How to Build an N8N Workflow for Automated Short-Form Video Generation

• Scrptly is great at consistent characters, scenes, and environments—even across longer videos.
• It handles research, scripting, voiceover, scenes, and editing automatically from a single prompt.
• It offers an API, MCP server support, and an official community node for n8n.
• Perfect for UGC-style ads, product showcases, educational snippets, and news explainers.

• Trigger: Schedule (every day at 9 AM) or Webhook to start on demand.
• Data source: Fetch ideas or products (e.g., product feed, Airtable/Notion, Google Sheet).
• Prompt builder: Create dynamic prompts with hooks, benefits, and CTA.
• Scrptly node: Generate 9:16 videos with narration and captions.
• Distribution: Save to storage and optionally auto-post to social.

• An n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud)
• A Scrptly account and API key: https://scrptly.com/
• Optional: Accounts/credentials for platforms you’ll publish to (Drive/S3, YouTube, Instagram, etc.)

1. In n8n: Settings > Community Nodes > Install New → search and install n8n-nodes-scrptly
2. Go to Credentials → New → choose Scrptly API and paste your API key from your Scrptly account
3. Save credentials and select them in your workflow’s Scrptly node

• For consistent output, use a Schedule Trigger (e.g., daily at 09:00 local time)
• For on-demand generation (e.g., from your store backend), use a Webhook Trigger

• Use HTTP Request, Notion, Airtable, or Google Sheets nodes to load items. Include: title, description, benefits, price/offer, and optional image URLs to use as context.

• Hook: 1–2 seconds to stop the scroll
• Body: 3 short beats (benefit, proof, how-to/use)
• CTA: clear and memorable
• Format: 9:16, 20–30s, energetic pacing, readable captions

Create a vertical 9:16 short-form video (20–30 seconds) with punchy pacing, crisp jump cuts, and clear on-screen captions. Include natural-sounding voiceover and subtle background music.



Topic: {{title}}

Target audience: {{persona}}

Product/subject: {{product_name}}

Core benefits: {{benefits}}

Key proof points: {{proof}}

Hook (first 2–3s): {{hook}}

CTA: {{cta}}

Visual style: modern UGC + b-roll montage, macro product details, soft lighting, handheld feel.



Constraints:

- Keep characters and product visuals consistent across scenes.

- Color grade to brand palette: {{brand_palette}}

- Add on-screen captions synced to VO.

- End with logo lockup and CTA card.



If provided, integrate these reference images for consistency:

{{context_image_urls}}

json["title"]}} and {{

• Prompt: the string you built above
• Context images: pass any product/brand references (URLs)
• Approve Up To: default 10,000 tokens (adjust for complexity/length)
• Wait For Completion: On (synchronous, easier) or Off (asynchronous, continue with task ID)

• File storage: Upload to S3/Cloudflare R2/Google Drive
• CMS/DB: Log metadata (title, caption, tags, UTM link)
• Publishing: Use respective n8n nodes or webhooks to post to your channels (YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok’s upload endpoints via third-party tools). If direct posting isn’t available for a platform, queue content in your scheduler or send to your social team via Slack/Email with the file link.

• Store the task ID from Scrptly
• Use a Wait + Poll pattern (e.g., Interval + HTTP Request to Scrptly API) to check status
• Continue only once the final video URL is ready

1. Trigger (Schedule or Webhook)
2. Fetch Items (HTTP Request / Notion / Airtable / Sheet)
3. Filter/Limit (avoid generating too many at once)
4. Build Prompt (Set or Code)
5. Scrptly (Generate Video)
6. Storage (S3/Drive)
7. Caption/Title Generator (optional LLM to refine copy)
8. Publish (platform nodes or webhooks)
9. Log + Notify (DB + Slack/Email)

// n8n Code node (JavaScript)

const item = $json;

const images = (item.imageUrls || []).join(', ');

const prompt = `Create a vertical 9:16 short-form video (20–30 seconds) with punchy pacing, captions, and natural voiceover.\n\nTopic: ${item.title}\nTarget audience: ${item.persona || 'busy online shoppers'}\nProduct/subject: ${item.productName}\nCore benefits: ${item.benefits}\nKey proof points: ${item.proof || 'customer reviews and results'}\nHook (first 2–3s): ${item.hook}\nCTA: ${item.cta}\nVisual style: modern UGC + b-roll montage, macro product details, handheld feel.\n\nConstraints:\n- Consistent characters and product visuals across scenes.\n- Color grade to brand palette: ${item.palette || 'warm neutrals + teal accents'}\n- On-screen captions synced to VO.\n- End with logo lockup and CTA card.\n\nReference images:\n${images}`;

return [{ json: { prompt, context_image_urls: images } }];

• Start with a strong hook: Ask a bold question or reveal a surprise in the first 2 seconds.
• Keep text scannable: 3–5 words per caption segment; high contrast; safe-zone margins.
• Aim for 20–30 seconds: Fast cuts and purposeful b-roll.
• Use context images: Product photos or logo for visual consistency.
• Batch prompts: Generate 5–10 videos per topic to A/B test hooks and CTAs.
• Add UTMs: Track performance by channel in your captions or description links.
• Respect platform nuances: Aspect ratio 9:16, loudness normalization, subtitles on.

• Consistency engine: Characters, objects, and environments stay coherent across scenes.
• All-in-one pipeline: Research, screenplay, narration, editing—no handoffs required.
• Built for length: While we’re automating shorts here, Scrptly also shines with longer-form content.
• Developer-friendly: API, MCP integration, and a visual editor. It also has an n8n node and a Video Development Kit (VDK) via npm.

npm install scrptly

import Scrptly from 'scrptly';

Scrptly.setApiSettings({ apiKey: process.env.SCRPTLY_API_KEY });



const prompt = `Create a 20–30s vertical product reel with captions and VO. Topic: Eco water bottle.`;

const contextImages = [

  'https://example.com/images/bottle-front.jpg',

  'https://example.com/images/logo.png'

];



// Pseudocode – use the Video-Agent API method exposed by Scrptly

const task = await Scrptly.videoAgent.create({ prompt, contextImages, approveUpTo: 10000 });

// poll or wait until task.status === 'completed'

// then access task.videoUrl

• Video takes long: Simplify your prompt or increase "Approve Up To" budget.
• Visual mismatch: Supply more (and clearer) context images; specify required shots.
• Captions hard to read: Request high-contrast captions and safe-zone margins in the prompt.
• Publishing fails: Validate platform credentials and file size limits; retry with backoff.