Files
hyperframes/docs/guides/faceless-explainer.mdx
Ular Kimsanov 0390f3f908 docs(studio): the browser editor in six pages, named the browser editor (#6379)
* docs(studio): the browser editor in six pages, named the browser editor

* docs(studio): mute where the editor has it, and no solo control

The audio pages still described a solo control and a group-row mute that
the editor does not render. Muting is the speaker button on an audio
track (Mute track / Unmute track), the same toggle on a selected clip,
and the Muted switch; a group is silenced through its members' tracks.
The audio reference drops its solo section for the same reason.
2026-10-26 06:24:53 +00:00

201 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext

---
title: "Make an explainer video with AI"
sidebarTitle: "Explainer"
description: "Turn notes, an article, or a difficult idea into a visual explanation without product footage."
---
import { DocsVideo } from "/snippets/docs-video.jsx";
Start from a topic, article, or notes. HyperFrames invents the typography, diagrams, abstract graphics, and data visualization that teach it.
<DocsVideo
title="One idea told four ways, with no footage to start from"
src="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/docs/images/showcase/faceless-explainer-demo-v2.mp4"
poster="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/docs/images/showcase/faceless-explainer-demo-v2.jpg"
/>
Kinetic type, an abstract graphic, a diagram, and a data-visualisation — all
invented from the text. There is no source video anywhere in this.
## Explainers made with HyperFrames
Any style works. The same request comes back as a woodblock print, a 3D tutorial or a hand-drawn diagram depending on
what you show it.
<div className="hf-shelf">
<div>
<DocsVideo portrait title="The journey of k" src="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/homepage/showcase/hq/k-v1.mp4" poster="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/homepage/showcase/poster/k-v1.jpg" />
<p><strong>The journey of "k"</strong>: how one letter crosses the ocean. Woodblock prints, made with the skills.</p>
</div>
<div>
<DocsVideo portrait title="How phone GPS works" src="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/docs/films/gps-explainer-v1.mp4" poster="/public/images/films/gps-explainer-v1.jpg" />
<p><strong>How phone GPS works</strong>: made in the Studio app from a reference video, in its style.</p>
</div>
<div>
<DocsVideo portrait title="Axe chop" src="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/homepage/showcase/hq/axe-v1.mp4" poster="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/homepage/showcase/poster/axe-v1.jpg" />
<p><strong>Axe chop</strong>: a 3D how-to, step by step.</p>
</div>
</div>
## Make it
**Start from an explainer you like.** In the Studio app, open **Reference** on Home and paste its link (YouTube,
TikTok, Instagram or X), upload the file, or choose one under **Pick a reference**. Then say what yours is about: you
get that pacing and drawing style, about your topic. You don't have to love all of it; one thing you like is
enough to start from. Reference uses your HeyGen API key, and the app asks for it the first time.
**Or describe it** in **Make something**, with your notes attached or pasted:
```text
Turn these notes into a 60-second explainer for people new to the topic: [paste notes]
```
Say which facts or wording must stay exact. With your own agent instead of the app, start the message with `/hyperframes`.
## How should the idea land?
- **Understand one idea** — open with a useful question, then reveal the mechanism one layer at a time.
- **Follow a process** — keep one visual stage and show each step in the order the viewer needs it.
- **Remember three points** — make the ideas parallel, concrete, and visually distinct enough to recall later.
- **Learn through a story** — use one case to move from setup and tension to a general lesson.
If you supply an approved script, say whether HyperFrames may restructure it or
must keep every word.
Use a [product and website video](/guides/product-launch-video) when the real interface should provide the proof. Use [captions or designed overlays](/guides/captions-and-recuts) when existing footage should remain underneath.
## From information to understanding
HyperFrames does not turn each paragraph into a scene. It finds the teaching spine, removes asides, and builds a sequence around the one idea the viewer should retain.
The visuals share one coherent language and develop with the explanation. A diagram should reveal a mechanism; a chart should prove a claim; motion should show what changes.
## Prompts that work
Paste your text into one message.
That is enough for a finished explainer. No site, no footage, no design
decisions yet.
Verified, from the [examples](/prompting/examples) page — a ~60-second vertical
explainer from pasted text:
> Turn this into a ~60-second 1080x1920 vertical explainer: [paste your text]. One idea per scene, big typography, diagrams over stock footage, brand color #FF5533 on off-black. Male TTS voice, calm. Embedded captions, keywords highlighted in the brand color.
<DocsVideo
title="Example explainer"
src="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/docs/images/prompting/example-explainer.mp4#t=0.1"
portrait
loop
/>
*Made from the prompt above.*
Note the `~`. When you supply a script, the runtime follows the spoken words. So
ask for *about* a minute, not exactly one. See the
[anatomy](/prompting/overview#the-shape-of-a-strong-prompt) for the rest of the skeleton.
### Say these when they matter
You can steer all of these from the prompt, before you have learned any
