Ever dreamed of making your indie story film? Now, you can with AI video generation.
Creating a movie or film no longer belongs to the production house. AI video generation is a game-changing tool that will reshape how we communicate, advertise, and create. Whether you’re telling your brand story or crafting a short film, AI video creation is putting the power of visual storytelling in your hands.
This is especially empowering for Gen Xers who have lived through analog camcorders to digital cameras and now AI-driven content.
I will share the basic understanding of the AI video generation process and its possible challenges.
Use Cases: Your Creativity Playground!
With AI video generation capabilities, it has become a creativity playground for me. Personally, I can already see many use cases. The promise of AI video generation lies in its flexibility and speed. Meaning, if you are unhappy with one particular footage, you could always generate it again. This is much faster than actual filming or reshooting.
Here are some examples of using it:
- Corporate Storytelling: Create internal updates, leadership messages, or company highlights with cinematic polish.
- Brand Awareness Campaigns: Design social-first videos with motion graphics or lifestyle scenes generated with AI.
- Product Launches & Ads: Use AI to test multiple visual styles and narratives for digital marketing.
- Educational & Awareness Content: Convey complex ideas simply through visuals and voiceovers.
- Personal Creativity: For Gen X creators, AI video generation allows experimentation without deep technical skills.
I feel that with AI video generation capabilities, it will be very useful across the board and all industries. By saying that, I hope AI video generation is used for creativity and storytelling purposes, and not used for illegal means of fake news or misleading campaigns.
The Step-by-Step Process to Create Your First AI Video
In AI video generation, I think it’s important to make a distinction. Technically, AI video generation always starts with a prompt. But it is important to understand that there is no magic prompt to generate a very long footage and expect that the character will work with different angles. Maybe it will in the future. But for what I have experienced, it does not work this way.
Hence, I am sharing my creation process here.
Start with a story script writing…
Step 1: Write a Script Using an AI Chatbot
Use ChatGPT to structure your story or message. Ask it to break it down into scenes, each with a specific action or emotion.
Step 2: Break the Script into Scenes
Each scene should be annotated with setting, emotion, character details, and pacing.
Step 3: Understand A-Roll and B-Roll
- A-Roll is your primary footage (talking heads, central actions).
- B-Roll is supplemental (cutaways, environment, object closeups).
It’s key to learn what an A-Roll and a B-Roll. You definitely have seen it in your movie without realizing it! Each scene could contain multiple A-Rolls and B-Rolls.
Step 4: Generate Images to Guide the Video
Use Midjourney or Ideogram to create consistent visual references of characters and settings. You can also use ChatGPT. I tend to use Ideogram.ai and ChatGPT to generate a character reference image first.
Step 5: Upload Visuals into AI Video Tools
Then, from the image reference, provide the AI video generation tools with your reference images to maintain character and setting consistency.
I hope the AI video generation explained through this process makes it easier to understand, especially for beginners.
Note: In an actual movie, the director probably needs to film a lot of footage to get even one scene! The framework for creating is the same as in real production.
The Challenges of AI Video Creation (That You Should Know)
Despite the advancement of this magical AI technology, AI video generation still has some challenges. Here are some of the limitations:
- Short Lengths: Most AI-generated clips are still quite short. You need to generate a few short videos to compile them into a scene.
- Inconsistent Characters: This is the biggest challenge. Without reference images, character appearance may vary.
- Transitions: Seamless storytelling needs manual editing. Without a doubt, you must act like a producer to edit the video with transitions. Transitions add flavour, emotion, and excitement to your film.
- Complex Prompting: Camera angle prompting needs to learn. Not easy, but it’s a must. Describing camera angles, emotions, and lighting is crucial.
- Post-Editing Still Required: You’ll still need to stitch, cut, add music, or subtitles.
As mentioned, no one magic prompt does it all at the moment. A film to produce is not like how you ask ChatGPT with a single prompt and an answer in reply. You need to manage your expectations and go through the process.
How to Use Camera Prompts for Better Results
Camera angle is very critical in AI video generation. Your text prompt determines the video quality. Here are some angle “keywords” you can use as part of the prompt:
| Prompt Keyword | What It Creates |
| “Overhead shot” | Scene from above (great for setting context) |
| “Close-up” | Emotional facial detail |
| “Tracking shot” | Moving with the subject (creates motion) |
| “POV shot” | First-person perspective |
| “Wide shot” | Environment-heavy framing |
| “Dolly zoom” | Hitchcock effect, dramatic moment |
| “Time-lapse” | Fast-forwarded scene |
Tips: Go check out other videos on the AI Video Generation platform. If there is an angle you like, copy it and repurpose it into your prompt. You can learn it faster this way.
Styles You Can Create with AI Video
There are different Video style modes you can create with AI Video Generation Tools. Here are some different aesthetics to create:
- Hyperrealistic / Cinematic: Perfect for serious storytelling or advertising.
- 3D Animated / Pixar-like: Great for explainer videos, education, or playful content.
- Anime / Stylized: Ideal for fan content or genre storytelling.
- Motion Collage / Artistic: Experimental, music-driven scenes or social reels.
The best way to learn these different styles is to experiment with creating them for a social media engagement post. Start with small video shorts and different styles. Once you are familiarized, and when you have a script, it will be easier for you to visualize the aesthetic mode you would like to achieve.
Popular Tools for AI Video Generation (Free + Paid)
| Tool | Best For |
| Runway ML | Text-to-video, image input, editing-ready |
| Sora (OpenAI) | Future tool aiming for long-form coherence |
| Kling AI | Facial consistency, action shots |
| Hailluo AI | Stylized Chinese-language friendly visuals |
| Canva AI | Layouts + animation for social use |
| ElevenLabs | High-quality voiceovers |
| CapCut | Editing AI videos with transitions & text |
My preferred AI video generation tools now are Hailuo AI and Kling AI. I have also used Canva AI, but my Canva plan currently limits me to only 5 videos of 8s per month.
AI Video Generation Is a Creative Superpower
Lastly, looking at the broader scheme of things, AI video generation isn’t here to replace filmmakers — it’s here where it can take your creativity to the next level.
My journey in AI Video generation is still a work in progress. Still a lot to learn. But I think I am getting there.
If you are thinking of whether you want to make a TikTok video, why not just try faceless posting by using AI video generation to create a story?
For us, Gen Xers, it’s not about being tech-native — it’s about being story-driven. With the right tools (and they are here now!) and some creative fuel, you can turn thoughts into powerful visuals.
Get started today.
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