How to make AI videos: a step-by-step guide

Learning how to make AI videos takes an afternoon, not a film course. You describe a shot in words, or upload a photo, and an AI video generator turns it into a short moving clip. This guide takes you from your very first clip to a finished, edited video that is ready for YouTube Shorts, Reels or a website, and it covers the problems beginners hit most often and how to fix them.

The examples use AIVidGen, but the advice on prompts, camera moves and editing applies to any AI video tool.

What is an AI video generator?

An AI video generator creates video footage from an instruction rather than from a camera. Instead of filming, you describe what you want to see, and leading AI video models generate the frames. There are two main ways to start.

Text to video

Text to video starts from a written prompt only. You might type a red fox trots through fresh snow in a pine forest, soft morning light, low tracking shot, and the generator invents everything: the fox, the forest, the light and the movement. It is the most flexible option and the best place to begin.

Image to video

Image to video starts from a picture you upload, such as a product photo, a landscape or an illustration, and brings it to life. The image fixes the look, and your prompt describes the motion. It is the better choice when you need a specific product, place or composition to appear exactly. Our 12 image to video tips cover it in detail.

How to make AI videos in AIVidGen, step by step

1. Open the web app. Go to aividgen.app/app and sign in with your phone number. You will receive a one-time code (OTP) to confirm it. An Android app is coming soon on Google Play.
2. Choose text to video or image to video. If you have a photo you want to animate, upload it. Otherwise, start with text.
3. Write or paste your prompt. Describe one shot: subject, action, setting, light, one camera move and a mood. Prompts can be up to 5,000 characters, but a clear sentence or two is often enough.
4. Pick a style. Leave it on Cinematic for a realistic film look, or choose one of the other styles, such as Ghibli, Anime or Claymation.
5. Choose the shape. 9:16 for vertical video, 16:9 for widescreen, 1:1 for square.
6. Set the length and sound. Clips run from 5 to 10 seconds. Turn sound on or off depending on whether you plan to add your own audio later.
7. Generate and review. Watch the clip through at least twice. If something is wrong, change one thing in the prompt and try again.
8. Download the MP4. AIVidGen does not add a watermark. Your videos stay in your library for 30 days on web and app and are then deleted automatically, so download anything you want to keep.

Writing a prompt that works

An AI video prompt works best when it reads like a description of a single camera shot. A useful order is subject + action + setting + light + camera move + style + mood. Compare these two:

Weak: A city at night, amazing, cinematic.

Strong: A woman in a red coat walks across an empty rain-soaked city square at night, neon reflections on wet stone, slow dolly forward behind her, cinematic, quiet and lonely mood.

The second version gives the model a subject, an action, textures, light and a single, slow camera move. A few more rules help:

• One action per clip. Ten seconds is not long. Pours tea works; pours tea, drinks it, then walks outside does not.
• Concrete nouns beat adjectives. Brass lamps, marigold petals, wet cobbles say more than beautiful.
• Name the light. Golden hour, overcast, candlelight, neon, studio softbox. Light sets the mood more than any other word.
• Avoid real people. Do not prompt for celebrities or people you know. Describe an original character instead.

Need inspiration? Our library of 100+ AI video prompts has copy-ready examples in every genre, and the free AI video prompt generator builds one from a few choices.

Choosing the right shape

Pick the shape before you generate, because cropping afterwards cuts away part of the scene and lowers quality.

Shape	Best for	Framing tip
9:16 (vertical)	YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, Stories	Keep the subject in the centre; the top and bottom get covered by captions and buttons.
16:9 (widescreen)	YouTube videos, websites, presentations	Great for landscapes, drone shots and wide establishing scenes.
1:1 (square)	Feeds, ads, product listings	Works well for a single object or a close-up.

If you make vertical content, the YouTube Shorts AI video generator and Reels maker pages show what tends to work in that format.

Picking a length: 5 to 10 seconds

Shorter clips are usually cleaner. With less time to fill, the model has fewer chances to drift, so faces, hands and objects stay more stable. Use a shorter clip for quick cuts, product details and loops. Use a longer one for a slow camera move, a reveal or a moment you want viewers to linger on. Most finished AI videos are built from several short clips edited together rather than one long take.

Styles: realistic, drawn and everything between

AIVidGen has 16 styles: Cinematic, Ghibli, Anime, Chibi, 3D Cartoon, Claymation, Watercolour, Comic, Cyberpunk, Film noir, Vintage film, Pixel art, Paper cut, Oil painting, Low poly and Fantasy art. Drawn styles start from a first frame in that style and then animate it, which helps the look stay consistent from the first second to the last.