technique.
| Knob | What to say | Why it matters |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Verbatim vs summarized** | "use my wording verbatim" or "restructure it freely" | Verbatim keeps your voice but locks the word count. Summarized lets it cut and reorder for pace. |
| **Duration** | "~60 seconds", never "60 seconds" | With a script, the narration sets the real length. A hard number forces the agent to trim or pad the words. |
| **Scene density** | "one idea per scene" | A faceless scene has one invented focal to animate. Two ideas leave nothing to build the motion around. It reads as a text dump. |
| **Angle** | "concept" / "how-to" / "listicle" / "story" | The angle decides the story shape. The agent reshapes your text into it instead of reading your paragraphs in order. |
| **Caption style** | "embedded captions, keywords highlighted in the accent color" | Captions are burned in. Naming the highlight color ties them to your palette instead of a default pill. |
| **Palette** | "brand color #FF5533 on off-black" | There is no site to borrow from, so the agent picks a palette. A named accent and ground personalize it. |
| **Voice** | "male TTS voice, calm" / "warm female voice" | Gender and tone are prompt words. The provider is the agent's decision. |
<Tip>
Scene density is the single biggest quality lever here. "One idea per scene"
turns a dense paragraph into a paced sequence. The agent reorders and
compresses your text to hit it. That is what makes an explainer teach instead
of recite.
</Tip>
### Variants
<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="30-second landscape topic explainer (16:9)">
> Make a ~30-second 1920x1080 explainer on how HTTPS keeps a request private, for a non-technical audience — the takeaway: your data is sealed before it leaves the browser. Concept angle: one idea per scene, big geometric type, a simple lock-and-key diagram as the centerpiece (swap the metaphor with the topic). Near-black ink on off-white with a deep-blue accent. Female TTS voice, warm and clear. Embedded captions, key terms highlighted in the accent color.
Shorter runtime, landscape for YouTube or an embed. Fewer scenes means the
topic has to compress. Naming the takeaway tells the agent what to keep.
<DocsVideo
title="Variant explainer landscape"
src="https://static.heygen.ai/hyperframes-oss/docs/images/prompting/variant-explainer-landscape.mp4#t=0.1"
loop
/>
*Rendered from this prompt with the topic swapped to HTTP caching (cache diagram as the metaphor), unedited — 26s, because the narration sets the length.*
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Listicle">
> Make a ~45-second 1080x1920 listicle: "5 habits of fast-shipping teams". Listicle angle — one habit per scene, each with a big number and a one-line label, escalating energy toward #1. Off-black with a lime accent. Male TTS voice, upbeat. Embedded captions, the habit label highlighted each scene.
The listicle angle gives each item its own scene. Every scene reuses the same
number-and-label shape. The result reads as a countdown, not a wall of
points.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="How-to with diagrams">
> Make a ~60-second 1920x1080 how-to on setting up a CI pipeline, for developers. How-to angle: one step per scene, each built around a simple node-and-arrow diagram that draws on as the narration explains it. Charcoal with a teal accent. Calm male TTS voice. Embedded captions, the step name highlighted.
A how-to leans on diagrams as the load-bearing visual. Describe the diagram
*shape* per step — "node-and-arrow", or "a pipeline that fills left to
right". Let the agent invent the specifics.
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
### Common mistakes
**"60 seconds" instead of "~60 seconds".** Same rule as on the
[product launch page](/guides/product-launch-video#prompts-that-work). It bites
harder here, because the script is the whole video. You cannot know a supplied
script's spoken duration until the TTS renders.
- **Avoid:** `a 60-second explainer from this text: ...`
- **Instead:** `a ~60-second explainer from this text: ...`
**Cramming ideas into a scene.** Every faceless visual is invented around a
single focal. Overload the scene and there is no clear thing to animate.
- **Avoid:** `explain all five caching layers in one scene`
- **Instead:** `one idea per scene — one caching layer at a time`
**Asking it to capture or pull real imagery.** There is no capture step. A
faceless explainer invents its visuals.
- **Avoid:** `pull screenshots from the site and explain the feature`
- **Instead:** that's a site or product video — give it the URL
([product launch](/guides/product-launch-video#prompts-that-work))
**Leaving the look unspecified when you care.** There is no brand to read, so
the agent picks the palette. If you have colors, name them.
- **Avoid:** `make it look on-brand`
- **Instead:** `brand color #FF5533 on off-black`
## Review whether it teaches
- The opening creates a question, tension, or surprise.
- The main idea is clear by the second scene.
- Each body scene advances one mechanism, step, example, or implication.
- Numbers and factual claims match the source.
- The ending lands the sentence you wanted the viewer to remember.
Ask the agent when the teaching sequence or evidence must change. Use
the browser editor for a precise visual, timing, or animation correction.
<Card title="Finish and share" icon="circle-check" href="/guides/export-and-share">
Check the final project, render through your preferred surface, and review the file.
</Card>
## Related topics
- [Create a product video from real screens](/guides/product-launch-video)