00:00Four astronauts, a quarter million miles from Earth, the first humans to fly past the moon in
00:05over 50 years. This is Artemis II, and this is the cinematic version I built using AI in under
00:11an hour. Before we get into it, let me be straight with you. This isn't a full Hollywood production.
00:17What you're going to get is a cinematic short, consistent visuals, smooth transitions,
00:22real narration, and a score that actually fits the mood. What it won't do is replace real NASA
00:27footage. But for storytelling, content creation, or just experimenting with AI filmmaking,
00:32this workflow is genuinely impressive. Here's exactly what we're doing today.
00:37Four steps. One, generate a cinematic storyboard using AI image generation.
00:42Two, animate each shot using first and last frame video generation.
00:46Three, add narration and a custom score all inside the same platform.
00:50Four, bring it together in CapCut for the final cut. Let's go.
00:53For the storyboard, I'm using Nano Banana 2, NVIDIA's image generation model.
00:57The reason I'm using this instead of jumping to a separate tool is simple.
01:01Everything I need for this project, images, voiceover, music, lives in one place.
01:06That saves a lot of back and forth. Open NVIDIA, head to the image generation section,
01:11and you'll find Nano Banana 2 listed as a model option. Select it and open a new project.
01:16Now here's the prompt I'm using. And notice how minimal it is.
01:19Cinematic storyboard of NASA's Artemis 2 mission. Scenes include rocket launch at dawn,
01:25astronauts inside the Orion capsule, Earth from deep space, the moon surface close-up,
01:30lunar flyby from the capsule window, photorealistic, IMAX quality, dramatic lighting.
01:35That's it. I'm giving it the core idea and letting Nano Banana 2 handle the visual structure.
01:40If you have a specific astronaut suit design or a reference image you want to stay consistent with,
01:45you can upload that here too. Set your aspect ratio. I'm going 16.9 for YouTube.
01:51Choose your image count and hit generate. And look at this. The consistency across these shots
01:56is what gets me every time. The lighting stays cinematic, the framing feels intentional,
02:01and the sequence actually tells a story. Launch, Ascent, Deep Space, Lunar Approach, Flyby.
02:06It's structured that on its own. Now to pull out individual frames.
02:10Click on the image you want, select Attach to prompt, then go back and choose the extraction option.
02:15The prompt is already prefilled. Just enter the shot number and generate.
02:19The extracted image comes out clean, full quality, no degradation.
02:23Repeat this for every shot in your sequence and you've got your full image set ready.
02:28You could absolutely take these images into Mid Journey, Firefly, or any other generator.
02:33The animation step works the same regardless of where your images come from.
02:37But since Nano Banana 2 is already inside in video, and the voiceover and music tools are right there too,
02:42I'm not switching apps. The whole pipeline stays in one window.
02:46Now for the part that makes this feel cinematic, animating the shots.
02:50Go to the Video Generation tab. Select Kling 3.0 as your model.
02:54Make sure you're on the option that supports first and last frame input.
02:58That's the key to getting smooth, controlled transitions.
03:00Upload your starting frame and your ending frame.
03:03For the prompt, keep it short.
03:05Kling already understands the composition from the images.
03:08You're just directing the camera.
03:10Slow upward camera tilt.
03:11Rocket ignition.
03:12Heat shimmer rising.
03:14Dramatic dawn sky.
03:15Resolution.
03:16I'm going 1080p.
03:17Duration.
03:185 seconds.
03:19No sound.
03:19Single shot.
03:20Heat generate.
03:21That's the output.
03:22The motion is natural.
03:24The transition doesn't feel forced and the heat distortion actually showed up.
03:28This is why Kling 3.0 is the right call for this kind of work.
03:32It reads the composition of the frames and builds movement that makes sense.
03:36Same workflow.
03:36First frame, Earth from the capsule window.
03:39Last frame, the moon filling the shot.
03:41Simple prompt, slow push forward, deep space, silence, awe.
03:45And here's the result.
03:46That sense of scale, Earth behind you, the moon ahead, that's exactly what Artemis 2 is.
03:51I ran this process for every shot in the sequence.
03:54Same method, every time.
03:55This is where having everything inside in video actually saves time.
03:59I'm not exporting images, importing them somewhere else, downloading video files, re-uploading.
04:04Each step feeds directly into the next.
04:07For the narration, I opened ChatGPT, uploaded the storyboard grid, and asked it to write a
04:12short narration that matches the scene flow.
04:14Tone should be cinematic, factual, and understated.
04:17No hype.
04:18This is what it gave me.
04:19And it lines up with the visuals almost perfectly.
04:22Adjust the length or tone to fit your cut.
04:24Back in in video, go to the audio tab and select the 11labs text-to-speech option.
04:29It's built right in.
04:31Search documentary in the voice selector.
04:33Pick the tone that fits.
04:34I went with something measured and authoritative.
04:37Paste the narration and generate.
04:39Done.
04:39At first light, the engines ignite.
04:42The rocket cuts through the silence, pushing humanity beyond Earth once again.
04:49VoiceOver ready.
04:50For the score, go to the music tab, select 11labs instrumental.
04:54My prompt?
04:55A cinematic orchestral score evoking the vastness of deep space, featuring a slow build and emotional
05:00melodies, starting with no percussion to create a sense of anticipation and grandeur.
05:05Set the duration to match your total clip length and generate.
05:09That's your background score.
05:10Import everything into CapCut.
05:12Your animated clips, voiceover, and music.
05:14Arrange the sequence, nudge the pacing where needed, and drop a subtle cinematic allot or
05:19color grade on top.
05:20I kept mine dark and cool in deep blues, high contrast, to match the space aesthetic.
05:26And that's the documentary.
05:27Start to finish.
05:28At first light, the engines ignite.
05:31The rocket cuts through the silence, pushing humanity beyond Earth once again.
05:38Inside Orion, the crew sits steady, focused, systems alive, trajectory is locked.
05:46Artemis 2 is one of the most significant missions in modern space history.
05:50Four people flying past the moon for the first time since Apollo 17.
05:54That story deserves to be told well, and now you have the tools to tell it.
05:58Try this with your own topic.
06:00The workflow is the same whether you're covering space missions, ancient history, or anything
06:04else worth documenting.
06:05If you want to follow along with the exact setup I used, I'll leave the in-video link below.
06:11Drop your topic idea in the comments I read everyone.
06:14Like, subscribe, and I'll see you in the next one.
Comments