Picture in picture video editing is among the must-have features for your video app be it a TikTok-like experience or an e-learning platform. It offers full-featured content creation for users and allows your brand to immerse the market with killer functionality.
But when it comes to from-scratch development, it often takes many efforts, time, and funds to succeed. Instead, you can get a powerful PiP video editor adopting ready-made SDKs.
In this post, we'll guide you on how to make a duet video with Banuba's Video Editor SDK and cover the key use cases, benefits, and features of a PiP video maker.
What is PiP Video Editing: Brief Overview with Features
“Picture-in-picture” and “duet” are synonyms. The latter term was popularized by TikTok and it stuck. So either would work in the context of video editing.
The feature is essentially playing two clips simultaneously. However, there are different ways to do so:
- Reaction. The most common layout for one of the most lucrative formats. The main video takes most of the screen with the reaction in the top left or right corner.
- Floating. The circle-shaped video is placed above another, which is rectangular.
- Side-by-side. The videos share the screen, divided by a vertical line.
- Top/bottom. Same as above but divided by a horizontal line.
- Three screens. Three videos playing simultaneously arranged similarly to one of the above formats.
Another useful feature is “switch”: making the clips trade places (e.g. the video that is being reacted to moves to the top right corner while the presenter’s face takes most of the screen).
Different PiP in video editing with Banuba's SDK
Picture In Picture Video Editor: 5 Use Cases
These are the most popular areas where PiP in video editing is used:
- Video editing. Besides the abovementioned reaction format, there are many other ways to use it. For example, showing the same event from different angles or letting one person sing three parts at the same time.
- Video messaging. Whether it is showing a presentation playing in the same window or commenting on your baby’s first steps, both casual and professional video messaging have a place for duets.
- Dating. Showing a hobby and commenting on it is a great way to present yourself.
- eLearning. PiP video editing features can let content creators make exciting educational videos, for example showing a process and its explanation side-by-side.
- Journalism. Interviews and long-form commentary could work very well in a side-by-side mode, especially when used to enrich articles.
Core Benefits of Picture in Picture Video Editing
Firstly, it gives your users a useful tool for creating cool content. This applies whether you are working on a video-based social network or a video editing app. Reaction videos are extremely popular and have a relatively high chance of going viral. So giving access to them is helpful for user acquisition and retention.
Secondly, PiP in video editing lets your app stand out from the competition. Picture-in-picture video editing as a concept was first implemented in the early 70s, but many social networks and video editing apps don’t have this feature even in its basic form. If your product has a PiP video maker, you have a better chance of being chosen by the users.
Banuba's Picture in Picture Video Editor SDK
How to Add a Side by Side Video Editor to Your App
The picture in picture video editing technology is not as simple, as it looks. Developing it from scratch, especially if you want to add other advanced features (e.g. AR masks or background replacement) could take months. And that is assuming you can even find the team with the required knowledge of video editing, computer vision, and neural networks.
So the most cost-effective way to get a PiP mode is to integrate a video editing SDK. It is a premade module that can perform certain functions and can be connected to your app in a day or so.
As we are most familiar with Banuba Video Editor SDK, we are going to use it as an example.
Technical requirements
This is what you’ll need to add custom video backgrounds to your app:
Android:
- The latest Banuba Video Editor SDK release
- Java 1.8+
- Kotlin 1.4+
- Android Studio 4+
- Android OS 6.0 or higher with Camera 2 API
- OpenGL ES 3.0 (3.1 for Neural networks on GPU)
iOS:
- The latest Banuba Video Editor SDK release
- iPhone 6+
- Swift 5+
- Xcode 13.0+
- iOS 12.0+
N.B.: if you want to also add AR face filters and background subtraction, you’ll need both Video Editor SDK and Face AR SDK. If not, Video Editor SDK has all you need to use picture-in-picture.
The video editor with all the core features takes 19 MBs on iOS and 51.3 MBs on Android. The size difference is due to the use of bitcode in the iOS version.
To get the releases, just send us a message through a contact form.
How to Integrate a Duet Video App
The instructions below will give you everything you need to know about getting a duet video editor. No additional work will be required.
iOS:
The step-by-step instruction and code samples can be found on our GitHub page. There you will also see the list of dependencies, technical details, customization options, etc. We also have an FAQ, that will answer any questions you may have.
Android:
To get PiP on Android, go to the relevant GitHub page. As with iOS, there are also dependencies, supported media formats, recording quality parameters, and customization options. And this is the FAQ for Android.
Hybrid:
Banuba Video Editor SDK supports Flutter and React Native. Click the framework you are interested in to see the guide.
Wrapping Up
A PiP in video editing is a useful tool for content creators and a major competitive advantage for developers. Now that you have this guide, you will be able to quickly implement it in your application and start reaping the benefits. So don’t wait any longer, send us a message and start integrating!
