How to Create AI Behind-the-Scenes Videos

A behind-the-scenes video works when it shows process rather than polish: hands doing something, tools, a messy work surface and then the finished result. On VdoBloom you make one in the text-to-video tool by writing a prompt for each shot — a workshop opening, three or four close-ups of the work, and a reveal — then generating them and cutting them together. Most shots run five to ten seconds, and the credit cost of each is shown before you press generate.

Updated October 2026.

What makes a behind-the-scenes video different

A product video sells the thing. A behind-the-scenes video sells the work behind it, and that changes almost every decision: the camera is closer, the lighting is less controlled, the sound is more ambient, and the edit is allowed to be rougher. Viewers accept and even prefer that roughness, because it reads as evidence that something real happened.

That is exactly the gap AI video fills well. You can show a workshop, a studio, a dressing room or a kitchen that you do not actually have, and you can show the craft in close-up without hiring a second camera operator. What you cannot do is fake a specific real place convincingly at length, so build the video around generic process rather than around a location your audience knows.

The five shots that carry a behind-the-scenes video

The establishing shot. A wide view of the workspace. This sets the world in two or three seconds and tells the viewer what kind of craft they are about to watch.
The hands at work. A macro or close shot of hands, tools and material. This is the shot that makes the video feel real, and it is the easiest one for a video model to get right because there are no faces in it.
The process detail. A tighter shot of one specific step — a cut, a fold, a pour, a brushstroke, a cable being connected.
The mess shot. Offcuts, spilled powder, scattered parts, a cluttered bench. Skipping this is why many AI process videos feel sterile.
The reveal. The finished piece, lit properly and held still, with a slow push-in or an orbit. This is the only shot in the sequence allowed to look polished.

Cutting those five into a 20 to 35 second vertical clip is the whole format. It works for a bakery, a jewellery studio, a workshop making furniture, a clothing label explaining how a garment is finished, or a software team showing a desk setup.

How to make one on VdoBloom

The text-to-video tool takes a written description and returns a clip. There is no footage to assemble and no camera to set up.

Open the tool and describe the shot. The prompt box asks for what is in frame, what happens, and the visual style. Write one shot per generation rather than trying to describe the whole sequence at once — you will get much better results and you only re-run the shot that failed.
Use the camera-move chips if you want precision. The tool offers push-in, pull-back, orbit, crane up, whip pan, FPV one-take, dolly zoom, crash zoom, top-down, handheld, rack focus and static tripod, plus lens looks such as macro, 85mm portrait, wide 24mm, 16mm film and anamorphic.
Let the prompt helper do the first draft if you are stuck. The Generate With AI button writes a four-section shot list covering the timeline, the effects, the visual density and the energy arc of the shot.
Choose a model, duration, resolution and shape. Duration and resolution options depend on the model. For a 9:16 social cut, set the aspect ratio to 9:16 before you generate.
Generate each shot in turn. For close-ups of hands, five seconds is plenty. For the reveal, give it eight to ten so the push-in has room to breathe.
Download and cut them together. Keep each shot one or two seconds shorter than feels comfortable in the edit; process videos drag when shots linger.

Two practical notes. Prompts run up to 5,000 characters on most models, but Runway caps at 1,800, Kling at 2,500 and PixVerse at 2,048, so keep a short version of each prompt handy if you plan to compare models. And the aspect ratio picker offers 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1, with the square option unavailable on the Veo models and the Gemini Omni video models — if you want square behind-the-scenes output, plan for that before you choose a model.

Prompt examples

Workshop opening. “Wide static shot of a small woodworking studio at golden hour, sawdust in the air, hand tools on a pegboard, a half-finished chair on the bench, warm side light from a window, shallow depth of field, 16mm film look, slow push-in.”
Hands at work. “Extreme macro shot of a pair of hands sanding the edge of a wooden board, fine dust falling, warm lamp light, shallow depth of field, slow rack focus from fingers to the grain, no faces in frame.”
Process detail. “Close overhead shot of a brush dipping into a jar of gold paint and drawing one line onto a ceramic plate, hard directional light, dark background, camera static, high detail.”
Bakery version. “Macro shot of flour being folded into dough on a marble counter, warm morning light through a window, hands only, slight handheld movement, dust motes visible, soft film grain.”
The mess. “Top-down shot of a cluttered workbench covered in offcuts, loose screws and three half-used glue bottles, one small finished product resting among them, warm tungsten light, static camera.”
The reveal. “The finished product on a simple pedestal against a dark seamless background, single soft key light, slow orbit around it, no text, no hands, clean product-catalogue lighting.”
Clothing label version. “Close-up of a sewing machine needle stitching a hem, fabric feeding through, slight camera shake, warm workshop light, shallow depth of field on the needle.”

