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Everything you need to know to create AI-powered videos with Trumbone.

Workflow Overview

Script
Storyboard
Video
Timeline
Export

Getting Started

Trumbone turns your ideas into professional videos using AI. Here's how to get up and running in minutes.

1

Create an account

Sign up for free at the signup page. You'll receive free starter tokens to begin creating right away.
2

Create a new project

From your dashboard, click New Project. Give it a name and choose your mode: Standard Video, Music Video, or Freeform Timeline.
3

Describe your vision

Write a brief description of what you want your video to be about. The AI will generate a scene-by-scene script for you.
4

Generate, edit, and export

Generate storyboard images, create video clips, arrange them on the timeline, and export your final video as MP4.

Projects

Projects are the top-level container for all your video work. Each project has its own script, storyboard, characters, and timeline.

Project settings

  • Name — A title for your project visible on the dashboard.
  • Mode — Choose Standard Video, Music Video (sync to a song), or Freeform Timeline (start from scratch).
  • Style description — Describe a visual style (e.g., "cinematic noir", "colorful anime") applied to all generated images.
  • Style reference image — Upload an image to use as visual reference for the AI. The AI will match the look and feel.
  • Aspect ratio — Choose 16:9 (landscape) or 9:16 (portrait/vertical).
  • Resolution — Choose 720p or 1080p for video generation.
  • Voiceover — Enable narration to have the AI include voiceover text for each scene.
  • Cut scenes — Enable dual-storyline mode for A/B interleaving (see Cut Scene Mode).

AI Script Writing

The AI script generator takes a description of your video concept and creates a structured, scene-by-scene script. It supports multiple modes depending on your project type.

1

Enter your concept

Describe what you want your video to be about. Be as specific or as broad as you like — for example: "A 30-second product ad for wireless earbuds featuring a runner in a city at sunset."
2

Set the duration

Choose your target video length. The AI will scale the number of scenes to match. Scenes are generated as 5s or 10s clips.
3

Generate the script

Click Generate Script. The AI creates scenes with image prompts, camera directions, and optional narration text. If you have characters defined, they'll be referenced in the appropriate scenes.
4

Review and edit

Edit any scene's prompt text, reorder scenes, or delete scenes you don't want before moving to storyboarding.

Script modes

  • Standard — General video with scene prompts and optional narration.
  • Music Video — Scenes synced to uploaded song beats, lyrics, and sections.
  • Cut Scene — Dual A/B storylines that interleave automatically.

Characters

Characters help the AI maintain visual and vocal consistency across scenes. Define your characters once and they'll appear consistently throughout your video.

Character settings

  • Name & description — How the character looks and acts. Used by the AI when generating images.
  • Reference image — Upload a photo or illustration. The AI uses this to keep the character visually consistent across scenes.
  • Role — Main or secondary character, affects how prominently they appear.
  • Voice engine & voice — Choose a TTS engine and voice for narration.
  • Voice tone — Describe how the character speaks (e.g., "calm and authoritative", "excited and energetic").
  • Lip sync — Enable to generate lip-synced video from the character's narration.
  • Storyline — In cut scene mode, assign characters to Storyline A, B, or both.
1

Go to Characters tab

Open your project and navigate to the Characters tab.
2

Add a character

Click Add Character. Enter a name, detailed description, and optionally upload a reference image.
3

Configure voice (optional)

Choose a voice engine and voice for the character. You can preview the voice before committing.
4

Use in scripts

When you generate a script, the AI will automatically include your characters in relevant scenes.

Import characters from other projects

Click Import Character from Project to reuse characters you've created in other projects. Select a project, then pick the characters you want to import. Their name, description, reference images, voice settings, and lip sync configuration are all copied over.

Storyboard

The storyboard turns your script into a visual preview. Each scene gets an AI-generated image that matches its prompt.

1

Generate images

Click Generate All to create images for every scene, or generate them one at a time. The AI uses your style description, style reference image, and character references for consistency.
2

Review and compare

Each scene can have multiple image versions. Generate alternatives and pick the one you like best.
3

Regenerate if needed

Click the regenerate button on any scene. You can edit the prompt before regenerating to refine the result.

Image generation tips

  • Upload a style reference image in project settings for the best visual consistency across all scenes.
  • Character reference images significantly improve character consistency. Upload clear, well-lit photos.
  • The AI generates images at your chosen aspect ratio (16:9 or 9:16).
  • Standard quality uses fewer tokens. Pro quality produces more detailed images at a higher token cost.
  • When characters are enabled, choose between Consistent (better character likeness) and Creative (more artistic variation) generation models.

