ReelWorkshop runs the whole compilation workflow — import, trim, reorder, preview, and render — inside your browser tab. The rendering step uses FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, which means the actual video encoding happens on your device rather than on a remote server.
What stays local, and what doesn't
Footage is not uploaded anywhere to render — the encoding work happens locally in your browser using WebAssembly FFmpeg. If you're signed in, your clips, settings, and edit plans are saved to private cloud storage so you can pick up a project later or recover after a refresh, but the render itself is a local computation, not a server job.
Why performance varies by device
Because rendering runs on your own hardware, the same edit plan will render at different speeds on a phone browser versus a laptop versus an older machine. More clips, longer compilations, and higher output resolution all increase the work your browser's WebAssembly runtime has to do. This is different from server-side editors where render speed is closer to constant regardless of your device.
Since rendering happens in your browser, closing the tab or letting the device sleep mid-render will interrupt it. The render queue supports cancel and retry, but a genuinely interrupted render needs to be restarted.
The render queue
When you have multiple edit plans ready, they go into a render queue with progress tracking, the ability to cancel a render in progress, and retry for one that failed. This matters more in browser-based rendering than server-side rendering, because a queued render is genuinely waiting for your device's resources, not a remote worker's.
Practical implications
- Rendering multiple long edits back to back will take real, visible time on the device you're using — plan for that rather than assuming instant turnaround.
- A tab crash or accidental close during a render means restarting that render, not resuming it mid-way.
- Battery-powered devices doing several renders in a row will notice power draw; plug in for longer batch sessions.
Trimming, reordering, and previewing are free
Import, trim, reorder, and preview do not require the Starter plan — you can build out and review edit plans without spending export minutes. Only rendering and downloading an export draws on the 60 exported minutes per month, so it's worth doing all your arranging and previewing first and only rendering once you're confident in the edit plan.
Mistakes to avoid
- Starting a long render and switching away to another demanding browser tab, which competes for the same local resources and slows the render further.
- Assuming a stalled progress bar means the render failed — check before cancelling, since local WebAssembly encoding can have uneven progress reporting on longer clips.
- Rendering the same edit plan repeatedly to check small changes instead of using the free preview step first.
When this isn't the right tool
If you're on a very low-powered device or an unstable connection where keeping a tab open and active for the render duration isn't practical, a browser-based renderer will be frustrating. In that case, a native desktop editor that renders in the background regardless of browser state may suit you better for that specific job.
Is my footage uploaded when I edit?
Trimming, reordering, and previewing happen locally. Rendering also happens locally via WebAssembly FFmpeg — footage isn't uploaded to render.
What happens if my browser crashes mid-render?
The render is interrupted and needs to be restarted; the render queue's retry option is there for exactly this case.