🎬 How do I create a video from scratch with a Blank Story?

If you already have a clear vision, a Blank Story gives you full manual control instead of a guided wizard: you build every scene, generate every visual, and add motion, voice, and lip sync yourself, one tool at a time. It's the right choice when you know exactly what you want and don't need Atlabs to suggest a script or style for you.

Go to Workflows → Create a Blank Story

(On the homescreen or Top Navigation bar)

Step 1: Setup your Character

• From your dashboard, click New Project and select Blank Story.
• You can rename it by clicking on 'Ultitled Story' with your own story Title.
• Before adding scenes, upload your cast from the top bar: click Characters, Objects, or Locations to add reference images for anyone and anything that needs to stay consistent across the video.

• Give your character a First Name (required), Last Name (required), and an optional clothing description if you want to generate it using AI. Else, you can uplaod your own image (make sure to check and uncheck the box to maintain the visual style) or you can choose from Atlabs Library (this has all your previous story's characters.

• Click on the three dots of the scene to add more scenes as per your vision.

Build your scenes

• Click Add Scene to create your first scene, and repeat for as many scenes as your story needs.
• Open a scene and go to Edit Video → Visual tab.
• Type @ to tag any character, object, or location you uploaded, then write the rest of your prompt describing the shot, and generate. See Visual Tab: Change Scene Visuals for prompting tips.
• Repeat for every scene.

You can also Upload your own Images and Motions directly in each Scene from the same visual tab option.

Add motion

• Once a scene's visual is generated, open the Motion tab, choose a model from the dropdown, describe the movement, and generate.

Add voice and lip sync

• Lip sync needs a voiceover to sync to, so add that first: open the Voiceover tab and either write a dialogue line for AI narration, or upload your own audio. See AI Voiceover.
• With voiceover in place, open the Lip Sync tab and generate, matching the character's mouth movements to the audio.

Finish the video

• Add Captions and Background Music from their tabs or the storyboard top bar.

• Click Export to render, download, publish, or share.

💡 Tip: These are the same tools every guided workflow uses behind the scenes — a Blank Story just skips the wizard and puts you in the driver's seat for each step. If you get partway through and want AI to fill a gap, you can still lean on the guided flows.

Still Need Help? Reach out to us at support@atlabs.ai or drop your message on the help chat box — we’re happy to assist you.

Updated on: 08/21/2026