Skip to content
Recaply.
Sign inSubmit a tool

LearnTutorials

Gemini NotebookTutorialsOpen Gemini Notebook

Turn your notes into a cinematic video with Gemini Notebook

Turn your notes, PDFs and links into an animated cinematic video in Gemini Notebook, and fix the story in producer notes before it renders.

By Recaply EditorsBeginner25 min5 stepsUpdated

A hand pulls a strip of film up out of a stack of paper notes

What you need

Cinematic videos are only for users 18 and over, and the narration is in English only.

  1. Step 1: Build a notebook with your sources

    5 min

    The video only uses what's in the notebook, so your sources set its facts and its limits.

    1. Go to notebook.google.com and select Create new notebook.
    2. Select Upload a source and add your PDFs and docs. Paste web or YouTube links, one per line.
    3. Ask the chat one question about your topic to check that the key facts are there.

    You should see your sources listed in the Sources panel, and a chat answer with citations.

    The chat can't find a fact you need?

    Add the source that has it before you make the video. The video can't use anything that isn't in the notebook.

  2. Step 2: Pick the Cinematic format

    3 min

    Cinematic swaps narrated slides for animated scenes, and Gemini picks the story, the look and the pacing.

    1. In the Studio panel, find Video Overview and open its settings to customize it.
    2. Under Format, pick Cinematic. Keep the language as English.
    3. In the steering prompt box, paste the text below and fill in the brackets.
    Your steering prompt
    Make this for [AUDIENCE], who already know [WHAT THEY KNOW]. Focus on [THE 2 OR 3 POINTS THAT MATTER MOST]. Open with [A QUESTION, NUMBER OR STORY FROM THE SOURCES]. Leave out [WHAT TO SKIP]. End with [THE ONE THING VIEWERS SHOULD REMEMBER].

    You should see Cinematic picked as the format, with your steering prompt filled in.

    No Cinematic option under Format?

    Your account doesn't have it yet. It needs a plan that includes it and a user 18 or over. Pick Explainer to make a standard video instead.

    Cinematic skips the Visual Style picker. Gemini chooses the look for you.

  3. Step 3: Review the producer notes

    5 min

    Producer notes show the plan for the video, so you can fix the story before the long render starts.

    1. Turn on Review producer notes, then select Generate now.
    2. When the notes are ready, select Review next to them in the Studio panel.
    3. Write all your feedback in one message, like the example below.
    4. Select Proceed. After that, the notes can't be changed.
    Your feedback
    Cut the background section and spend that time on [KEY POINT]. Use the exact figures from [SOURCE NAME]. Make the opening shorter, and end on [YOUR TAKEAWAY].

    You should see the video listed in the Studio panel while it generates.

    It says you've reached your limit?

    Limits refresh every 5 hours, up to a weekly cap. Check Settings > Usage, or on the web, pick Generate later to queue the video.

    A video can take more than 30 minutes. Keep working in the notebook, or close it and come back.

  4. Step 4: Watch it and check the facts

    10 min

    Google warns that the voices and visuals are AI-made and can contain mistakes, so check them against your sources.

    1. In the Studio panel, select the video's title to open the player.
    2. Watch it once and write down every number, name and date you see or hear.
    3. Find each one in your sources. If you can't, ask the chat where it came from.

    You should see a narrated, animated video built from your sources, with facts you've checked.

    The story took the wrong angle?

    Make a new one. Name the angle you want in the steering prompt, and correct the plan in producer notes before you select Proceed.

  5. Step 5: Download or share it

    2 min

    A downloaded file plays anywhere, while a link keeps the video inside your notebook.

    1. To save a file, select the download button in the player.
    2. To share a link, select Share in the player.
    3. Set the notebook to Anyone with a link with access to the full notebook, then copy the link and save.

    You should see a video file in your downloads, or a link that opens the video.

    You can't make the link public?

    Public links only work on personal Google accounts. On a work or school account, share the notebook with named people instead.

You get

A cinematic video of your research, checked against your sources, as a file or a link

Try next

Write YouTube scripts from blueprints with Gemini Notebook5 steps · 20 minMake infographics from your files with Gemini Notebook5 steps · 15 minBuild a cited research brief with Gemini Notebook6 steps · 30 min

Did this guide work for you?

Sources

0 of 5Next: Build a notebook with your sources