Storytelling in AI Video Generation

Generate cinematic video with AI? Seems like a fairly easy task. But then, haven’t people gotten tired of similar silly videos? A glass fruit ASMR video or a granny with a rhino is funny once. But eventually, these shorts and reels outlive their 15 seconds of hype. It seems like people are getting tired of them, and we all know what happens once the public is done with a trend. For those who have nothing else to offer, this is an online death sentence; for others, this means that it’s time for quality, memorable content. We know your video is only as good as its prompt, so how hard could it be? In reality, prompt is only half of your success. The real issue hides behind what you want to tell the world before you take to an AI video generator. Every creation holds a message; to discover yours, you’ll have to turn to some good old writing tools. And we don’t mean pen and paper (unless that’s your thing). But what we do mean is some helpful theoretical knowledge that’s used by writers and directors everywhere.  In this article, we will talk about some terminology and the structure of storytelling that can help you achieve the best results when creating your own videos. 

Idea

Storytelling is all about the right tale. And an idea is the bedrock of any tale. Ideas can be discovered through personal experience, folklore, movies, the “What if…” question. There are many ways to stumble upon an idea. But the strongest examples are always centered around a mixture of unexpected elements.

Genre

We know the most common genres, but to fully understand their effect on the story, we have to view a genre as not just the form of the content, but the emotion you intend the viewer to experience. It’s the genre that sets the goals for the character as well as the emotional vector. Each genre has its own stakes and drama. 

Script

Script is always built on actions. And we don’t just mean characters running around. The inclusion of visual and audio aspects allows for freedom of expression, thus we are at liberty to develop the characters through their surroundings, posture, look, gestures, etc. Directors occasionally make changes to the script while shooting,  but as you create videos with AI, you need to consider everything beforehand. 

There are several elements essential to developing a story: 

Visual metaphors are one of the tools often used in cinema. Think dark clouds to represent heavy emotions or tall buildings to reflect power and high position. 

A synopsis is a short outline of the story written in the present tense. It doesn’t include dialogues or specific scenes, but it’s an easy way to see where the story starts and ends. 

A Storyboard is a scene-by-scene plan with details of what everyone is doing. This is where you also make the calls regarding specific visual choices.  

Dialogues and narration. Dialogues are built on the contrast of the characters. They have to be short but lively. Meanwhile, narration reflects the inner world of the character and serves as a complementary feature to the visuals. 

Story and Conflict 

Most stories these days follow a three-act structure. 

• Act I: Problem posed
• Act II: The character fights the problem in an attempt to restore the previous state of things 
• Act III: The point of no return, after which the character accepts the new situation, often by coming to terms with themselves. 

Any story starts with a conflict – a clash of opposites that kickstarts the whole plot.

There are three common types of conflict: 

• Personal (inner and interpersonal)
• Social (person vs system),
• Situational (person vs circumstances).

The Main Character

Who is your story about? A hero has to be relatable and have a compelling arc. 

The standard approach when crafting a character is determining who your character is inside and outside. 

The outside consists of: 

• Name 
• Age and gender 
• Place of living 
• What the character normally behaves like 
• Their work and routine 
• Family and relationships with them 
• Friends and relationships with them 

A hero also needs to be multidimensional, and that’s where we turn to Jungian archetypes.   

Jung identified several key archetypes, including:

• The Self: Represents the wholeness and unity of the personality. 
• The Persona: The social mask one presents to the world. 
• The Shadow: The repressed, darker aspects of the personality. 
• The Anima (female) / Animus (male): The unconscious feminine image in men/masculine image in women.

The Goal 

The character’s goal represents an external desire. Ideally, it aligns with the hero's Self. Hero’s goal is an important and often specific objective in the near future. It could be an event, action, or artifact that holds significant meaning for the hero. 

Depending on the goal, there are several basic archetypes that influence the character’s emotional behavior model in achieving said goal: 

The Hero: Fueled by victory through overcoming challenges, exemplified by the mindset "I'm afraid, but I move forward."  

The Sage: Driven by observation and knowledge, embodying "I do not interfere, but I see the essence."  

The Caregiver: Focused on care and self-sacrifice, with thoughts like "I'm here for you, even if it hurts."  

The Seeker: Motivated by the pursuit of freedom, believing "I seek something greater than this world."  

The Rebel: Always ready to tear masks and dismantle systems, thinking, "All this is false. I will reveal the truth."  

The Shadow (Anti-Self): Represents destruction, temptation, and passion, with an internal voice saying, "I will destroy or seize power unless I transform."

Now that you have the main AI storytelling tools at your disposal, you can take advantage of this knowledge when you create. Come up with the tale you want to tell before generating the content, and remember to carefully choose your prompt for AI video. 

If you are still looking for the best tool to achieve your goals, look no further – Doitong is your new best friend. This AI video maker online helps you create videos and reels for social media. It offers the assistance of the most high-end models of generative AI, including Hailuo V2, Seedance, Veo3, Kling, Runway etc. Doitong offers Image to video AI features, allowing you to bring a photo or a painting to life, as well as text to video AI tools. There’s no limit to what Doitong can do for you and to what you can do with Doitong. 

Develop your tale and bring it to life with the best AI video generator for storytelling! 

If you want to learn more about creating a prompt for AI video, check out our article