How to make AI story videos that people watch to the end
By the ShortsMachine team · Updated
AI story videos — fables, horror stories, sci-fi shorts, bedtime stories — are one of the most popular faceless formats. Making one well comes down to three things: a story with a clear shape, characters that look the same in every scene, and narration that carries the emotion.
Step by step
- 1
Pick a story shape
Setup, problem, twist for 60 seconds; three acts for 2–5 minutes.
- 2
Describe your main character once, in detail
Age, hair, clothing with colours and one signature item. Keep the cast to two or three characters.
- 3
Choose the look and voice
One art style and one narrator voice that fits the tone — calm for horror, warm for fables.
- 4
Generate scene by scene
In ShortsMachine, type the story idea with your character description, choose a length and model, and generate. Each scene gets a key image, a clip, narration and captions.
- 5
Watch and refine
If the middle sags, ask for fewer scenes or a stronger twist and regenerate.
Story prompt template
"A [length] story about [character with details] who wants [goal], but [obstacle]. Setting: [place, time, light]. Style: [art style]. Ending: [twist / happy / moral]."
Example: "A 90-second story about Mara, a lighthouse keeper in her 40s with auburn hair, a navy coat and a brass lantern, who wants to leave the island, but every night something knocks from inside the lamp room. Stormy blue oil painting. Twist ending."
Which model for story videos
- HeyGen Video 1: affordable, with ambient sound that suits atmospheric stories.
- FLUX 3 Max: long 20-second shots on Pro.
- Kling 3.0 and Seedance 2.0 Mini: the most expressive acting on Premium.
- Slideshow mode: painted stills with slow zooms — ideal for fables and bedtime stories.
Frequently asked questions
How long should an AI story video be?
45–90 seconds for Shorts and TikTok; 2–5 minutes for YouTube story channels.
How do I keep the same character in every scene?
Describe the character in detail and keep the cast small. ShortsMachine adds a shared visual style line to every scene and starts each clip from a matching key image.
Put this guide into practice
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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