How to Make AI Videos: A Step-by-Step Workflow From Idea to Upload

What AI video tools can and can't do right now

There are tools that turn a text description or a still image into a short clip (Veo, Kling, Seedance and Runway are examples), tools that create synthetic voices, and text assistants that help with scripts. None of them delivers a finished video on its own. The usual approach is to make many short scenes, throw away the ones that go wrong and stitch the rest together in an ordinary editor.

Features, clip length, usage limits, pricing and terms of use change frequently, so this guide doesn't rely on any single tool. Before you pick one, check its website for what it offers today and what you're allowed to do with the results.

Step 1: decide what the video is for

Most weak AI videos start with a pile of impressive-looking clips and no point. Decide the topic, who will watch and what they should know or do by the end. A text assistant is good at giving you options to choose from:

Act as a video producer who makes short videos for social media and YouTube.
I want to make a [length, e.g. 60-second] video about [topic].
Audience: [who will watch and what they already know].
Goal: [what the viewer should understand or do afterwards].
Give me 5 different angles. For each one: a one-sentence hook, the promise of the video and what visuals it would need.
Don't invent facts or numbers. If something needs a source, mark it [verify].

Step 2: write the script as a list of scenes

A script is more useful for AI video when it's already split into short scenes, because each scene becomes one clip or image you generate separately. Ask for two columns, what we see and what we hear, with sentences that sound natural when read aloud.

Using this angle: [paste your chosen idea], write the video script as a two-column table: 'On screen' and 'Voiceover'.
Split it into scenes of roughly 5 to 8 seconds. Scene 1 is the hook; the final scene ends with one line aimed directly at the viewer.
Tone: [friendly / serious / playful]. Short sentences that are easy to read aloud.
Mark every factual claim with [verify] so I can check it before I record the voiceover.

Time yourself reading the script aloud. If it runs over, cut now. Every extra scene means more generations, more re-dos and more to review.

Step 3: generate visuals scene by scene

Write one prompt per scene. Results improve when you say who or what is in the shot, what happens, how the camera moves, the lighting and the overall style. Reuse the same style wording in every scene so the finished video feels consistent.

Overhead shot of hands placing small colored markers on a paper map on a wooden table. Soft natural window light, warm tones. The camera slowly pushes in toward the center. Documentary style, 6 seconds. No on-screen text, no logos and no recognizable faces.

• Generate several takes of each scene and keep the best one; discarding most of them is normal.
• Avoid scenes that depend on readable text, complicated hand movements or big crowds. They often come out with errors.
• Save the prompts that work so you can reuse their style in the other scenes.
• If your tool supports reference images, start from one to keep characters and settings consistent.

Steps 4 and 5: voiceover, music and editing

The voice can be yours, another person's with their permission, or a synthetic voice from a tool whose terms allow your use. Don't clone or imitate a real person's voice without their consent. Check the licence on any music too; tracks bundled with an AI tool can have their own conditions.

• Record or generate the full voiceover before editing, then trim each scene to fit it.
• Assemble the clips in any video editor and cut each scene where the useful action ends.
• Add captions. They help viewers with hearing loss, and many people watch with the sound off.
• Listen to the final cut with headphones and through phone speakers before exporting.

Step 6: publish and disclose

Platforms have their own rules for AI-generated or altered content, and some ask you to label it when it could pass for real footage. Read the current rules of the platform you're posting on and the terms of the tool you used. Rules on labeling synthetic media are also evolving in several places, so if the video is commercial, check the official sources for your country.

• Say clearly that the video was made with AI, especially if the visuals could be mistaken for real recordings.
• Don't show real people doing or saying things they didn't do or say, and don't use their faces or voices without permission.
• Don't use copyrighted material or imitate specific creators or brands.
• Check every fact, number and quote in the script against a reliable source you've read yourself.

Final test: if someone watched this with no context, could they believe something happened that didn't? If so, add the disclosure or change the scene.

Common mistakes, and a shortcut for the prompts

• Generating clips before you have a script, which leaves you with scenes that don't add up to a story.
• Scenes that are too long or ask for too many actions at once.
• Switching visual style from one scene to the next.
• Skipping fact-checking because the narration 'sounds right'.
• Posting without saying the video uses AI.

If you'd rather not write the prompts from scratch, PromptNow's informational video template asks for your topic and audience in a short form and produces a ready-to-paste prompt for your AI assistant. A second template does the same for the prompt of an individual scene.