Video to Video - Create Short Clips from Long Videos

Overview

This example covers:

Getting an access token
Creating a 30-second highlight from a longer video
Using media repurpose settings to control the output
Specifying the audio language for transcription
Monitoring job status and retrieving the final video

Node.js Example

Prerequisites

npm install axios

Complete Code

import axios from "axios";

const API_BASE_URL = "https://api.pictory.ai/pictoryapis";
const CLIENT_ID = "YOUR_CLIENT_ID";
const CLIENT_SECRET = "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET";

// Video URL to repurpose
const VIDEO_URL = "https://pictory-static.pictorycontent.com/samples/videos/video-editing/VideoEditDemoInput.mp4";

async function createVideoToVideoHighlight() {
  try {
    // Step 1: Get Access Token
    console.log("Step 1: Getting access token...");
    const tokenResponse = await axios.post(
      `${API_BASE_URL}/v1/oauth2/token`,
      {
        client_id: CLIENT_ID,
        client_secret: CLIENT_SECRET,
      },
      {
        headers: {
          "Content-Type": "application/json",
        },
      }
    );

    const accessToken = tokenResponse.data.access_token;
    console.log("Access token obtained successfully");
    console.log("Token expires in:", tokenResponse.data.expires_in, "seconds\n");

    // Step 2: Create Short Video Highlight from Long Video
    console.log("Step 2: Creating 30-second video highlight...");
    const storyboardResponse = await axios.post(
      `${API_BASE_URL}/v2/video/storyboard/render`,
      {
        videoName: "video_to_video_highlight",
        scenes: [
          {
            videoUrl: VIDEO_URL,
            mediaRepurposeSettings: {
              highlightLength: 30,
            },
            audioLanguage: "en-US",
            hideSubtitles: false,
          },
        ],
      },
      {
        headers: {
          "Content-Type": "application/json",
          Authorization: accessToken,
        },
      }
    );

    const renderJobId = storyboardResponse.data.data.jobId;
    console.log("Video highlight render job created");
    console.log("Job ID:", renderJobId, "\n");

    // Step 3: Monitor Job Status
    console.log("Step 3: Monitoring job status...");
    let jobCompleted = false;
    let jobResult = null;

    while (!jobCompleted) {
      const jobStatusResponse = await axios.get(`${API_BASE_URL}/v1/jobs/${renderJobId}`, {
        headers: {
          Authorization: accessToken,
        },
      });

      const status = jobStatusResponse.data.data.status;
      console.log("Current status:", status);

      if (status === "completed") {
        jobCompleted = true;
        jobResult = jobStatusResponse.data;
        console.log("\nVideo highlight created successfully!");
        console.log("Video URL:", jobResult.data.videoUrl);
      } else if (status === "failed") {
        throw new Error("Job failed: " + JSON.stringify(jobStatusResponse.data));
      } else {
        // Wait 5 seconds before checking again
        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 5000));
      }
    }

    return jobResult;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Error:", error.response?.data || error.message);
    throw error;
  }
}

// Run the function
createVideoToVideoHighlight();

Python Example

Prerequisites

pip install requests

Complete Code

import requests
import time
import json

API_BASE_URL = 'https://api.pictory.ai/pictoryapis'
CLIENT_ID = 'YOUR_CLIENT_ID'
CLIENT_SECRET = 'YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET'

# Video URL to repurpose
VIDEO_URL = "https://pictory-static.pictorycontent.com/samples/videos/video-editing/VideoEditDemoInput.mp4"

def create_video_to_video_highlight():
    try:
        # Step 1: Get Access Token
        print('Step 1: Getting access token...')
        token_response = requests.post(
            f'{API_BASE_URL}/v1/oauth2/token',
            json={
                'client_id': CLIENT_ID,
                'client_secret': CLIENT_SECRET
            },
            headers={
                'Content-Type': 'application/json'
            }
        )
        token_response.raise_for_status()

        access_token = token_response.json()['access_token']
        print('Access token obtained successfully')
        print(f"Token expires in: {token_response.json()['expires_in']} seconds\n")

