> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cardclan.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Video Cards

> Create collaborative video cards with contributor submissions, background music, visual effects, and automated email delivery.

Video Cards let you collect video messages, images, GIFs, and text from multiple contributors, then combine them into a single rendered video that gets delivered via email.

## How It Works

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a Video Card">
    Create a new card and enable the **Video Card** toggle. Configure your card settings including deadline, recipient details, and delivery preferences.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Collect Contributions">
    Share the contribution link with participants. They can submit video clips, text messages, images, or GIFs — no account required.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Customize the Board">
    Arrange board tiles, pick background music from the built-in library, choose visual effects (confetti, hearts, snowflakes, sparkles), and set your board style.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Render and Send">
    Trigger a render to combine everything into a polished MP4 video. Send it immediately or schedule delivery for a specific date and time.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Key Features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Collaborative Submissions" icon="users">
    Contributors upload videos, images, GIFs, or text via a public link — no sign-up needed.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Music Library" icon="music">
    Browse and select background music from Jamendo's royalty-free library, or upload your own track.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Visual Effects" icon="sparkles">
    Add animated overlays like confetti, hearts, snowflakes, or sparkles to the final video.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Scheduled Delivery" icon="calendar">
    Set a date and time to automatically render and email the video card to your recipient.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Video Card Settings

When creating a video card, you can configure:

| Setting                    | Description                                                     |
| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Deadline**               | Cut-off date for contributor submissions                        |
| **Max Duration**           | Maximum length per submission (default: 120 seconds)            |
| **Invite Message**         | Custom message shown on the contribution page                   |
| **Recipient Name & Email** | Who receives the final video card                               |
| **Delivery Mode**          | `video` (rendered MP4) or `board` (interactive board view)      |
| **Scheduled Send**         | ISO date/time for automatic render and delivery                 |
| **Auto Render & Send**     | Enable to automatically process and email at the scheduled time |
| **Sender Email Account**   | Use a custom SMTP account instead of the default sender         |

## Board Tiles

Board tiles are the individual content blocks that make up your video card. Each tile appears as a segment in the final rendered video.

### Tile Types

| Type      | Description         | Render Behavior                                                         |
| --------- | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Video** | Uploaded video clip | Plays with original audio, scaled to fit                                |
| **Text**  | Styled text message | Rendered as a 5-second segment with custom colors, fonts, and alignment |
| **Image** | Static image        | Displayed for 5 seconds with a subtle Ken Burns zoom effect             |
| **GIF**   | Animated GIF        | Plays for its full duration, scaled to fit                              |

Each tile tracks its contributor name and email. Contributor name badges are overlaid on each segment in the final video.

### Board Settings

Customize the overall look of your video card board:

* **Occasion** — label for the event (e.g. Birthday, Farewell)
* **Background** — custom image or solid color
* **Header Color** — accent color used in the title card and email
* **Title Font** — font for the title overlay
* **Effects** — animated overlay: `none`, `confetti`, `hearts`, `snowflakes`, or `sparkles`
* **Show Contributor Names** — toggle name badges on tile segments

## Music

You can add background music to your video card from two sources:

1. **Built-in Library** — curated tracks fetched from Jamendo, categorized by genre (happy, celebration, relaxing, etc.)
2. **Custom Upload** — upload your own audio file

Music is mixed with existing video/tile audio during rendering. The background track volume defaults to 70% so contributor audio remains audible.

## Video Rendering

When you trigger a render, the system processes your card through a multi-step pipeline:

1. **Setup** — prepare workspace and download all assets
2. **Title Card** — generate an intro slide from your board settings (title, header color, background)
3. **Card Pages** — render any static card pages as video segments
4. **Submissions & Tiles** — process each board tile into a video segment with contributor badges
5. **Concatenation** — combine all segments into a single video
6. **Effects** — apply animated overlays if configured
7. **Music** — mix in background music track
8. **Upload** — upload the final MP4 to cloud storage
9. **Preview GIF** — generate a 4-second animated preview for email embedding

### Render Output

* **Format:** MP4 (H.264, AAC audio)
* **Resolution:** 1920 x 1080
* **Preview GIF:** 480px wide, 10fps, first 4 seconds

### Render Status

Track your render progress through these states:

| Status       | Description                                       |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------- |
| `QUEUED`     | Render request received, waiting to start         |
| `PROCESSING` | Actively rendering with progress updates (0–100%) |
| `COMPLETED`  | Finished — output URL and preview GIF available   |
| `FAILED`     | An error occurred — check the error message       |

## Sending Video Cards

### Send Now

Trigger an immediate render and email delivery. The system will:

1. Check for an existing completed render (reuses if available)
2. Start a new render if needed
3. Wait for render completion (up to 5 minutes)
4. Send a personalized email with the preview GIF and a "Watch Your Video Card" button

### Scheduled Send

Set `scheduledSendAt` to an ISO date/time and enable `autoRenderAndSend`. The system checks every minute for due cards and automatically renders and sends them.

### Email Delivery

The recipient receives an HTML email containing:

* A personalized greeting with their name
* An animated GIF preview of the video (or a static cover image)
* A prominent CTA button linking to the full video
* The sender's name and optional custom branding

<Info>
  If you have a custom SMTP account configured, the email will be sent from that account. Otherwise, CardClan's default sender is used.
</Info>

## Plans and Limits

Video cards are available on two tiers:

### Free Tier

* **2** video cards per month
* **20** render minutes per month
* **10** board items per card

### Lifetime Deal (LTD)

* Stackable up to **7 stacks**
* Per stack: **5** video cards, **30** render minutes per month
* Maximum with 7 stacks: **35** video cards, **210** render minutes per month

Usage resets monthly. You can check your current usage from the add-on status endpoint or the dashboard.

<Info>If you have any queries, feel free to reach out in live chat.</Info>