How to Create an Animated Video with Plotagon

Updated

Plotagon turns a written idea into an animated video by having you build a digital storyboard: you place actors in a scene, write dialogue, assign voices, and add camera, audio, and emotion, then generate the video. According to Plotagon's own description, the process is designed so you can "create a timeline of audio visual content and generate an animated video in minutes." The steps below follow the tools Plotagon lists on its site — Action, Camera, Audio, Intertitle, Plot, Scene, Actors, Dialogue, Voice, and Emote — plus its library of 200+ virtual locations.

Before you start: pick your app

Plotagon offers three apps, and the one you choose affects your workflow:

  • Plotagon Studio Mobile — described as the latest app.
  • Plotagon Story Mobile — described as the classic app for mobile.
  • Plotagon Studio Desktop — described as the classic app for Windows.

The site states that a comparison table exists to help you decide which mobile app is right for you, but the table's contents are not included in the available page text. If you need to choose between Studio Mobile and Story Mobile, check that table directly on plotagon.com rather than assuming feature parity.

Step-by-step: building a video

1. Organize the idea with Plot and Scene

Plotagon describes Plot as "our intuitive storyboard that helps you easily organize and develop your idea," and Scene as the tool to "visualise all the action that takes place at a single location." Start by breaking your idea into scenes — one location per scene — before writing anything.

2. Cast and customize actors

Use Actors to "create them yourself, customise their look or cast one from our library." Plotagon says you can create actors "who look, dress and emote the way you want," and the library includes "stylised actors with multilingual lifelike voices."

3. Write dialogue and assign voices

Dialogue is where you "write text, pick a voice, assign a listener and get your actors to speak." For Voice, you can "power your dialogues with a professional multilingual voice or record your own." Plotagon states its professional voice library makes actors "fluent in different languages and dialects."

4. Direct the performance

  • Action — "Have your actors interact with each other. Shake hands, high five, hug..."
  • Emote — "Use animations to convey your Actor's emotion. Are they happy, sad, bored?"
  • Camera — "Pick from over the shoulder, wide angle, movement or let us pick the best one."

5. Set the mood and add context

  • Audio — "Set the mood with music and sound effects. Crowd cheers, dramatic background..."
  • Intertitle — "Add additional context to your narrative with text and voice."

6. Choose a location

Plotagon's content library features "thematic high quality scenes" with "200+ virtual locations," which the site frames as a way to "avoid real world challenges" while keeping "consistent visual quality."

7. Generate and share

Once your timeline of scenes, dialogue, and effects is assembled, Plotagon generates the animated video. The site's description of the output: videos "with multiple scenes and actors, multilingual dialogues, animated actors, audio, customisable camera and transitions."

What you can make with it

Plotagon lists these uses for its apps: fan fiction, original narratives, social stories, training material, educational videos, and advertising/marketing content. The Red Dot Award jury is quoted on the site calling Plotagon "an outstanding tool with a very easy-to-use interface for creating instant movie sequences and then sharing them."

Common sticking points

  • App differences aren't fully documented here. The Studio vs. Story feature table exists on the site but its contents weren't captured, so verify before committing to one mobile app.
  • Pricing and account requirements aren't stated in the available page material — don't assume the apps are free or that no login is needed.
  • Voice recording vs. library voices are two separate paths; if you want a specific language or dialect, check the professional voice library first, since recording your own limits you to your own delivery.