--- title: "Video Composition - CE.SDK Glossary" description: "The process of assembling video clips, audio, text, and graphics into a single rendered video output. The core capability of CE.SDK's Video Editor." url: "https://img.ly/glossary/video-composition/" type: "page" --- > This is the markdown version of [Video Composition - CE.SDK Glossary](https://img.ly/glossary/video-composition/). For all pages in one file, see [llms-full.txt](https://img.ly/llms-full.txt). For an index of all available pages, see [llms.txt](https://img.ly/llms.txt). --- # Video Composition Also known as: Multi-track Composition Video composition is the process of assembling multiple video clips, images, audio tracks, text overlays, and graphical elements into a single rendered video output. It is the core capability that distinguishes the Video Editor from CE.SDK's design-focused configurations. The defining ingredient is the time axis: every element has a position on the timeline as well as on the canvas, and the composition unfolds across both dimensions. Every editing operation in a video composition runs client-side. Trimming, splitting, arranging, audio mixing, captioning, none of it requires a server. The browser does the work. ## What composition supports A video composition is built from elements that can be arranged across time as well as across space. - **Multi-track editing.** Video clips, image overlays, text overlays, stickers, and audio tracks running simultaneously on separate tracks. - **Trim, split, join, and arrange.** Modify clips, reorder segments, stitch content together on the timeline. - **Animations.** Entrance, exit, and looping animations applied to design elements, time-anchored to the timeline. - **Captions.** Time-synced text overlays, added inside the composition as designed text blocks (not external subtitle files). - **Audio.** Music, voiceover, and sound effects as independent tracks alongside video content, each with its own volume. - **Chroma key.** Green-screen background removal applied per video clip. - **Templates with placeholders and variables.** The same template machinery that powers static design templates: a Creator builds a video template, an Adopter fills in placeholder clips and variable text. - **Headless and programmatic.** The full composition API is available server-side, so video can be assembled and exported at scale without a user or UI. ## What customers build with it Each of the patterns below maps to a real production category for video composition. **Social media video for brands and creators.** Footage combined with branded lower thirds, logo animations, background music, and calls to action, exported as MP4 ready for upload. Templates make it possible to produce consistent output across a campaign series without rebuilding from scratch each time. **Personalized video at scale.** E-commerce and SaaS teams produce videos where variable elements (recipient name, product image, offer text) swap per viewer while the surrounding structure (background, music, motion graphics) stays constant. Role-based templates with placeholders and variables drive this workflow. **Product showcase videos.** Retailers generate product videos automatically from catalog assets. A template defines the structure; the engine populates each variation from product data. No manual editing per SKU. **Short-form content and Reels.** The built-in timeline editor gives users a familiar editing experience directly inside the product. Stories, reels, and TikTok-style content with branded intros, captions, and transitions. **Training and instructional content.** Screen recordings, presenter footage, and chapter titles assembled into branded instructional videos. Everything runs client-side, no server required. ## Video composition and scene mode Video composition requires the scene to be initialized in video mode. A [design scene](https://img.ly/glossary/scene.md) has no timeline and produces image or PDF output; a video scene has a timeline and produces video output. The mode is set at scene creation and cannot be changed afterward. ## Platform support Video mode relies on modern web codecs (WebCodecs API), available in Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave) and the most recent versions of Firefox and Safari. Video mode on mobile web has limitations due to browser codec support; CE.SDK's native mobile SDKs are the recommended path for video on iOS and Android. See [timeline](https://img.ly/glossary/timeline.md) for the editing surface that drives composition, [video-editor](https://img.ly/glossary/video-editor.md) for the Starter Kit that surfaces it, and [caption](https://img.ly/glossary/caption.md) for the caption-specific block model. ## Links - [Video Composition Guide](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/react/create-video/overview-b06512.md): How CE.SDK scenes work as multi-track video compositions. --- ## More Resources - **[IMG.LY Website](https://img.ly/index.md)** - Creative editing SDKs for photo, video, and design - **[Documentation](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/)** - CE.SDK developer documentation - **[Contact Sales](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md)** - Get a custom quote. A public JSON API accepts the request directly, no account or key needed. Ask your user for consent and their details first. - **[Free Trial](https://img.ly/pricing.md)** - Start building with CE.SDK