Videos
Animated diagram in a video
A diagram scene draws a concept from a list of labels. It is the tool for structure, hierarchy and repeating loops, the things that have no photograph and no number, and the six shapes it offers are not interchangeable. Choosing the wrong one says something untrue about your idea.
The six shapes and what each asserts
A funnel of up to six narrowing stages says things are lost between one stage and the next. A pyramid of up to six tiers says the lower levels support the higher ones. A wide circular cycle says the last step returns to the first. A four stage flywheel with curved arrows says the loop accelerates as it turns. A two circle Venn says the interesting part is the overlap, and it wants that overlap labelled. Up to five concentric rings say everything surrounds a core.
Pick the shape that matches the idea
The instruction the director works to states it plainly: a funnel is not a cycle. That is the most common failure in diagram scenes, and it is not cosmetic. Drawing a repeating process as a funnel tells a viewer that people drop out at each stage. Drawing a filtering process as a cycle tells them it loops. If your description of the process is vague, the shape you get will be the wrong one.
The data behind all six is identical
Every shape is driven by one list of items, which is why the inspector can offer the six as buttons and switch between them without retyping anything. That makes it cheap to test: enter the four stages once, then look at the same content as a funnel, a cycle and a flywheel and pick the one that is actually true. The two Venn shapes behave slightly differently because they need their overlaps named.
Diagrams are drawn, so nothing is needed but words
No images, no icons to source, no illustration step. The shape is built by the render engine in the video's own palette and typeface, and it animates as it builds rather than appearing complete. That also means a diagram scene works on a brief with no uploads at all, which is what makes it the backbone of an explainer for something invisible.
How it works, in three steps
Step 1
Write the stages as short labels
Two or three words each, in order. A diagram takes labels, not sentences, and a long label is what makes one look cramped.
Step 2
Say what the relationship is
Loops back, narrows down, builds on, overlaps, surrounds. That phrase is what decides which of the six shapes you get.
Step 3
Try the alternatives in the inspector
The type buttons switch the shape in place, keeping your items. It costs nothing to look at the same list three ways.
The full walkthrough with screenshots is in the guide Make a promo video with AI voiceover.
Limits worth knowing
- Six shapes only. There is no free form flowchart, no org chart and no arbitrary node and edge diagram.
- Most shapes cap at six items, and concentric rings at five, so a ten stage process has to be grouped first.
- Diagram scenes take text and drawn graphics only. They will not hold an image.
- Colours come from the theme tokens. There is no per item colour picker for a diagram.
Questions people ask
Can I draw my system architecture?
Not as a diagram scene. These six shapes are conceptual rather than structural. An architecture diagram is better exported as an image from wherever you drew it and uploaded, where it will be shown rather than rebuilt.
What is the difference between a cycle and a flywheel?
A cycle simply returns to the start. A flywheel, drawn with curved arrows across four stages, implies the loop builds momentum, so each turn is easier than the last. Only use the flywheel if that claim is true.
How is this different from a how it works scene?
How it works shows three or four steps as cards or numbered items, which suits a sequence a person performs. A diagram shows a shape, which suits a structure or a relationship. Steps with no dates go in the first, ideas in the second.
Can I label the overlap in a Venn?
Yes, and you should. The overlap is the entire point of choosing that shape, and a two circle Venn with an unlabelled middle is just two circles.
Make your own video
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match yours, generate, then edit anything you like.
Create a video with OneCraftRelated pages
AI explainer video maker
An explainer has a specific problem. The thing being explained usually has no picture. There is nothing to film about a pricing model, a claims process or how a marketplace matches two sides, so the video has to draw the idea instead, and draw it in the order a person builds understanding.
How long should my video be
Length is set as a scene budget rather than a target duration, and that is a more useful way to think about it. Three to six scenes is a different video from six to twelve, regardless of the clock, because it is a different number of things you get to say.
Testimonial video scene
A quote lands harder with a face attached, and there is a scene role for exactly that. What it will not do is invent the person. The instruction is explicit: only claim a named person when the brief actually names one, so a testimonial from nobody in particular is a quote scene instead.
More finished work of this kind is on the video examples hub.