Video Generation

Transform your still storyboard images into dynamic video clips with motion and cinematic effects.

1

Choose your settings

Select clip duration (5 seconds or 10 seconds) and resolution (720p or 1080p).
2

Generate video clips

Click Generate Videos to turn each scene image into a video clip. The AI adds natural motion and camera movement based on the scene prompt.
3

Review clips

Preview each generated clip. If a clip doesn't match your vision, regenerate it.
4

Send to timeline

Once satisfied, send the clips to the timeline editor for arranging, trimming, and enhancing.

Video generation details

  • Duration — Choose 5s or 10s per clip. 10s clips cost more tokens but give more footage.
  • Resolution — 720p is faster and cheaper. 1080p gives higher quality for the same token cost.
  • Video generation is asynchronous — you can continue editing while clips process in the background.
  • Failed generations are automatically refunded.

Timeline Editor

The timeline is a professional multi-track editor where you arrange your video clips, add audio, transitions, text overlays, and fine-tune your final video.

Timeline Layout

0s
5s
10s
15s
20s
25s
30s
Video
Scene 1
Scene 2
Trans.
Scene 3
Audio
Background Music
Voice
Narration 1
Narration 2
Text
Title Card

Timeline basics

  • Tracks — Your timeline has multiple tracks. Video tracks layer on top of each other; audio tracks mix together.
  • Playhead — The vertical line showing the current position. Click on the ruler to move it. The preview updates in real-time.
  • Zoom — Use the zoom controls or scroll wheel to zoom in/out on the timeline.
  • Snap to grid — Clips snap to other clip edges and the playhead for precise alignment. Toggle snapping on/off with the magnet icon in the toolbar.
  • Real-time preview — The built-in playback engine composites all tracks live as you edit.

Range selection (In/Out points)

Drag the purple triangle handles on the ruler to set In and Out points. This defines the playback range and the portion of the timeline that gets exported.

Working with Clips

Clips are the building blocks of your video. Here's how to select, move, trim, and manage them.

Selecting clips

  • Click a clip to select it.
  • Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click to add clips to your selection.
  • Click and drag on an empty area of a track to box-select multiple clips.

Moving and trimming

  • Drag a clip left or right to reposition it on the timeline.
  • When multiple clips are selected, dragging one moves them all together.
  • Hover over the left or right edge of a clip to see the trim cursor. Drag inward to trim.

Clip properties

Select a clip to see its properties in the toolbar: volume, opacity, fade in/out duration, and more. You can adjust these for precise control over each clip's appearance and behavior.

Right-click clip actions

  • Delete — Remove the clip from the timeline.
  • Duplicate — Create a copy placed immediately after the original.
  • Split at Playhead — Split the clip into two at the current playhead position. Shortcut: S.
  • Generate Transition — Create an AI transition between this clip and the adjacent one.
  • Regenerate Clip — Re-generate the video for a scene-linked clip with the option to edit the prompt first.
  • Apply Lip Sync — Generate lip-synced video for the clip (music video mode, 25 tokens).
  • Revert Lip Sync — Restore the original video before lip sync was applied.

Importing Media

Bring in video and audio files from your device, other projects, or the media library.

Import files from your device

  • Click Add Video or Add Audio in the toolbar, then choose Import File.
  • Select one or multiple files at once — they'll be placed end-to-end on the timeline.
  • Supported video formats: MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI, MKV.
  • Supported audio formats: MP3 (max 10 MB).

Import from other projects

  • Click Add VideoFrom Other Projects to browse generated scene videos from all of your projects.
  • Select any scene's video to add it directly to the timeline.

Import a complete timeline

  • Right-click on an empty area of any track and select Import Timeline.
  • Choose another project to import all of its matching clips (video clips for video tracks, audio clips for audio tracks).
  • Imported clips are placed after any existing clips on the track with their relative timing preserved.

Media Library

The Media Library stores all generated and imported media for your project in one place.

Using the Media Library

  • Access the Media Library from the sidebar when inside a project, or via Add VideoFrom Media Library on the timeline.
  • Browse all previously generated images, videos, and audio for the current project.
  • Click any item to add it to the timeline.
  • Media is automatically saved to the library whenever you generate images, videos, or audio.

Text Overlays

Add styled text to your video for titles, subtitles, lower thirds, and annotations.

