Create Videos with AI from Script to Final Cut

1. 1

   Write a Video Script with AI

   Every good video starts with a tight script. AI can draft one in minutes, but you need to give it the right structure -- hook, body, CTA -- tailored to your video format and platform.

   ChatGPT Claude

   Write a video script for me. Here are the details:
   
   - Video type: [explainer video / product demo / YouTube tutorial / social media short / course lesson / testimonial-style]
   - Topic: [e.g., 'How our app saves freelancers 5 hours per week on invoicing']
   - Target length: [30 seconds / 60 seconds / 2-3 minutes / 5-8 minutes / 10+ minutes]
   - Target audience: [e.g., freelance designers who currently use spreadsheets to track invoices]
   - Platform: [YouTube / Instagram Reels / TikTok / LinkedIn / Website landing page / Course platform]
   - Tone: [e.g., professional but not stiff, a knowledgeable friend explaining something useful]
   - Key message: [the ONE thing viewers should remember, e.g., 'You're losing $X/month to unpaid invoices because your process has no follow-up system']
   - CTA: [what should viewers do after watching? Sign up, visit website, follow, share?]
   
   Script format requirements:
   - Start with a HOOK (first 3-5 seconds) that stops the scroll. No 'Hey guys!' or 'In this video, I'll show you...' — jump straight into the most interesting part.
   - Include [VISUAL DIRECTION] notes in brackets describing what should be on screen during each section
   - Include [B-ROLL] suggestions where supplementary footage would help
   - Include [TEXT OVERLAY] notes for key points that should appear as text on screen
   - Mark natural CUT points where the video should transition
   - End with a clear CTA and a memorable closing line (not 'thanks for watching')
   - Include approximate timestamps for each section
   
   Word count guide: ~150 words per minute of finished video.
   
   Write two versions of the hook so I can A/B test which performs better.

   Copy

   Tip: The hook is 80% of your video's success. If someone doesn't stop scrolling in the first 2-3 seconds, nothing else matters. Test your hook by reading it to someone without context — if they say 'wait, tell me more,' you've nailed it. If they shrug, rewrite it.

2. 2

   Generate AI Voiceover or Choose an Avatar

   Decide your delivery method: AI voiceover (narration over visuals), AI avatar (a digital presenter), or text-on-screen only. Each has trade-offs in cost, realism, and production speed.

   ElevenLabs HeyGen Synthesia

   I need to produce audio/presentation for my video. Help me choose and set up the right approach.
   
   My script: [paste your final script from Step 1]
   My budget: [free / under $30 / under $100 / flexible]
   My comfort with appearing on camera: [not at all / I have existing footage of myself / I'm fine being on camera]
   
   Evaluate these options for my specific video:
   
   1. **AI Voiceover (ElevenLabs/Murf)**: Best for explainers, tutorials, product demos. Narration plays over visuals.
      - Recommend a voice style that matches my tone: [professional, warm, energetic, calm]
      - Should I use a male or female voice for this audience?
      - How should I mark emphasis, pauses, and pacing in the script for natural delivery?
   
   2. **AI Avatar (HeyGen/Synthesia)**: Best for training videos, corporate content, course material. A digital person presents on screen.
      - Which avatar style fits: corporate/professional, casual/approachable, or custom (clone my voice/face)?
      - Should the avatar be full-body, waist-up, or head-shot?
      - What background should I use?
   
   3. **Text-on-Screen + Music**: Best for social media shorts, quick tips, memes. No voice at all.
      - Suggest a text animation style
      - Recommend music mood and tempo
      - How should I pace the text reveals?
   
   For my chosen approach, give me:
   - Exact settings to use in the tool (speaking speed, emotion level, pitch)
   - How to break my script into segments for the most natural delivery
   - Common mistakes to avoid (e.g., AI voices sound robotic on long sentences — break them up)

   Copy

   Tip: ElevenLabs voices are the most natural-sounding as of 2026, but they charge per character. For scripts over 1,000 words, the cost adds up. Draft your script to be tight — every unnecessary word costs money and attention. If you're on a budget, use the free tier to test voice selection before committing to full generation.