        # Step 2: Create Short Video Highlight from Long Video
        print('Step 2: Creating 30-second video highlight...')
        storyboard_response = requests.post(
            f'{API_BASE_URL}/v2/video/storyboard/render',
            json={
                'videoName': 'video_to_video_highlight',
                'scenes': [
                    {
                        'videoUrl': VIDEO_URL,
                        'mediaRepurposeSettings': {
                            'highlightLength': 30
                        },
                        'audioLanguage': 'en-US',
                        'hideSubtitles': False
                    }
                ]
            },
            headers={
                'Content-Type': 'application/json',
                'Authorization': access_token
            }
        )
        storyboard_response.raise_for_status()

        render_job_id = storyboard_response.json()['data']['jobId']
        print('Video highlight render job created')
        print(f'Job ID: {render_job_id}\n')

        # Step 3: Monitor Job Status
        print('Step 3: Monitoring job status...')
        job_completed = False
        job_result = None

        while not job_completed:
            job_status_response = requests.get(
                f'{API_BASE_URL}/v1/jobs/{render_job_id}',
                headers={
                    'Authorization': access_token
                }
            )
            job_status_response.raise_for_status()

            status = job_status_response.json()['data']['status']
            print(f'Current status: {status}')

            if status == 'completed':
                job_completed = True
                job_result = job_status_response.json()
                print('\nVideo highlight created successfully!')
                print(f"Video URL: {job_result['data']['videoUrl']}")
            elif status == 'failed':
                raise Exception(f"Job failed: {json.dumps(job_status_response.json())}")
            else:
                # Wait 5 seconds before checking again
                time.sleep(5)

        return job_result

    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as error:
        print(f'Error: {error}')
        if hasattr(error, 'response') and error.response is not None:
            print(f'Response: {error.response.text}')
        raise

# Run the function
if __name__ == '__main__':
    create_video_to_video_highlight()

Key Parameters

videoUrl: The full URL of the video file to repurpose (max 3000 characters, must be a valid URI)
mediaRepurposeSettings: Configuration for video repurposing
- highlightLength: Length of the highlight in seconds (5-180 seconds)
- removeFillerWords (optional): Remove filler words like "um", "uh", etc.
- removeSilences (optional): Remove silent portions from the video
- silenceThresholdSeconds (optional): Minimum silence duration to remove (0-10 seconds)
audioLanguage: The language of the video's audio (required for transcription)
hideSubtitles: Whether to hide subtitles in the output video (default: false)

How It Works

The API fetches the video file from the provided URL
The audio is transcribed and analyzed
The most engaging or important segments are identified
A highlight clip of the specified length is created
Optionally, filler words and silences are removed for better pacing
The final short video is generated with subtitles (if enabled)

Use Cases

Create social media clips from long-form content
Generate video highlights for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok
Extract key moments from webinars or presentations
Create teasers from full videos
Repurpose long videos into bite-sized content
Automatically edit videos for better engagement

Advanced Features

Remove Filler Words

mediaRepurposeSettings: {
  highlightLength: 30,
  removeFillerWords: true
}

Remove Silences

mediaRepurposeSettings: {
  highlightLength: 30,
  removeSilences: true,
  silenceThresholdSeconds: 2  // Remove silences longer than 2 seconds
}

Combine Multiple Features

mediaRepurposeSettings: {
  highlightLength: 30,
  removeFillerWords: true,
  removeSilences: true,
  silenceThresholdSeconds: 1.5
}

Response

The API returns a job ID for monitoring the video creation progress. Once completed, you'll receive a video URL containing the repurposed short video clip.

Notes

Replace YOUR_CLIENT_ID and YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET with your actual API credentials
The video file must be accessible via a public URL
Supported video formats include MP4, MOV, AVI, and other common formats
The audioLanguage parameter is required for accurate transcription and highlight detection
The highlightLength must be between 5 and 180 seconds
The API uses AI to identify the most engaging segments automatically