AI story video generator: narrated stories, scene by scene
Stories are the most-watched faceless format, and the hardest to do with AI because characters must look the same from scene to scene. ShortsMachine starts every story by writing a visual style guide — who the characters are, what they wear, where the story happens and how it is lit — and applies it to every image and clip.
You get a story with a beginning, middle and end, told by a natural voice over a sequence of matching scenes.
What makes a good story prompt
- A character with one clear want: "a lighthouse keeper who wants to leave the island".
- An obstacle or mystery: "but every night someone knocks from inside the lamp room".
- The ending you want: twist, happy ending, cliffhanger or moral.
- A look: "oil painting, stormy blues, warm lantern light".
Keeping characters consistent
Describe your main character once with distinctive details — hair, clothing, one accessory — and the shared style guide carries it through the video. Fewer characters and a single main location give the most consistent results. For a recurring series, reuse the same character description in every prompt.
Story lengths
Thirty to sixty seconds suits fables and micro-stories. Two to five minutes leaves room for setup and twists. Longer stories cost more credits, so test the idea short first and expand the ones that land.
Story structures that work in short video
- Setup, problem, twist: perfect for 60-second stories.
- Three attempts: the hero tries twice and fails, then succeeds on the third.
- Mystery box: open with an unexplained image and reveal it at the end.
- Fable: a simple story that ends with a one-line moral.
Frequently asked questions
Can I continue a story in a second video?
Yes. Reuse the same character and style description in the next prompt and mention what happened before; the new video will match the look closely.
Can stories be in other languages?
Narration and captions can be in 11 languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi and Japanese.
Which model is best for stories?
HeyGen Video 1 is an affordable choice with ambient sound and clips up to 15 seconds. For more cinematic acting, Kling 3.0 and Seedance 2.0 Mini on Premium give the most expressive motion.
Make your first video in a few minutes
Type an idea and ShortsMachine writes the script, generates every scene, adds a voiceover and captions, and stitches it into one video — up to 5 minutes long.
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