How to Create an AI Video: The Basic Workflow

STEP 01

Turn one idea into clear scenes.

Start with a small idea that can be told through a few actions. Decide who the story is about, what happens and how it ends. A scene should carry one clear story beat. A change of location, action or speaker may need another scene or shot.

Write the dialogue alongside the visual description. This gives you a plan for both the image and the voice performance.

Turn this idea into a short Telugu animated story: [your idea].

Audience: [who it is for]
Mood: [warm / funny / emotional]
Characters and setting: [brief description]

Divide the story into numbered scenes. For each scene, provide:
1. What happens and why it matters.
2. The characters and location.
3. A description of the image we need.
4. The Telugu dialogue or narration, with the speaker named.
5. The intended emotion.

Give each scene one clear story beat. Keep the characters and setting consistent, and write natural spoken Telugu. Include a beginning, a development and a satisfying ending.

Do not assign final video durations yet. We will measure the generated audio before planning the video.

A simple practice story

A man returns from the market without the vegetables. His wife notices, hears his explanation and gives him a playful reply. This is a new practice example.

Ready to move on: a numbered scene list with an image description, speaker and dialogue for each scene.

STEP 02

Create the characters, then the scene images.

If a character appears more than once, prepare a reference sheet first. Keep it beside your scene plan and use it when creating each image. Choose the look before generating the full story.

Create a character reference sheet for [character description].

Include age, build, facial features, hairstyle, clothing, accessories and personality.

Use warm, hand-painted 2D Telugu village-story art with expressive faces, soft painted textures and an inviting colour palette.

Show front, side and three-quarter full-body views, plus neutral, happy, surprised and annoyed facial expressions. Arrange them neatly on a plain light background.

Every view must show the same person, with the same face, outfit, colours and proportions. Keep hands and feet fully visible. If a character reference is attached, preserve its appearance.

No scenery, written labels, cropped bodies or extra limbs.

Now create the image for each scene. Pick a clear moment that gives the animation somewhere to go. Check who is present, what they are holding and where they are looking.

Create one scene image for an animated Telugu story.

Scene: [scene number and short description]
Characters: [who is present]
Location and time: [where and when]
Visible action: [one clear moment]
Emotion: [what the audience should feel]
Framing: [wide shot / medium shot / close-up]

Follow the supplied character references. Preserve each person's face, hairstyle, clothes, colours and proportions.

Use warm, hand-painted 2D storytelling with expressive characters and lighting appropriate to the scene. Make the main action easy to understand and leave room for the intended movement.

Create one image, not a collage. No extra characters, text, logos or unrelated objects.

Ready to move on: approved character references and scene images with consistent faces, clothes and surroundings.

STEP 03

Create the audio for each scene.

Use the dialogue from your scene plan. Choose a voice that suits the character and keep that voice consistent. Generate each scene or speaking turn separately so you can review and replace it easily.

In a voice generator that supports performance tags, add short directions where the delivery changes. Tags guide the performance; listen to the result before accepting it.

[curious] ఏవండీ... బజారుకెళ్లి కూరగాయలు తెమ్మన్నాను కదా? సంచీ ఏదీ?

[sighs] ఓహో... దారిలో స్నేహితుడు కనిపించాడా? ఇంకేముంది! ఊరి కబుర్లన్నీ మాట్లాడేసి, కూరగాయల సంగతి మర్చిపోయారు!

[sarcastic] సరేలెండి... ఆ కబుర్లు కాస్త గిన్నెలో వేయండి. ఉడికితే అన్నంలో కలుపుకుందాం!

[laughs]

For the three-scene example above, generate the question, explanation and punchline as separate clips. Check pronunciation, emotion and natural pauses. Revise the delivery before measuring the final audio.

Ready to move on: approved audio for every speaking scene, with its actual duration written beside the scene number.

STEP 04

Let the audio duration guide the video.

Listen first, then decide how much screen time the scene needs. Plan the image, action and camera around the approved audio rather than squeezing the speech into an arbitrary clip length.

If your video generator cannot produce the required length in one shot, divide the action into shorter shots. Keep the voice performance continuous across the edit. For a silent scene, choose the duration from the action and pacing.

Animate the supplied scene image into a [duration]-second shot.

Story beat: [what happens in this shot]
Character action: [one main action]
Emotion: [the performance]
Framing: [wide / medium / close-up]
Camera: [steady / gentle push-in]

Begin with a natural pose, develop the action clearly, and finish with a believable reaction. Use expressive eyes, subtle facial changes and purposeful gestures.

Preserve the reference image's hand-painted 2D style, character identity, clothing, props, lighting and surroundings. Keep movements physically believable.

Where reference audio is supported, use the supplied dialogue for the speaking performance. Otherwise, create the visual performance for later audio editing.

Keep the shot within the planned duration. No extra dialogue, characters, scene changes, captions, logos or background music.

Watch the result with the actual audio. Check speaking performance, hand movement, expressions, character consistency and the ending of the shot. Regenerate a problem shot before assembling the full story.

Ready to move on: video coverage that fits each scene’s dialogue and action.

STEP 05

Bring the story together.

Arrange the scenes in order, align the approved audio and trim the cuts around natural pauses and reactions. Add captions if they help the audience, then watch the complete video on a phone.

• Does the story make sense from beginning to end?
• Do the characters look consistent across scenes?
• Is the Telugu clear and naturally spoken?
• Does the video cover the full dialogue without cutting words off?
• Are the movements, props and transitions believable?
• Is any added music quiet enough to keep speech clear?

Keep a simple scene tracker: scene number, image, speaker, audio file, measured duration and video status. Update it as each scene is approved.

Start with a three-scene story. Complete the full workflow once, review what worked, then build a longer story.