What you paste, and what you get back
You paste a narration. It comes back as chapters, each broken into shots a crew could film. Then frames, then six-second clips.
October 18, 2026 · 5 min read
Video Essay Director is built for history and culture films that run from about 2 to 60 minutes. You start with the thing you already have: the narration. Everything else is built from it.
1. The script
Paste the full narration, anywhere from about 1,500 to 15,000 words. It is split into chapters of roughly 700 words each. You set the period and the visual look once, for the whole film.
2. The shot list
Each chapter is broken down into shots a camera could actually take: a wide to establish the place, a medium on the people, a detail on the object that matters. The shots stay in story order, so the list reads like the film.
3. The frames
Every shot gets a 2K still, true to the period you set. You review them on a contact sheet. Keep the take that belongs in the film, redo the one that does not, or choose between takes.
4. The clips
From the frames you kept, Video Essay Director animates six-second 1080p clips, in 16:9 or 9:16. Then you export the shot list for your editor.
You bring the story. You leave with a film's worth of pictures, in the order the story needs them.
Paste a script. Leave with shots and clips. Packs from $190.
MORE NOTES
Why 2K frames and six-second clips
Sharp enough to cut with, short enough to judge at a glance. The reasoning behind the two numbers that shape every project.
A pack is footage, not a subscription
Clips and frames stay in your account for 12 months. Anything that fails goes back to your balance. How packs work, and what happens to what you do not use.