# Video and animated GIF

> Record pages as MP4, WebM, animated GIF or animated WebP, including smooth scroll-through videos.

## Record a page

Set `format` to `mp4`, `webm` or `gif`, and the page is recorded in real time instead of captured once. `webp` is a still image by default and is recorded as an animated WebP when you set any animation option (`animation_duration`, `animation_fps` or `animation_scroll`).

```bash
curl -X POST "https://shotkit.net/api/take" \
  -H "X-Access-Key: YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com","format":"mp4","animation_duration":5}' \
  --fail-with-body -o shot.mp4
```

| Option | Default | Range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `animation_duration` | `3` seconds | 0.5–20 |
| `animation_fps` | 30 for video, 10 for GIF/WebP | 1–30 |
| `animation_scroll` | `false` | Scroll to the bottom while recording. |
| `image_quality` | `80` | Video bitrate for MP4/WebM. |

Recording starts once the page is ready, after clicks, scripts and waits, so you can record exactly the state you set up.

## Scroll-through videos

`animation_scroll=true` scrolls smoothly from the top to the bottom over the duration. It's the recorded counterpart of [full page](https://shotkit.net/docs/full-page.md) (`full_page` itself isn't supported for recorded formats):

```bash
curl -X POST "https://shotkit.net/api/take" \
  -H "X-Access-Key: YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com","format":"mp4","animation_scroll":true,"animation_duration":10,"block_cookie_banners":true}' \
  --fail-with-body -o shot.mp4
```

## Animated GIF and WebP

GIF and animated WebP play everywhere images do: READMEs, emails, chat. Keep them short and small; lower `animation_fps` and scale down with `image_width`. For WebP, setting `animation_duration` is what makes it animated:

```bash
curl -X POST "https://shotkit.net/api/take" \
  -H "X-Access-Key: YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com","format":"gif","animation_duration":4,"animation_fps":12,"image_width":640}' \
  --fail-with-body -o shot.gif
```

An animated WebP is usually much smaller than a GIF at the same quality:

```bash
curl -X POST "https://shotkit.net/api/take" \
  -H "X-Access-Key: YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com","format":"webp","animation_duration":4,"image_quality":70,"image_width":640}' \
  --fail-with-body -o shot.webp
```

## Record one element

`selector` (or a [clip](https://shotkit.net/docs/options/clip.md)) crops the recording to an element, for example an animated chart or a component demo:

```bash
curl -X POST "https://shotkit.net/api/take" \
  -H "X-Access-Key: YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://example.com","format":"webm","selector":".hero","animation_duration":4}' \
  --fail-with-body -o shot.webm
```

The element must be inside the viewport while recording; it's scrolled into view first.

## Things to know

- Recordings are made at 1× resolution; `device_scale_factor` doesn't apply.
- Recording takes real time, so a 20-second video takes at least 20 seconds. For long recordings, use [async](https://shotkit.net/docs/async-and-webhooks.md).