3. 3

   Create Visuals: AI Video Generation or Stock + Motion Graphics

   Generate the visual layer of your video. You have two paths: AI text-to-video generation (Runway, Pika, Sora) for custom footage, or AI-assisted editing with stock footage and motion graphics (Canva, CapCut, Descript).

   Runway Descript CapCut

   I need to create visuals for my video. Here's my script with visual direction notes:
   
   [Paste your script with [VISUAL DIRECTION] notes]
   
   For each section of the script, suggest the best visual approach:
   
   **Option A — AI-Generated Footage (Runway/Sora)**:
   Write a text-to-video prompt for each [VISUAL DIRECTION] note. Format:
   - Scene description (what's happening)
   - Camera angle and movement (static, pan, zoom, tracking shot)
   - Lighting and mood (warm natural light, dramatic shadows, bright and clean)
   - Duration (2-5 seconds per clip is ideal for AI video)
   - Style (photorealistic, cinematic, motion graphics, animated)
   
   Example: "A freelancer sitting at a clean desk with a MacBook, checking their phone and smiling as a payment notification appears. Camera: slow push-in from medium shot. Lighting: warm golden hour from a window. Duration: 4 seconds. Style: photorealistic."
   
   **Option B — Stock + Motion Graphics**:
   For each section, suggest:
   - Stock footage search terms (be specific, e.g., 'overhead shot freelancer laptop coffee' not just 'person working')
   - Text overlay or motion graphic to add
   - Transition type between sections
   
   **Option C — Screen Recording + AI Enhancement**:
   For product demos or tutorials:
   - Which screens to record and in what order
   - Where to add zoom-ins, highlights, or callouts
   - How to handle mouse movements (slow and deliberate for clarity)
   
   Also suggest:
   - Aspect ratio for my target platform ([16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Reels/TikTok, 1:1 for LinkedIn])
   - A color grading/filter direction that matches my brand
   - Background music genre and energy level for each section

   Copy

   Tip: AI-generated video clips work best at 2-5 seconds. Longer clips tend to have visual artifacts or unnatural movements. Plan your video as a series of short clips rather than one long continuous shot. This actually matches how professional videos are edited anyway — quick cuts keep viewers engaged.

4. 4

   Edit and Assemble the Final Video

   Bring together your voiceover/avatar, visuals, text overlays, music, and transitions into a polished final video. AI editing tools can handle most of the assembly automatically.

   Descript CapCut

   I'm assembling my final video. Help me plan the edit and catch common mistakes before I export.
   
   Video components I have:
   - Script/voiceover: [AI voiceover / AI avatar / text-only]
   - Visual clips: [X clips from AI generation / stock footage / screen recordings]
   - Target length: [e.g., 3 minutes]
   - Platform: [e.g., YouTube]
   
   Create an editing plan:
   
   1. **Assembly Order**: List every clip in sequence with:
      - Clip number and description
      - Duration
      - Corresponding voiceover/script timestamp
      - Transition to next clip (cut, crossfade, zoom, swipe)
      - Any text overlay or lower-third to add
   
   2. **Pacing Check**:
      - Flag any section that stays on the same visual for more than 5 seconds (attention killer)
      - Flag any section where cuts happen faster than every 2 seconds (disorienting)
      - Suggest where to add a beat/pause for emphasis
   
   3. **Audio Layers**:
      - Background music: When should it start, swell, and fade? (Usually: start at 30% volume, duck under voiceover, swell during transitions and emotional moments, fade out at CTA)
      - Sound effects: Suggest 3-5 subtle SFX that would enhance specific moments (whoosh for transitions, soft ding for key points, typing sounds for demo sections)
   
   4. **Quality Checklist Before Export**:
      - Audio levels consistent throughout? (voiceover should be -6 to -3 dB, music -18 to -12 dB)
      - No awkward jump cuts or visual glitches?
      - Text on screen long enough to read? (Minimum 3 seconds for short text, 5 seconds for longer)
      - CTA is clear and stays on screen at least 5 seconds?
      - Thumbnail-worthy frame exists in the first 30 seconds?
   
