Eight lessons · From idea to finished story
Ellie Lab
Learn how a kids’ story becomes a YouTube Short—script, voices, pictures, and code—choice by choice.
Watch the finished story
Watch it come together
- Story & voices Listen for each character’s delivery.
- Images & frames Notice the consistent character and style.
- Remotion assembly See how captions and pictures follow speech.
Learn the process. Plan your own story.
Follow Ellie from story idea to finished Short, then develop a four-beat story of your own. You will develop an idea, compare short and longer formats, write dialogue, plan voices and music, sketch a storyboard, and build a timing table for pictures and captions.
Start with a browser and a notebook
Everything needed for the core activities is on these pages: a sample script, illustrated examples, a timed edit plan, and a final project template. No repository access, downloads, or software installation are required.
By the end, you will have a complete production plan you can present with a live reading and sketches. Making an edited video with your own materials is an optional extension.
Work through the eight lessons in order and keep your answers in one document. Each lesson includes an activity and a checkpoint. Dotted terms offer a short definition; the glossary explains the production vocabulary.
Understand the tools behind Ellie
Ellie used generated voices, AI illustrations, and Remotion to assemble the video. The lessons explain those choices while giving you planning exercises you can complete without using the same tools.
Choose your pathway
Plan and present with sketches, edit a video, or build with code. Follow the pathway flowcharts through four revision gates: story, sound and pictures, timing, and delivery. Each gate shows what to check and where to go back if something needs work.
Optional · Work with an AI agent
Use the suggested project folders and agent setup instructions to start your own story. Download skills.md for the pathways, review gates, and revision workflow in one text file.
Eight Ellie contact sheets—open Images & frames to see how they were made.
Eight lessons + glossary
Each lesson adds one part to your production plan, using examples on the page and a checkpoint to review your work.
- 01 Why a pipeline?Six stages, clear outputs, and a simple production notebook. Open →
- 02 The creative processIdeas, short and long formats, audience interest, and creative revision. Open →
- 03 Story & voicesA complete practice script, speaker direction, and read-aloud timing. Open →
- 04 TTS & music mixClear speech, a listening checklist, music balance, and credits. Open →
- 05 Images & framesVisual rules, illustrated examples, and a four-panel storyboard. Open →
- 06 Remotion assemblyA worked timing table, frame calculations, and readable captions. Open →
- 07 Tradeoffs galleryCompare choices and explain the cost of your approach. Open →
- 08 Build your ownA blank-document template and a complete final assignment. Open →
- Aa GlossaryPlain-language definitions of the terms used in the course. Open →