July 14, 2023

Crafting Captivating Video Stories with AI-Generated Images

Written by
James Ryan

Title: Crafting Captivating Video Stories with AI-Generated Images

Visuals obviously play a pivotal role in engaging and captivating audiences when creating video content. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its advancements in generating realistic images, videographers and content creators now have a powerful tool at their disposal. In this blog post, we will explore how to create a video story using AI-generated images, and unlock a world of creative possibilities.

Before diving into the technical aspects, it's essential to have a clear understanding of your story. Identify the key themes, characters, and settings that will shape your narrative. This will help guide your AI-generated image creation and selection process and ensure a cohesive and compelling storyline.

AI generated images using BlueWillow start with  a prompt so you can take a few different approaches to generating the images that you will use for your video.  1) You can try using your actual story text as the prompt to generate the image, with the character traits and atmospheric details you have already written guiding the AI. This can work very well, say, if you wanted to create a video story illustrating a poem you had written;  3) You can create a specific text prompt setting your characters in a setting that matches your storyline and desired artistic medium or style; 4) You can use an image2image prompt, which entails using the URL of a pre-existing image  to generate the new story image, perhaps in a different style. For example you could take an existing photograph of a person you want to be the model and then generate that person as, say, an anime fairy character in Blue Willow. 5) You can use some combination of image2image and text prompts in subsequent iterations of your generated images. 

You may want to experiment with different parameters such as style, color palette, and level of abstraction. Use this flexibility to create a diverse range of visuals that align with your story's narrative beats. Remember, the generated images are meant to supplement and enhance your story.

Sample of BW generated image layered with text.

Now that you have your AI-generated images, it's time to integrate them into a video story. You will want to consider the pacing, transitions, and visual coherence between the AI-generated images and how you want to display the text. It is possible in some cases to get BlueWillow to generate the actual text within the image by placing the text in quotation marks, but you are probably better off using another graphic manipulation tool to add the text as a subtitle.  One good trick for creating a space to add or overlay the text is to use the “outpainting” feature in BlueWillow once you have upscaled your image.  Outpainting will add additional areas on the edges of your image so you have room to overlay text without covering up or blocking details of your original image. 

Creating a video story with AI-generated images is an iterative process. Review the footage and seek feedback to refine the visuals further. Pay attention to the overall storytelling impact and the emotional response of your audience. Make adjustments to the AI-generated images and text, as necessary, to ensure they align with your creative vision. You can find examples of AI stories created with BlueWillow on TikTok

While AI-generated images offer exciting creative opportunities, it's crucial to be mindful of copyright considerations, which vary country by country. If you are planning to generate a video for private use and want to use pre-existing copyrighted characters in your prompts there is probably no issue. But it may need to be a consideration of you are planning to use the video in a commercial or public setting.  

Tools to Assist your AI Story Video Creation

Fortunately, you don't need expensive software or a large budget to create compelling videos. There are numerous free video creation tools available that offer powerful features and intuitive interfaces. Here are a few of the better free or low-cost video creation tools that empower you to unleash your creativity without breaking the bank.

OpenShot: OpenShot is a popular open-source video editing software that packs a punch with its extensive feature set. It offers a user-friendly interface and supports a wide range of video formats. OpenShot provides essential editing capabilities, including trimming, cutting, and adding transitions. It also features advanced features such as keyframe animation, time mapping, and unlimited layers, making it a versatile choice for both beginners and advanced users.

Shotcut: Shotcut is another free, open-source video editing tool that offers a plethora of features. It supports a wide array of video formats and resolutions and boasts an intuitive interface. Shotcut provides advanced editing options like multi-track editing, video effects, and audio filters. With its powerful features and professional-grade capabilities, Shotcut is a popular choice among filmmakers, YouTubers, and content creators.

Invideo.io: Invideo is an easy way to quickly create high quality videos. They offer 5000+ professionally- created templates for any use case. Search by platform, industry or content type. Customize a template for your brand using simple drag-drop-replace actions. They also offer AI tools to boost your productivity. Generate a script with AI using basic text prompts, or convert your article or blog into a video in minutes using InVideo’s AI-powered text to video editor.

DaVinci Resolve: DaVinci Resolve is a renowned video editing software that offers a free version packed with powerful features. It is widely used in the professional filmmaking industry and provides advanced editing, color correction, and audio post-production capabilities. DaVinci Resolve's free version includes an impressive range of features, such as multi-track editing, high-quality visual effects, and even professional-grade color grading tools.

Blender: While primarily known as a 3D modeling and animation software, Blender also offers a robust video editing feature set. It is an open-source tool that supports various video formats and resolutions. Blender's video editing capabilities include basic operations like cutting, splicing, and transitions, as well as more advanced features like keyframe animation and audio mixing. With its powerful 3D capabilities, Blender is particularly useful for adding dynamic visual elements to your videos.

Capcut and Splice: Are two of many great video editing apps for your smartphone if you want video editing capabilities on the go. 

Creating impressive videos no longer requires a hefty investment in expensive software. The aforementioned free or low-cost video creation tools offer powerful features, intuitive interfaces, and professional-grade capabilities. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced content creator, these tools empower you to unleash your creativity without breaking the bank. Explore their features, experiment with different techniques, and let your imagination run wild as you bring your ideas to life through captivating videos. With the right tool in hand, you'll be well on your way to creating visually stunning content that engages and captivates your audience

The marriage of AI-generated images and video storytelling opens up a world of possibilities for content creators. By following the steps outlined above, you can harness the power of AI to create visually stunning and captivating narratives. Remember, AI is a tool that complements your storytelling skills and enhances the impact of your story. With careful execution and a creative vision, you can harness the potential of AI-generated images to captivate your audience and bring your video story to life.