Adding content credentials (C2PA) in Video by Zaweba

People increasingly want to know where a video came from and whether any of it was made by AI. Content credentials, built on the C2PA standard, are a way of attaching that information to the file itself. Video by Zaweba can sign a C2PA manifest when it exports, stating who made the video, that it was made with Video by Zaweba, and whether it contains AI-made material.

It is especially relevant to an editor that includes an Episode Builder for short AI clips, since honest labelling is part of publishing that kind of work.

Where to find it

The setting lives in Export > More options. Fill in who made the video and say whether it includes AI-made material, then export as normal. Nothing else about the edit changes.

For MP4, MOV and M4A files the manifest is carried inside the file. For other formats it is written beside the export as a separate .c2pa file. If you send someone one of those other formats, send the .c2pa file with it, or the credentials stay behind on your drive.

What a signature does and does not prove

A C2PA manifest is signed so that later changes to the file can be detected. That is useful: if someone alters the video after you export it, tools that read content credentials can show that the file no longer matches what was signed.

There is an important limit to understand. The signer is untrusted unless you have bought a certificate. In practice, a viewer that checks credentials will see the information you entered, but will flag that the signer is not one it recognises. The statement is still there and still tied to the file; it just is not vouched for by a certificate authority. Be honest with yourself and others about that difference, and do not present the credentials as more official than they are.

Being clear about AI material

The AI question is the part people care about most. If any shot, voice or picture in the export was produced by an AI tool, say so. Mixed projects are common now: a real presenter with AI-generated cutaways, or a script read over generated clips. The statement covers the video as a whole, so if any part is AI-made, the honest answer is yes.

Labelling also protects you. Some platforms and clients expect disclosure, and a file that carries the statement from the moment it leaves your editor is easier to stand behind than one labelled later by hand.

A short routine

Set the creator name once per project so you do not forget it under deadline. Decide the AI answer when you lock the edit, not at the start, because a late cutaway can change it. Export in MP4 or MOV where you can, so the credentials travel inside the file. When you must use another format, keep the .c2pa file beside the video in every folder you copy it to.

Afterwards, if you have a content credentials viewer, open the export in it and check that the details read the way you meant them to.

How it fits the rest of export

Content credentials sit alongside the title, artist and copyright metadata in the same set of extra export options. Metadata labels a file; credentials add a signed statement about how it was made. Use both on anything you publish widely. They cost nothing in time and keep the facts about your work attached to it, offline, without any account.