The universal workflow
Nine steps that work with any video model, and which ones you can skip.
Every AI video, from a 10 second meme to a 2 minute ad, goes through the same nine steps. The tools change. The order does not. Most wasted credits come from skipping the first four steps and prompting straight away.
The nine steps
| Step | What you make | Skip it when |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Idea | One sentence: who, what happens, why anyone watches | Never |
| 2. Script and shot list | A list of shots, 3 to 8 seconds each | The video is a single shot |
| 3. Storyboard | One image per shot, or one sheet for the whole video | The video is a single shot |
| 4. Reference images | Character sheet, product shots, first frames | Nothing has to look the same in two shots |
| 5. Prompting | One prompt per shot | Never |
| 6. Generate and iterate | 2 to 5 takes per shot, keep the best | Never |
| 7. Editing | The shots cut together in order | The video is a single shot |
| 8. Audio | Voice, music, sound effects | The model's native audio is good enough |
| 9. Finishing | Upscale, captions, export, platform labels | Personal tests |
Why plan before you prompt
Video models have no memory between generations. Each shot is made from scratch. If a character, a room or a product has to stay the same, the information must come from your prompt and your reference images every single time. Planning is how you decide that information once and reuse it.
Planning also tells you how many clips you need, which tells you what the video will cost before you spend anything. A 30 second video is usually 5 to 8 shots. At 2 to 5 takes per shot, that is 10 to 40 generations.
Rule of thumb
Spend more time on steps 1 to 4 than on step 6. Fixing a shot list costs nothing. Fixing a shot with more generations costs credits every time.
Two ways to make a video
Most videos follow one of two paths. Pick the path first, then the tools.
You generate every shot with a video model such as Seedance, Kling or Veo, then edit the clips together. Use this for stories, ads with people, music videos and anything that should look filmed. All nine steps apply.
You can mix both: generated shots for the story, code for titles and product screens.
Where to go next
- New to all of this: start with Ideation and follow the steps in order.
- You already have an idea and a script: jump to Storyboard.
- You know the workflow and want model specifics: see Model guides.