Two tips. First, let the style and the prompt agree: do not choose Claymation and then write photorealistic. Second, use one style for an entire video so the clips cut together smoothly. If you like hand-drawn looks, see the Ghibli-style video generator, the AI anime video generator and the AI cartoon video maker.

Camera moves that make clips feel professional

The camera move is the difference between a clip that looks like a moving photo and one that looks filmed. AIVidGen supports professional camera moves, including push in, pull out, orbit, pan, tilt, crane, dolly, FPV or drone, handheld, static and slow motion.

• Push in draws attention to a face or detail and builds tension.
• Pull out reveals where we are; it is ideal for endings.
• Orbit shows off a product or a character from several sides.
• Drone or FPV gives scale and energy to landscapes and cities.
• Static is calm and lets the action do the work; it suits loops and food shots.

Use one move per clip. The AI video camera moves guide explains each one with examples.

Sound on or off?

Turn sound on when you want a clip that is ready to post with audio, such as a quick nature or street scene. Turn it off when you plan to add a voice-over, licensed music or your own sound effects in an editor, because you will usually replace the clip audio anyway and a silent clip is easier to mix.

How to make a longer AI video from several clips

Each generation gives you a 5 to 10 second clip. To make a 30 second Short or a three-minute explainer, you plan a sequence of shots and edit them together. Free editors such as CapCut and DaVinci Resolve are more than enough.

1. Write a shot list. List each moment as one line: an establishing shot, a few medium shots, a close-up detail and an ending shot. Six to ten shots make a good 30 to 60 second video.
2. Lock your look. Use the same style, the same shape and the same light description in every prompt. Copy your character description word for word into each one.
3. Generate two or three versions of each shot. Pick the best take for each line in your list.
4. Import into your editor. Drop the clips onto the timeline in order. Trim the first and last half-second of each clip if the motion starts or ends awkwardly.
5. Cut on movement. Cuts feel smooth when one clip ends while something is moving and the next begins with movement in a similar direction.
6. Add sound. Lay down a voice-over or music first, then cut the pictures to its rhythm. Add text and captions in the editor, not in the prompt.
7. Colour match. A light, shared colour filter across every clip hides small differences between generations.

This approach is how many creators run a faceless YouTube channel with AI videos, and it is also a fast way to produce b-roll for talking-head videos.

Exporting and posting your AI video

Export from your editor in the same shape you generated in, as an MP4 at the highest resolution the editor offers. Then:

• YouTube Shorts: upload a vertical 9:16 video. Write a clear title that says what the viewer will see, and put the key moment in the first second. Our guide to making YouTube Shorts with AI goes further.
• Instagram Reels: also 9:16. Keep important visuals away from the bottom fifth of the frame, where captions sit.
• YouTube and websites: use 16:9. Add chapters and a description that explains the topic in plain words.
• Be open about AI. Platforms increasingly ask creators to label realistic AI-generated content. Use the disclosure option where it exists.

Businesses using clips in adverts and on product pages will find practical ideas in AI video for small business.

Common problems when making AI videos, and how to fix them

Faces morph or change halfway through

Keep faces medium-sized rather than tiny in the frame, describe the face once and clearly, and choose a calm action. Shorter clips help. A slow push in or a static shot is far more stable than an orbit around a person. If you need a precise face, start from an image with image to video, using a photo you have the right to use.

The motion is too fast or chaotic

Add the word slow to your camera move, remove extra actions and cut any second camera move. Words like gentle, calm and slow motion reliably reduce speed. A static camera is the quickest fix of all.

Text in the video looks garbled

AI video is still poor at readable writing such as signs, labels and logos. Do not ask for text in the prompt. Generate a clean shot and add titles, prices or captions in your editor, where they will be sharp and correctly spelled.

My character looks different in every clip

Write a fixed character description, for example a young woman with short black hair, a yellow raincoat and a green backpack, and paste it unchanged into every prompt. Keep the same style and light. Distinctive clothing and colours are easier for the model to repeat than subtle facial features. For the most consistency, create a reference image of the character and use image to video for each shot.

Hands and fingers look strange

Frame hands doing simple things, such as holding a cup or resting on a table, or keep them partly out of frame. Avoid prompts that need detailed finger movement, like typing or playing the piano, in close-up.

The clip ignores part of my prompt

Move the most important detail to the start of the prompt, delete anything that competes with it and try again. Changing one thing at a time tells you what actually made the difference.

How much does it cost?

If you make videos often, AIVidGen Premium gives you unlimited videos with no credits and no daily cap; fair use only stops automated abuse. In India it costs ₹1,499 + GST for 30 days, paid once by UPI or card with no auto-debit. Internationally it is US$14.99 per month plus tax, and you can cancel at any time. The Android app, coming soon on Google Play, will offer free videos, each unlocked by watching a short ad, up to 20 a day. See pricing for details.

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