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How to make AI drama video episodes with the same characters every time

How to Make an AI Drama Video (Same Characters Every Episode)4:00

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An AI drama falls apart when the faces drift between episodes. This four-minute tutorial shows the fix in RefVid with the cast of GuaPi, our own cartoon series: each character is saved once from a few photos, an episode starts from the Mini Drama template with up to three characters in one clip, the episode is written as one prompt and generated, and the next episode keeps the same cast. Only the words change.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Same cast in every episode
  2. 0:16Why AI drama faces change
  3. 0:29Step 1: Save your cast
  4. 1:03Step 2: Write the episode
  5. 2:02Step 3: Generate
  6. 2:24Step 4: Next episode, same cast
  7. 2:57The result
  8. 3:08Before you post
  9. 3:25Recap

How to make AI drama series in RefVid, step by step

  1. The new character form: GuaPi typed as the name, Character chosen and four photos of the goose, the first marked Main
    1

    Save each character once, from photos

    In Elements, click New element, give it a name and choose Character. Add three or four views: front, side and a close-up. The first photo is the main one. Tick the consent box and create the character.

  2. The Elements page with three saved characters, GuaPi, Xiaobai and Henry, each a Character with 4 images
    2

    Do the same for the whole cast

    Every character is its own element. Here the cast is Henry the boy, GuaPi the goose and Xiaobai the dog, four photos each. You never upload them again: every episode starts from these photos.

  3. The template gallery with the pointer on Use template over An AI short drama scene with your characters, 3 shots, 10 s, 9:16
    3

    Start the episode from the Mini Drama template

    Open Templates and click Use template on the AI short drama scene: three shots, 10 seconds, vertical 9:16. You start from a working drama beat with a lead and a second lead, not an empty box.

  4. The Add an element menu with GuaPi and Henry ticked and the pointer on Xiaobai
    4

    Add the second and third character

    Click the plus beside the photos and pick a saved element: Henry takes the second lead, then add Xiaobai. One clip holds up to three characters, each drawn from its own photos.

  5. The composer with the cast's photos above a one-paragraph episode prompt about Henry, GuaPi and Xiaobai flying over the village
    5

    Write the episode as one prompt

    Write the episode in your own words, as one prompt: who does what, and how the beat ends. Use the names you saved. Here Henry lifts off under an umbrella with a fan tied to it, GuaPi bites his shoe and Xiaobai bites GuaPi's tail.

  6. The settings panel with 9:16, 10 s and 720p selected, Kling 4 in the model menu and the Generate button
    6

    Pick the model, the length and 9:16

    Choose a model, then open the settings. The video uses Kling 4, 10 seconds, vertical 9:16 and 720p; Kling 4 makes clips from 3 to 30 seconds. The cost shows above Generate before you click.

  7. Episode one in the studio: Henry flying under the umbrella with GuaPi and Xiaobai hanging on, and the Your video is ready message
    7

    Generate the first episode

    Click Generate. A clip takes a few minutes and appears above the composer. One clip is about ten seconds; an episode is a few clips, joined in any editor.

  8. The composer with the same three characters and a new prompt about a shrink torch, under the first episode's clip
    8

    Next episode: same cast, new words

    Leave Henry, GuaPi and Xiaobai in the composer, write only the new beat and generate again. In episode two Henry points a silver shrink torch at GuaPi, who shrinks to the size of a sparrow.

  9. Episode 1 and episode 2 side by side with Henry, GuaPi and Xiaobai shown between them as one cast
    9

    Two episodes, one cast

    Side by side, it is the same boy, the same goose and the same dog, because every clip starts from their saved photos. Before you post: export 9:16, switch on the platform's AI label, keep it fast and end on a cliffhanger.

Transcript

This is GuaPi, an AI drama. Same boy, same goose, same dog. Episode two, and nobody's face has changed. Here's how to make an AI drama like this.

Describe a character in words only, and the face changes every clip. With saved photos, the face stays the same. So save each character once, from photos.

Step one: save your cast. Each character is saved once, as an element. Give it a name, choose Character, and add three or four views: front, side and a close-up. The first photo is the main one. Tick the box and create the character. Do the same for each character. Henry, GuaPi and Xiaobai are the cast. You never upload them again. Every episode starts from these photos.

Step two: the episode. Open Templates and pick Mini Drama. GuaPi leads. The second lead is still a placeholder. Click plus, then Add an element: Henry takes the second lead. Add Xiaobai as well. One clip holds up to three characters. Now write the episode in your own words, as one prompt. Who does what, and how the beat ends. Pick a model and a length. Here: Kling 4, ten seconds, vertical.

Hit Generate. A clip takes a few minutes; here it is sped up. One clip is about ten seconds. An episode is a few clips, joined in any editor. Episode one: Henry, GuaPi and Xiaobai, straight from their photos.

Step four: the next episode. Keep the cast; only the words change. Henry, GuaPi and Xiaobai are still in the clip. Write the new beat, and generate again. Episode two: the same goose, the same boy, the same dog.

Two episodes, one cast. The same goose, the same boy and the same dog, because every clip starts from their photos.

Before you post, three checks. Export in nine by sixteen, vertical. Switch on the platform's AI label. Keep it fast, and end on a cliffhanger.

So: save your cast once, write the episode, generate, and make the next one with the same cast. Try it at refvid.com/ai-drama. Thanks for watching. Subscribe for the next tutorial.

Templates from this tutorial

Each one opens in the studio with your own subject in it.

Read next

Questions

Why do AI drama characters change between episodes?

A character described in words only is drawn from scratch in every clip, so the face drifts. When every clip starts from the same saved photos, the model draws the same face, outfit and proportions each time, episode after episode.

How many characters can be in one clip?

Up to three saved characters in one clip. A bigger cast works across clips: keep every character saved as an element and bring in the two or three each scene needs.

What photos does each character need?

Three or four clear views of one character: front, side and a close-up. Each element takes 1 to 10 photos (JPG, PNG or WebP, at least 300 px), and the first is the main one. Drawn and cartoon characters work too; real people must be you or adults who agreed, never public figures or minors.

How long is one AI drama episode?

One clip in the video is 10 seconds; Kling 4 makes clips from 3 to 30 seconds. An episode is a few clips joined in any video editor. Short drama episodes do best when they move fast and end on a cliffhanger.

What does the AI drama maker cost?

Clips are paid in credits by model, length and quality, and the price is shown above Generate before you click. Credits are held while the clip is made and refunded if it fails.

What should I check before posting an AI drama?

Three things: export vertical 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts; switch on the platform's label for AI-generated content; and keep each episode fast, ending on a cliffhanger so viewers come back for the next one.