How to Automate Long Form AI Video Creation in n8n Workflows

Why automate long-form video in workflows?

• Scale content: Publish weekly explainers, product series, or episodic shorts without adding headcount.
• Keep consistency: Maintain characters, settings, and art direction across multi-minute stories.
• Reduce turnaround time: Generate drafts in minutes, iterate fast.
• Integrate everywhere: Trigger from webhooks, schedules, CMS updates, or product feeds.

• Character and environment consistency from prompt + context images.
• AI sub-agents for research, screenplay, narration, editing.
• Flexible outputs: ads, UGC-style videos, explainers, anime, or short films.
• Developer-friendly: API, MCP interface, and an n8n node for automation.

What you’ll build

1. Triggers on a schedule or webhook
2. Assembles a structured video prompt (plus optional context images)
3. Calls Scrptly’s AI Video Agent to generate a long-form video
4. Publishes the video (e.g., uploads to storage, shares to Slack, or posts to social)

Prerequisites

• An n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud)
• A Scrptly account and API key: https://scrptly.com/
• Optional: A storage bucket (S3/GCS), Slack, or YouTube accounts to publish outputs

Step 1 — Install the Scrptly n8n node

• Open n8n and go to Settings > Community Nodes > Install New
• Search for: n8n-nodes-scrptly
• Click Install
• Node source and docs: https://github.com/ybouane/n8n-nodes-scrptly

Step 2 — Add credentials

• In the n8n editor, open the Credentials tab
• Create New > Scrptly API
• Paste your API key from the Scrptly account page
• Save and select these credentials in your Scrptly node

Step 3 — Build your first automated long-form workflow

1. Trigger node
2. Prepare your prompt
3. Add Scrptly node
4. Publish the output

Best practices for long-form consistency

• Name key characters and reuse exact descriptors: “Aria, the marine biologist narrator with a warm, confident voice.”
• Supply context images for anchors: character face references, product angles, environment mood boards.
• Outline chapters explicitly: Give a scene list with transitions so pacing stays coherent.
• Lock the style: Call out aspect ratio, color palette, camera movement (e.g., “slow dolly shots, gentle underwater parallax”).
• Clarify narration: Specify tone, voice persona, and language.
• Define runtime and platform: Example — “6–8 minutes, 16:9, YouTube-first, add subtle chapter text lower-thirds.”

Example: Weekly ecommerce product reel (long-form)

• Trigger: Schedule (weekly)
• Fetch: HTTP Request node pulls the latest 10–15 products from your CMS
• Build Prompt: Merge product names, benefits, and testimonials into a story-driven “lookbook” with recurring host character
• Scrptly: Provide a branded color mood board as context images for consistent styling
• Publish: Upload the final video to a storage bucket; push a preview link to Slack; optionally auto-post a cut-down version to social

Create a 5–7 minute product showcase that feels like a curated lookbook. Keep the same host voiceover throughout and maintain a warm, natural-light aesthetic. Introduce each product with a one-sentence hook, then show close-ups, lifestyle context, and a short benefit story. Close with a recap grid and a soft CTA to visit our shop.

Example: Faceless YouTube automation

• Trigger: Webhook when a new script idea is approved
• Enrich: Summarize research with an LLM step, then assemble a chaptered prompt
• Scrptly: Long-form docu-style output, consistent narrator, cohesive B‑roll look
• Publish: Upload to YouTube, generate captions, and push timestamps to the description

Advanced workflow patterns

• A/B test variants: Branch two Scrptly nodes with slight prompt changes (hook, style, CTA). Compare watch time.
• Multichannel cuts: After the long-form master is generated, add nodes that auto-generate short vertical cut-downs from the same theme.
• Approval gates: Route draft links to a Slack channel; publish only when an approval reaction appears.

Developer note: Programmatic video creation

npm install scrptly

# or

yarn add scrptly

import Scrptly from 'scrptly';



Scrptly.setApiSettings({

  apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE',

});



// Pseudocode: create a long-form video from a structured prompt

const prompt = `

Title: Urban Quiet — Finding Calm in a Noisy City

Objective: 8–10 minute cinematic essay with narrated chapters

Style: Desaturated palette, slow pans, light piano score

Aspect: 16:9, YouTube

Chapters: 1) Noise 2) Micro-rituals 3) Green pockets 4) Night walks 5) Closing reflection

Consistency: Keep the same narrator and visual tone across scenes

`;



// See Scrptly docs for full API surface

const result = await Scrptly.VideoAgent.create({

  prompt,

  contextImages: [

    // optional reference image URLs

  ],

  // budget, length, and other options as needed

});



console.log(result);

Troubleshooting and performance tips

• Generation time: Long-form videos are more complex; allow ample runtime or turn off “Wait For Completion” and process asynchronously.
• Budgets: Increase the “Approve Up To” tokens for denser scripts, multiple characters, or cinematic styles.
• Data quality: Clean product feeds and well-structured prompts produce more coherent stories.
• Consistency failures: Strengthen descriptors; add or refine context images; explicitly reiterate recurring characters per chapter.
• Asset handling: Store returned video URLs and metadata for traceability and reuse.

Why Scrptly vs. generic editors?

• End-to-end automation: research → screenplay → narration → edit → final output
• Long-form consistency: characters and environments remain stable across scenes
• Developer-first: API, MCP interface, and a native n8n node
• Flexible use cases: ads, UGC, explainers, anime, documentaries, short films

Get started

• Try Scrptly’s AI Video Agent: https://scrptly.com/
• Install the n8n node (community): https://github.com/ybouane/n8n-nodes-scrptly
• Spin up your first workflow and ship your next long-form video on autopilot