   5. **Export Settings** for [my target platform]:
      - Resolution, frame rate, bitrate, file format
      - Any platform-specific requirements (safe zones for TikTok UI, YouTube end screen space)

   Copy

   Tip: Descript is the easiest AI editor for beginners because you edit the video by editing the transcript — delete a word from the text, and it removes that segment from the video. No timeline scrubbing required. It also auto-removes filler words ('um,' 'uh,' 'like') with one click.

5. 5

   Add Captions, Thumbnails, and Platform Optimization

   The final 10% that separates amateur videos from professional ones: burned-in captions (85% of social media video is watched on mute), a click-worthy thumbnail, and platform-specific metadata.

   Canva CapCut ChatGPT

   My video is assembled. Now I need to add the final polish for maximum performance on [platform].
   
   1. **Captions/Subtitles**:
      - Generate SRT subtitle file from my script
      - Caption style recommendation: [font, size, position, background style]
      - For social media: should I use word-by-word animated captions (TikTok style) or sentence-based subtitles (YouTube style)?
      - Highlight key words in a different color for emphasis
   
   2. **Thumbnail** (for YouTube/course platforms):
      Write a thumbnail design brief:
      - Text on thumbnail (3-5 words max, the hook, not the title)
      - Emotion/facial expression if featuring a person
      - Color palette that pops in a sea of other thumbnails
      - Layout (rule of thirds, text placement)
      - Midjourney/DALL-E prompt to generate a thumbnail background
      - Give me 3 thumbnail text options to A/B test
   
   3. **Title and Description** (for YouTube):
      - 3 title options (under 60 characters, includes target keyword, creates curiosity gap)
      - Description: first 2 lines visible without clicking 'show more' — make them count
      - Full description with timestamps, keywords, links, and relevant hashtags
      - 10-15 tags for YouTube search
   
   4. **First Comment** (for YouTube/Instagram):
      - Write a pinned first comment that drives engagement (ask a specific question related to the video content)
   
   5. **Cross-Platform Repurposing Plan**:
      - How to cut this video into 3-5 shorter clips for other platforms
      - Which sections make the best standalone shorts
      - What to change for each platform (aspect ratio, caption style, CTA)

   Copy

   Tip: Your thumbnail is more important than your video. On YouTube, CTR (click-through rate) determines whether your video gets recommended, and CTR is almost entirely driven by thumbnail + title. Spend as much time on your thumbnail as you did on the first 30 seconds of your video.

6. 6

   Review, Get Feedback, and Iterate

   Before publishing, run your video through a structured review process. AI can catch technical issues and help you stress-test your content from the viewer's perspective.

   ChatGPT Claude

   I'm about to publish my video. Help me do a final review by answering these questions as if you were my target audience ([describe your target viewer]):
   
   1. **First Impression Test**: Based on my thumbnail and title alone, would you click? Why or why not? What would make you more likely to click?
   
   2. **Hook Test**: Read the first 5 seconds of my script. Are you hooked, or would you scroll past? Rate 1-10 and explain.
   
   3. **Value Delivery**: After watching/reading the full script, did the video deliver on the promise of the hook and title? Where did you feel bored, confused, or like the video was padding?
   
   4. **Pacing Feedback**: Mark any sections that felt:
      - Too fast (information overload)
      - Too slow (dragging, could be cut)
      - Just right
   
   5. **CTA Effectiveness**: Is the call-to-action clear? Do you actually feel motivated to [take the desired action]? If not, what would make it more compelling?
   
   6. **Competitor Comparison**: What would make someone choose this video over the top 3 videos already ranking for [your target keyword/topic] on YouTube?
   
   7. **Improvement Priorities**: If I could only change 3 things to make this video significantly better, what would they be? Rank them by impact.
   
   Be honest and specific. Vague praise is useless — tell me exactly where the video is weak.

   Copy

   Tip: Show your video to 3-5 people in your target audience before publishing. Watch them watch it — don't ask for feedback during, just observe where they look at their phone, fast-forward, or lose attention. Those moments are your weak points, regardless of what they say verbally.

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