Adding text clips

  • Click the Add Text button in the timeline toolbar.
  • A text clip appears on the timeline that you can position and resize.
  • Edit text content, font, size, color, background, stroke, shadow, and position.
  • Choose from text presets for common styles (title card, lower third, subtitle, etc.).
  • Add text animations (fade in, typewriter, slide, etc.) for dynamic effects.

Text styling options

  • Font — Choose from available fonts, set weight and style.
  • Color — Text color, background color with padding and border radius.
  • Effects — Stroke outline, drop shadow, letter spacing, line height.
  • Position — Place text anywhere on screen with X/Y coordinates.
  • Animation — Choose entrance and exit animations.

AI Transitions

Generate smooth AI-powered transitions between scenes. Instead of simple cuts or crossfades, AI creates a unique video clip that seamlessly blends two scenes together.

1

Select two adjacent clips

Position two video clips next to each other on the timeline.
2

Generate transition

Click the Add Transition button between the clips. The AI generates a short video that morphs between the end of one clip and the start of the next.
3

Review

The transition appears as a separate clip on the timeline. Preview it in context to see how it flows.

Range-based transitions

  • Press I and O to set In and Out points on the ruler marking a 1–5 second range.
  • Click Generate Transition in the toolbar to create a transition that morphs between the first and last frames of the selected range.
  • This is useful for creating transitions at precise moments without needing two separate clips.

Audio & Music

Add background music, sound effects, or custom audio to your video.

Adding audio

  • Click the Add Audio button in the timeline toolbar.
  • Upload one or multiple audio files (MP3, max 10 MB each) from your device.
  • Audio clips appear on an audio track and can be moved and trimmed like video clips.
  • Adjust volume on individual clips using the clip properties panel.
  • Mute entire tracks by clicking the mute button on the track header.

AI Voiceover

Generate natural-sounding voiceovers from text using AI text-to-speech. Narration is generated per-scene and automatically placed on the timeline.

1

Enable voiceover

In project settings, toggle Voiceover on. When you generate a script, each scene will include narration text.
2

Generate narration

On the script or storyboard page, click the narration button on each scene to generate the audio.
3

Choose a voice

Pick from available voice options, each with a distinct tone and character. Preview before generating.
4

Edit on timeline

Narration clips appear on the timeline and can be moved, trimmed, and volume-adjusted like any audio clip.

AI Lip Sync

AI lip sync generates realistic video of characters speaking. The AI takes a character image and audio, and produces a video of the character with synchronized mouth movements.

How lip sync works

  • Enable Lip Sync on a character in the Characters tab.
  • Generate TTS audio for the character's narration.
  • Click Generate Lip Sync on the scene.
  • The AI creates a video clip with the character's mouth moving in sync with the audio.

Music Video Mode

Music Video mode lets you create visuals synced to a song. Upload your track and the AI analyzes beats, lyrics, and song sections to generate a perfectly timed visual experience.

Music Video Flow

Upload Song
MP3/WAV
AI Analysis
BPM, lyrics, sections
Synced Script
Matched to beats
Generate Video
Scene per section

Audio waveform — scenes sync to song sections

1

Create a Music Video project

When creating a new project, select Music Video mode.
2

Upload your song

Upload an audio file of your song. The AI analyzes it to detect lyrics, BPM, beats, and song sections (intro, verse, chorus, bridge, outro).
3

Generate a synced script

Describe the visual concept for your video. The AI creates a scene-by-scene script timed to your song's structure, matching visuals to lyrics and energy levels. Scenes are automatically split to fit 5s/10s video clip lengths.
4

Generate visuals and export

Generate storyboard images and video clips as usual. The timeline will be pre-arranged to match your song's timing with the music track already in place.

Cut Scene Mode

Cut Scene mode lets you create videos with two interleaving storylines (A and B) that alternate throughout the video. This is great for parallel narratives, before/after comparisons, or music videos with performance and story cuts.

Cut Scene Interleaving

Storyline A
Storyline B
Storyline A
Storyline B
Storyline A
Storyline B
Storyline A Storyline B
1

Enable cut scenes

In project settings, toggle Cut Scenes on. Two storyline description fields will appear.
2

Describe each storyline

Write a description for Storyline A and Storyline B. For example: A = "Concert performance", B = "Backstage preparation".
3

Assign characters

In the Characters tab, assign each character to Storyline A, Storyline B, or both.
4

Choose cut frequency

Select how often the storylines alternate: Fast (frequent cuts), Balanced, or Slow (longer segments).

How it works

The AI generates scenes for both storylines and automatically interleaves them. Each storyline can have its own style reference image for visual differentiation. In music video mode, interleaving is timed to song sections.

