How to turn your own script into an animated explainer video: what stays and what gets rewritten
· 5 min read · The Explainly team
To turn your own script or notes into a narrated whiteboard video, paste the text (up to 50,000 characters) into Explainly, the tool we build, set the length, and press Generate video. Explainly aims to keep your topic and main points, but it rewrites the narration to fit the boards and the length, and it does not follow per-scene timings. To stay close to your wording, match the script's word count to the length and say in the prompt what must not change.
What it keeps and what it rewrites
A planning step (the planner) reads your text, then writes the narration and describes each picture.
| In your script | What happens |
|---|---|
| Topic, main points, their order | Used as the outline. A script longer than the chosen length is condensed: same points in the same order, merged or trimmed, with a proper ending. |
| Narration lines | Rewritten. There is no word-for-word mode. Whiteboard mode also has a second pass that turns the narration into short phrases, each tied to something on the board. Slideshow mode has no second pass. |
| Timings such as "(0-6 sec)" | Not followed, and the planner is told not to read them aloud. A board stays on screen for as long as its narration takes. The last timestamp helps set the Length control. |
| Number of scenes | Not kept one for one. Length sets the count: about one board per 50 seconds in Whiteboard, about one picture per 12 seconds in Slideshow. |
| Visual directions | Treated as suggestions, because the planner writes its own description of each picture. There are no camera moves: boards are revealed piece by piece, and slideshow pictures crossfade. |
| Names, numbers, definitions | Available to the planner but not locked, so check them. |
A 1-minute video therefore gets about two boards in Whiteboard or about five pictures in Slideshow, even if your script has eight scenes.
How to do it, step by step
- Match the script to the length. The planner aims for about 146 words of narration per minute in Whiteboard and about 115 in Slideshow. A much shorter script can get filled out, because the length is treated as a target. The shortest option in the form is about 1 minute, so a 30-second script is likely to grow.
- Put your instructions first: who the video is for, and what must not change.
- Paste the script or notes. The box accepts Markdown headings and lists.
- Check the pickers. Language, Format and Length are read from your prompt, with a note under each one that changes. A choice you make by hand stays. A length you state wins; otherwise a storyboard's last timestamp sets it, rounded to the nearest of 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 or 15 minutes, and ties go to the shorter one. A 90-second script lands on about 1 minute, so pick about 2 minutes by hand to keep it all.
- Choose a mode. For a script with many short scenes, Slideshow comes closer to one picture per scene, at one or two sentences each. It is under Experimental in the form and costs about twice as much.
- Generate, then compare it with your script. You can't edit the narration before or after generation. To change a line, edit the prompt and generate a new video at the normal price. When you're happy, click Render to MP4.
For the rest of the form, see how to make a whiteboard video from a prompt. For lesson notes, see whiteboard videos for teachers.
Prompt templates
Lines such as "use my narration as written" are instructions to the planner, not a guarantee, so compare the result with your text.
1. Scene-by-scene script, stay close
Use my narration below as written wherever possible.
Do not add new points or examples.
Scene 1: Hook (0-6 sec)
Narration: [line]
Scene 2: Problem (6-20 sec)
Narration: [line]
Scene 3: Solution (20-50 sec)
Narration: [line]
Scene 4: Call to action (50-60 sec)
Narration: [line]
2. Notes to video
Turn these notes into a 5-minute video for [audience].
Keep the order of my headings.
Use my definitions and numbers exactly.
[paste notes]
3. Course module
A 3-minute video for [learners] based on this course module.
Keep the section order. End with a one-sentence summary.
[paste module]
4. Script in one language, video in another
A 2-minute video with Spanish narration, based on this English script.
Keep the main points in order.
[paste script]
Format, length and cost
- Format: 16:9 landscape or 9:16 vertical, at 720p or 1080p.
- Length: about 1 to 15 minutes.
- Styles: Classic, Neon and Stick for Whiteboard; Flat Vector and Stick for Slideshow.
- Rates: Whiteboard is $0.49 per minute at 720p and $0.69 at 1080p. Slideshow is $0.99 and $1.39. Each video has a $0.50 minimum.
- Examples: 1 minute at 720p costs $0.50 in Whiteboard and $0.99 in Slideshow. See pricing for the live rates.
- Free video: a new account's first 1-minute video is free with no card, and free spots are limited each day. The free credit covers 720p Whiteboard, not Slideshow.
Review checklist
- Read your script while the video plays, and mark anything dropped or added.
- Check names, numbers and definitions, and any claim you didn't write.
- Check that your ending is still there.
- Check the spelling on the boards, which are drawn by an image generator.
Try it on Explainly with your shortest script.
FAQ
Will the voice read my script word for word?
No. Explainly always writes its own narration from your text. You can ask it to stay close, but no mode reads a script exactly as written.
Does it follow my scene timings?
No. Each scene lasts as long as its narration. The last timestamp helps set the overall length.
How long can my script or notes be?
Up to 50,000 characters, about 8,000 words, and anything past that is cut. The longest video, about 15 minutes, is planned at about 2,200 words of narration, so longer text gets condensed.
What if my script is in another language?
Explainly offers 14 languages, including Spanish, French, Portuguese and Hindi, and the Language picker switches to match when your text is clearly in one of them. Other languages, such as Uzbek, aren't offered. The picker stays on English and the narration comes out in English, so check it before you generate.