Photo by May Gauthier on Unsplash
By: Nick Gambino
Snap has just launched a new standalone app dedicated entirely to video editing called Story Studio. The feature-laden app should help those creators who rely on Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere, forcing them to have to export to their phones before posting. For now, Story Studio is a limited release or “early version” available only to iOS users in the U.S., UK and Canada. Sorry, Android users, you’ll have to wait for a wider launch.
The new app is intended to give creators, especially those with Snapchat and Spotlight accounts, the ability to use more advanced editing tools on their videos. It includes “frame-precise trimming, splitting and timing tools” as well as the ability to add transitions, layers, captions and sounds. Users will also have access to the full Snap Lens library.
“Story Studio is a fast and fun way for creators to make advanced, engaging vertical videos to share on Snapchat,” the App Store description reads. Note the plug for Snapchat and lack of mention of any other platform compatibility.
Story Studio of course easily exports to both Snapchat and Spotlight but also includes the ability to download and share on pretty much any platform. What’s even better is it won’t include an annoying watermark, unlike the leader in vertical videos, TikTok.
This newest app is yet another in the growing “copy TikTok” trend that’s sweeping the tech industry. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. TikTok blew up in 2020, quickly becoming the newest, coolest social app, making Facebook and Instagram feel older than they already did.
Snap has constantly tried to figure out where it stands amongst a growing lineup of competitors. Once the app to copy, they now find themselves back of the line trying to make a move to the front. Of course, there’s no finish line and any of these apps could be irrelevant and obsolete by next year when the inevitable new app on the block drops.
If you’re interested in using Story Studio, and you’re from the U.S., UK or Canada, you can download it from the App Store for free. If you don’t see it yet and you fall into the aforementioned parameters, be patient, it’s rolling out slowly.