AI Song Generation

Don't have a song? Generate one with AI. Create original music for your music videos or background tracks.

Generating songs

  • In a Music Video project, click the Generate Song option.
  • Describe the style and mood of the song you want.
  • The AI generates an original song that you can use in your video.
  • You can also import songs from external sources.
  • Generated or imported songs are automatically analyzed for beats, BPM, lyrics, and sections.

Project Sharing

Collaborate with others by sharing your projects. Grant view or edit permissions to other Trumbone users.

Sharing a project

  • Open your project and go to settings or the share menu.
  • Enter the email address of the person you want to share with.
  • Choose their permission level: View (read-only) or Edit (full editing access).
  • The shared user will see the project in their dashboard.
  • You can revoke access at any time.

Exporting

Export your finished video as a high-quality MP4 file.

How to export

  • Click the Export button in the timeline toolbar.
  • Set your In and Out points on the ruler to define the export range, or leave them to export the full timeline.
  • Your video is rendered and an MP4 file is downloaded when complete.

Tips for best results

  • Preview your entire video before exporting to catch any issues.
  • Make sure all video clips have finished loading (check for loading indicators).
  • For longer videos, the export may take a few minutes.

Feed & Explore

Discover videos created by the Trumbone community. The Explore page lets you browse published posts from all creators.

Browsing the feed

  • Click Explore in the top navigation to browse the public feed.
  • Scroll through video posts from creators across the community.
  • Click any post to watch the full video on its dedicated page.
  • From a post page, you can follow the creator or browse their profile.

Publishing Posts

Share your exported videos with the Trumbone community by publishing them to the feed.

How to publish

  • After exporting a video, you can publish it as a post to the public feed.
  • Add a title and description to give your post context.
  • A thumbnail is automatically generated from your video. You can customize it by scrubbing through the video and selecting a frame (see Editing Posts).
  • Published posts appear on your profile and in the Explore feed.

Editing Posts

Update your published posts at any time to refine how they appear in the feed.

What you can edit

  • Title — Change the title displayed on your post.
  • Description — Update the description text, including hashtags.
  • Thumbnail — Scrub through your video to pick a new frame as the thumbnail. The selected frame is compressed and uploaded automatically.

Hashtags

Use hashtags in your post descriptions to categorize your content and make it discoverable.

Using hashtags

  • Add hashtags anywhere in your post description using the # symbol (e.g., #animation, #musicvideo).
  • Hashtags become clickable links that lead to a tag page showing all posts with that tag.
  • Use relevant hashtags to help other creators find your work.

Following

Follow creators whose work you enjoy to stay connected with the community.

How following works

  • Click the Follow button on a creator's post or profile page.
  • View your following and followers from your profile.
  • Unfollow at any time by clicking the button again.

Profile Settings

Customize your public profile to let the community know who you are.

Profile options

  • Username — Change your username from the Settings page. Your username appears on your profile and posts.
  • Profile picture — Upload an avatar image. Images are automatically resized and compressed.
  • Profile link — Add a link to your website or social media. It's displayed on your public profile for others to see.

Tokens & Pricing

Trumbone uses a token system for AI-powered features. Each generation action costs a set number of tokens. Failed generations are automatically refunded.

Action
Tokens
Script generation
2
Storyboard image
6
Storyboard image (Pro)
20
Video clip (5s)
38
Video clip (10s)
75
AI transition
38
Narration / voiceover
1
Lip sync
18-25
Music analysis
2
Song generation
15
Character reference image
6

Subscription Plans

Creator
$9/mo
400 tokens/mo
  • 10% off top-ups
  • Unlimited storage
Pro
$24/mo
1,200 tokens/mo
  • 15% off top-ups
  • Priority queue
  • Unlimited storage
Director
$40/mo
2,500 tokens/mo
  • 20% off top-ups
  • Priority queue
  • Unlimited storage

Token packs (one-time purchase)

500 tokens
$10
2,500 tokens
$40
5,000 tokens
$70

Your current token balance is shown in the sidebar. Purchase additional tokens from the Tokens page.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed up your workflow with these keyboard shortcuts on the timeline.

SpacePlay / PauseDeleteDelete selected clip(s)SSplit selected clip at playheadISet range In point at playheadOSet range Out point at playheadCtrl + ZUndoCtrl + Shift + ZRedoCtrl + ClickAdd clip to selectionDrag on trackBox-select multiple clips

Need more help?

Can't find what you're looking for? Check the blog for tutorials or reach out to support.