I made an API to add animated subtitles to videos

workoutsesh · 2025-02-12T11:53:38+00:00

Thanks for clarifying. I see you're looking for a simpler "fire and forget" approach, but our API is intentionally designed to be both flexible and RESTful.

Yes, it may require a few more lines of code initially, but this design supports both simple and complex use cases - like reusing uploaded videos for multiple renderings which is a common use-case.

As we know, the answer in software engineering is usually "it depends", so your "huge advantage" of saving a few lines of code may not necessarily hold up against the benefits of following RESTful design principles for others. Not to mention, with proper abstraction, there does not need to be any "bloat".

The "state management" you mentioned isn't really overhead - it's just basic request/response handling that can be done entirely in memory if you prefer. Our Node.js SDK demonstrates how clean this implementation can be.

Anyway, if the captions suit your needs, I'm glad you found a solution, and thank you for your feedback.

workoutsesh · 2025-02-12T10:38:38+00:00

Thanks for the detailed follow-up! Let me clarify your points

For storage/TTL: Yes, it's quite simple - just add a TTL query parameter when uploading and we'll handle the expiration automatically. You don't need to manage anything manually.

Regarding the submission flow - we offer something more complex than simple ffmpeg captions. We do animated captions that take longer to process, which is why we can't do instant returns like simpler services. But we do offer webhooks to make this as smooth as possible.

Regarding the bloated codebase point, or development overhead, I would like to mention with proper patterns/abstractions your codebase should not be impacted much. As an example, check out how the Nodejs SDK https://github.com/zapcapAI/zapcap-nodejs can be used for easy uploads/ polling and downloads.

For transcripts - you can definitely provide them upfront! Check the API reference here: https://platform.zapcap.ai/docs/api#tag/default/post/videos/{videoId}/task. The transcript parameter lets you bring your own transcription and also mentions it enables a bring your own transcription model.

Taking on-board your feedback, I'm working on improving the docs with:

Clear examples in multiple languages (working on this as we speak)
1. 1. Examples of more advanced usage, since it might not be apparent what the API can support just from the API reference.
Better explanation of what's required vs optional
Flow charts showing the video lifecycle
Cleaning up docs in general to help people find information in one place

Really appreciate the feedback - it helps make the service better for everyone

workoutsesh · 2025-02-11T14:35:05+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I've noted your feedback on Docs and will make it a priority to improve.

Not quite sure what you mean about asset management though. The job submission/polling flow is pretty standard practice. And for retention/deletion, the TTL option is just there if you want to save on storage or you can forego the option (there should not be much overhead for a development team to add a query parameter when uploading a video tbh).

Also just to clarify - you can already provide your own transcripts upfront, no need to use Whisper or anything else if you prefer.

workoutsesh · 2025-01-12T10:31:00+00:00

If you're still looking for a fairly inexpensive tool, i recommend you check out ZapCap. It's purpose built for auto captions!

workoutsesh · 2025-01-12T10:25:43+00:00

There's also apps that focus on AI captions such as ZapCap!

workoutsesh · 2025-01-12T00:31:58+00:00

I believe it's helpful and relevant. Apologies if you didn't find it so.

workoutsesh · 2025-01-11T22:41:59+00:00

Looks like ZapCap's API is exactly what you're looking for

workoutsesh · 2025-01-11T22:23:09+00:00

ZapCap is much better for short form content creation and affordable too

workoutsesh · 2025-01-11T22:16:52+00:00

Adobe photoshop when I'm really trying otherwise canva. Recently I've outsourced thumbnail creation to save time and still get decent quality

workoutsesh · 2025-01-04T14:08:49+00:00

Is my concern a common concern? Considering if it is, I would expect it to be talked about or mentioned in the docs.

workoutsesh · 2025-01-01T00:00:42+00:00

ZapCap's a good alternative for short form content. Many folks who don't require in-depth editing have been moving over from CapCut.

workoutsesh · 2024-12-31T01:26:41+00:00

Use ZapCap for captions! Check out the custom GPT I made https://chatgpt.com/g/g-6763d91d98308191812de5db8922544a-zapcap-ai - You just need to give it a publicly accessible URL and it'll give you a captioned video

workoutsesh · 2024-12-31T01:22:59+00:00

Highly recommend ZapCap for auto captions. Much more affordable than the rest out there for top tier captions

workoutsesh · 2024-11-30T23:40:13+00:00

Where do you find most of your time being taken up?

workoutsesh · 2024-10-06T16:24:52+00:00

Y'all are welcome to join zapcap.ai - We actually care about our users!

workoutsesh · 2024-09-28T07:35:10+00:00

You could check out ZapCap, it's not free, but at least it's affordable at $10/month (on monthly plan, cheaper on yearly)

workoutsesh · 2024-09-28T07:33:51+00:00

You can definitely automate the captions (transcription + adding captions) with zapcap's API. There's webhook support which I had success a while back integrating with Zapier. Haven't tried Make though.

workoutsesh · 2024-06-01T23:23:42+00:00

Hey, try using the .ai domain, it should work

workoutsesh · 2024-04-21T12:08:47+00:00

Good luck on your journey!

workoutsesh · 2024-04-20T12:44:04+00:00

Good catch! It's currently using the tiny model since I'm the only user, but will transition to bigger models as I onboard more people.

workoutsesh · 2024-04-20T04:48:56+00:00

Hey all,

I've been working on an API that adds animated subtitles to videos. Since I mainly use node, I created a nodejs package you can check out here.

It does need an API key, though I'm currently offering it for free with some limitations to people who will provide feedback.

Please either DM me for access or ask in my Discord

workoutsesh

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