An automated text-to-video workflow built with n8n that transforms plain text into an animated video with AI-generated voice narration and automatically uploads the final video to YouTube.
The workflow combines AI video generation, audio processing, video processing, and YouTube automation into a single pipeline with minimal manual intervention.
Script2Screen automates the process of converting a text-based idea or script into a complete video.
The workflow handles the major stages of video production:
- Receive the input text.
- Prepare the video-generation request.
- Generate an AI video.
- Wait for the video-generation process to complete.
- Retrieve the generated video.
- Process the generated video and audio.
- Merge the video and audio using FFmpeg.
- Prepare the final video.
- Upload the completed video to YouTube.
Input Text
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v
n8n Workflow Trigger
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v
Prepare Input Data
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v
AI Video Generation
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v
Wait for Generation
|
v
Check Generation Status
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v
Retrieve Video
|
v
Process Video & Audio
|
v
Merge Using FFmpeg
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v
Final Video
|
v
YouTube Upload
- Automated text-to-video generation
- AI-generated video content
- AI voice narration
- Automated video and audio processing
- FFmpeg-based audio and video merging
- Generation-status monitoring
- Automatic retrieval of generated media
- Webhook or manual workflow triggering
- Automatic YouTube upload
- End-to-end workflow automation
The workflow is built using n8n, an open-source workflow automation platform.
n8n connects the different services and controls the complete video-generation pipeline.
An AI video generation service is used to create the visual content from the provided input.
HTTP Request nodes are used to communicate with external APIs for:
- Starting video generation
- Checking generation status
- Retrieving generated media
JavaScript Code nodes are used within the workflow for processing and transforming data.
FFmpeg is used to process and merge the generated video and audio into the final video file.
The YouTube Data API is used to automatically upload the completed video to a YouTube channel.
script2screen/
│
├── animatedvideo-voiceover-youtube.json
├── picture of project.png
└── README.md
The main workflow is stored in:
animatedvideo-voiceover-youtube.json
This JSON file contains the complete n8n workflow and can be imported into an n8n instance.
Before running the workflow, make sure you have:
- n8n installed or access to an n8n instance
- An AI video generation API
- AI video generation API credentials
- YouTube Data API credentials
- FFmpeg installed and accessible
- An active internet connection
Set up an n8n environment either locally or through a hosted instance.
FFmpeg is required for processing and merging the generated video and audio.
Verify the installation:
ffmpeg -version
Configure the required credentials inside n8n.
The workflow requires:
AI Video Generation API
YouTube Data API
Keep API keys and credentials private and do not commit them directly to a public repository.
Open n8n and import:
animatedvideo-voiceover-youtube.json
After importing the workflow, configure the required credentials and API settings.
Connect your YouTube account through the appropriate YouTube credentials in n8n.
The workflow can then upload the generated video automatically after the video-processing stage is completed.
Enter the text or script that will be used as the basis for the video.
The workflow can be triggered manually or through a webhook.
The workflow sends the input to the configured AI video generation service.
The workflow monitors the generation status until the video is ready.
Once generation is complete, the workflow retrieves the generated video and required audio files.
FFmpeg processes the media and combines the video and audio into a final synchronized video.
The completed video is automatically sent to YouTube through the YouTube Data API.
The workflow contains several logical stages.
The workflow supports triggering through:
- Manual execution
- Webhook
The input text and required parameters are prepared before being sent to the video-generation service.
The AI video generation API receives the prepared request and starts generating the video.
The workflow checks whether the generation process has completed.
If the video is not ready, the workflow waits before checking again.
The generated video and audio are downloaded and prepared for further processing.
FFmpeg combines the generated video and voice audio into a single synchronized media file.
The final video is uploaded automatically to YouTube.
The complete automation can be summarized as:
Script
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v
AI Video Generation
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v
Generated Visuals
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+----> Generated Voice
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v
Media Processing
|
v
FFmpeg
|
v
Final Video
|
v
YouTube
This workflow reduces the amount of manual work required to produce and publish video content.
Instead of manually:
- Creating visuals
- Generating voiceovers
- Processing media
- Combining audio and video
- Uploading the final video
the complete pipeline can be automated through n8n.
Script2Screen can be adapted for:
- Educational videos
- Short-form content
- Automated YouTube channels
- Explainer videos
- Storytelling videos
- Social media content
- News-style videos
- Marketing content
- AI-generated presentations
The workflow depends on external services and therefore may be affected by:
- API availability
- API rate limits
- Video-generation processing time
- API costs
- YouTube upload restrictions
- Internet connectivity
- FFmpeg configuration
The quality of the final video also depends on the capabilities of the selected AI video-generation service.
Possible improvements include:
- Automatic script generation using an LLM
- Automatic subtitle generation
- Background music generation
- Multiple voice options
- Automatic thumbnail generation
- Automatic YouTube title generation
- Automatic description generation
- Automatic tag generation
- Scheduled YouTube publishing
- Support for multiple video-generation APIs
- Automatic short-form video generation
- Error notifications through email or messaging platforms
- Analytics integration
Script2Screen demonstrates how AI video generation, voice narration, FFmpeg, n8n, and the YouTube Data API can be combined to create an automated content-production pipeline.
The workflow minimizes manual video-production steps by connecting script input, AI media generation, media processing, and YouTube publishing into a single automated system.