in the following applications.

Short video apps

This is the niche where a video editor with effects is a must. The effects are a necessary feature, and the number, quality, and variety of them can be a competitive advantage. Any company that wishes to compete with TikTok, Likee, Triller, and the others has to have the effects pack to match.

Case in point - Chingari, an Indian short video app. After New Delhi banned TikTok, Chingari’s founders were among the quickest to scramble and take their share of the market. They partially attribute their success to a wide array of filters tailored to the Indian market.

Chingari App Results | Special Effects Video Editor

Dating apps

As the use of video chatting and messaging grows, so does the demand for editing. In this case, the video effects editor is not just something to liven up the conversation. It can also be a tool to protect privacy. 

Due to the problems of stalking, sometimes users might need to hide certain elements of the video - that’s where background replacement comes in. On a more lighthearted note, sometimes people just chat from an untidy room, hiding it could make them feel less anxious.

eCommerce video solutions

Product videos, instructions, unboxings, and other similar content is an effective marketing channel that keeps growing. This is why video editing app developers now target marketers as well.

Thanks to the latest innovations, even a mid-range smartphone is powerful enough to make a great video.

Bottom Line

Video editors with effects are a useful and sometimes necessary part of an app. They find the most use in short video apps, dating apps, and software for eCommerce video editing. To integrate it, the easiest way is to use a premade video editing SDK, which can be implemented within a day. If you want to try and test one - get a 14-day free trial of our Banuba AI Video Editor SDK now!