Which model to pick

The right choice depends on whether you want realism, permissiveness or price.

Cheapest and fastest: Runway Gen-3, the default in the tool, with five and ten second options at 720p or 1080p. Five seconds at 720p is 10 credits, which makes it the sensible model for testing a shot idea before committing.
Cinematic quality at a fixed price: Veo 3.1 Fast is a flat 40 credits per clip and is the quick tier of the Veo pair. The high-quality Veo tier is a flat 160 credits for one clip, which is worth it only for the hero reveal shot.
Long shots: Wan 3.0 and Seedance 2.5 both run from 2 or 4 seconds up to 30 seconds in a single generation, which suits a behind-the-scenes video that wants one continuous take of the process. Both offer native audio and up to 1080p.
Looser subject matter: Seedance 1.5 Pro and Hailuo 02 carry the most permissive content filter in the platform’s badge system, which matters if your process shots include anything the stricter models object to.
Per-second control: Kling 3.0 bills per second at 5.6 credits for standard tier and 7.2 for pro, so you can buy exactly nine seconds of a shot instead of a fixed five or ten.

You do not have to commit. Generate the same five-shot list on a cheap model to check the composition, then re-run only the two shots you love on the better one. Because the cost of every generation is quoted before it runs, that comparison is easy to budget.

Common mistakes

Making it too clean. A polished workshop reads as an advert. Dust, offcuts and uneven light are what make it read as process.
Putting faces in every shot. Hands and tools are far more reliable to generate than a consistent face across five separate clips.
Describing the whole video in one prompt. One shot per generation gives you control and lets you fix a single weak clip.
No reveal. The payoff shot is what turns a set of clips into a story.
Horizontal footage in a vertical feed. If the video is going to Stories, Reels or Shorts, set 9:16 at generation time rather than cropping later.
Holding each shot too long. Two seconds on a hand shot is often enough.

For the narrative side of the edit, our guide to making AI story videos covers structure, and the common prompt mistakes and the fixes for making a clip not look like a slideshow are both worth reading before you start writing shots. New accounts get 10 free credits and no card, and the plans page shows what a monthly allowance covers.

Frequently asked questions

What is a behind-the-scenes video?

It is content that shows how something is made rather than only what was made: the workspace, the hands, the tools, the mistakes and the finished piece. Viewers watch it because the process itself is interesting, and it builds trust in the result far faster than another product shot.

Can AI make a behind-the-scenes video without real footage?

Yes, for generic process shots. Hands working with tools, material, dust and a finished reveal are all things text-to-video models handle well. What they do less well is a specific recognisable location, so build the video around craft rather than around a place your audience already knows.

How long should each shot be?

Five seconds is enough for close-ups, eight to ten for the opening and the reveal, and two to three for inserts of specific steps. In the final edit, cut each shot one or two seconds shorter than feels comfortable — process video drags when shots linger.

Which model is best for behind-the-scenes clips?

There is no single best. Runway Gen-3 is the cheapest way to test a shot at 10 credits for five seconds at 720p, Veo 3.1 Fast gives a flat-price quality tier at 40 credits per clip, and Wan 3.0 or Seedance 2.5 give single shots up to 30 seconds when you want one continuous take.

Do I need audio for a process video?

Some models generate native audio, and Wan 3.0 and Seedance 2.5 both support it. Even so, plan on captions: the majority of social viewing happens muted, so a short line of on-screen text per shot carries the story whether or not the sound is on.

Open the text-to-video tool, write your first workshop shot, and generate it — the credit cost is shown on screen before you run anything.