Embeddings for new videos
This guide shows how you can create video embeddings using the Marengo video understanding model. For a list of available versions, complete specifications and input requirements for each version, see the Marengo page.
The Marengo video understanding model generates embeddings for all modalities in the same latent space. This shared space enables any-to-any searches across different types of content.
For details on how your usage is measured and billed, see the Pricing page.
Key concepts
This section explains the key concepts and terminology used in this guide:
- Asset: Your uploaded content
- Embedding: Vector representation of your content.
- Embedding task: An asynchronous operation for processing your content and creating embeddings. Contains a status and the resulting embeddings when complete.
Workflow
To create video embeddings, provide your video content to the platform. You can upload video files as assets, provide a publicly accessible URL, or use base64-encoded data. The platform processes your video and returns vector representations of your content. Use these embeddings for similarity search, content classification, clustering, recommendations, or building Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems.
For videos shorter than 10 minutes, you can provide a publicly accessible URL or base64-encoded video data inline. This method skips the upload step but limits reusability for subsequent operations. See the Short videos (synchronous) section for an example implementation.
This guide demonstrates how to create embeddings by uploading your video file as an asset. This approach is the most flexible because you can reuse assets across multiple operations.
Customize your embeddings
You can customize your embeddings in the following ways:
- Specify the types of embeddings you wish to generate:
- Visual: Based on visual content
- Audio: Based on audio content, excluding spoken words
- Transcription: Based on spoken words extracted from the audio track
- Choose the embedding scope: clip (per segment) or asset (entire video)
- Define how the platform divides your video into segments: dynamic (scene-based) or fixed (time-based)
Prerequisites
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To use the platform, you need an API key:
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Depending on the programming language you are using, install the TwelveLabs SDK by entering one of the following commands:
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Your video files must meet the following requirements:
- For this guide: Files up to 4 hours
- Model capabilities: See the complete requirements for resolution, aspect ratio, and supported formats.
For other upload methods with different limits, see the Upload methods page.
Complete example
Copy and paste the code below, replacing the placeholders surrounded by <> with your values.
Code explanation
Python
Node.js
Import the SDK and initialize the client
Create a client instance to interact with the TwelveLabs Video Understanding Platform.
Function call: You call the constructor of the TwelveLabs class.
Parameters:
api_key: The API key to authenticate your requests to the platform.
Return value: An object of type TwelveLabs configured for making API calls.
Upload a video
Upload a video to create an asset. For details about the available upload methods and the corresponding limits, see the Upload methods page.
Function call: You call the assets.create function.
Parameters:
method: The upload method for your asset. Useurlfor a publicly accessible ordirectto upload a local file. This example usesurl.urlorfile: The publicly accessible URL of your video or an opened file object in binary read mode. This example usesurl.
Return value: An object of type Asset. This object contains, among other information, a field named id representing the unique identifier of your asset.
Process your video
Create an embedding task to start processing your video. This operation is asynchronous.
Function call: You call the embed.v_2.tasks.create function.
Parameters:
input_type: The type of content. Set this parameter tovideo.model_name: The model you want to use. This example usesmarengo3.0.video: An object containing the following properties:-
media_source: An object specifying the source of the video file. You can specify one of the following:-
asset_id: The unique identifier of an asset from a previous upload. -
url: The publicly accessible URL of the video file. -
base_64_string: The base64-encoded video data.This example uses the asset ID from the previous step.
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-
(Optional)
start_sec: The start time in seconds for processing the video file. By default, the platform processes videos from the beginning. -
(Optional)
end_sec: The end time in seconds for processing the video file. By default, the platform processes videos to the end of the video file. -
(Optional)
embedding_option: The types of embeddings to generate. Valid values arevisual,audio, andtranscription. You can specify multiple options to generate different types of embeddings. The default value is["visual", "audio", "transcription"]. -
(Optional)
embedding_scope: The scope for which to generate embeddings. Valid values are the following:clip: Generates one embedding for each segment.asset: Generates one embedding for the entire video file. Use this scope for videos up to 10-30 seconds to maintain optimal performance.
You can specify multiple scopes to generate embeddings at different levels. The default value is
["clip", "asset"]. -
(Optional)
segmentation: An object that specifies how the platform divides the video into segments. You can use one of the following strategies:VideoSegmentation_Dynamic: Divides the video into segments that adapt to scene changes. Requires a property nameddynamicwith amin_duration_secfield specifying the minimum duration in seconds for each segment.VideoSegmentation_Fixed: Divides the video into segments of a fixed length. Requires a property namedfixedwith aduration_secfield specifying the exact duration in seconds for each segment.
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Return value: An object of type TasksCreateResponse containing, among other information, a field named id, which represents the unique identifier of your embedding task. You can use this identifier to track the status of your embedding task.
Monitor the status
The platform requires some time to process videos. Poll the status of the embedding task until processing completes. This example uses a loop to check the status every 5 seconds.
Function call: You repeatedly call the embed.v_2.tasks.retrieve function until the task completes.
Parameters:
task_id: The unique identifier of your embedding task.
Return value: An object of type EmbeddingTaskResponse containing, among other information, the following fields:
status: The current status of the task. The possible values are:processing: The platform is creating the embeddings.ready: Processing is complete. Embeddings are available in thedatafield.failed: The task failed.
data: When the status isready, this field contains a list of embedding objects. Each embedding object includes:embedding: The embedding vector (a list of floats).embedding_option: The type of embedding (visual,audio, ortranscription).embedding_scope: The scope of the embedding (cliporasset).start_sec: The start time of the segment in seconds.end_sec: The end time of the segment in seconds.
Short videos (synchronous)
For videos shorter than 10 minutes, you can use a synchronous approach that returns embeddings immediately without requiring polling.
All the fields of the video object function similarly to the asynchronous approach.