Creating captivating videos for genres like horror, true crime, and documentaries is now easier than ever, thanks to AI tools like NotebookLM, ChatGPT, and Canva. In this guide, we’ll break down the steps to help you produce spine-chilling or thought-provoking videos that keep viewers hooked. Whether you’re targeting YouTube, TikTok, or podcast platforms, these techniques will simplify your content creation process.
1. Start with a Strong Storyline Using ChatGPT
The heart of any horror or true crime story lies in the plot. ChatGPT can help you develop compelling narratives within seconds.
- Generate Story Ideas: Ask ChatGPT to write story plots, such as “a horror story in a haunted mansion” or “a true crime mystery in a small town.”
- Customize for Genre: For a true crime story, you could specify settings like a dimly lit urban area or an eerie forest. For horror, focus on haunted locations or chilling encounters.
- Example Story Plot: In the video example, a suspenseful story titled “The Last Toast” was generated. It centers around a luxurious, snowy mountain cabin where a celebratory party turns deadly—an ideal horror plot.
2. Use NotebookLM for Narration
Once you have a story, NotebookLM can bring it to life with realistic narration.
- Paste Story into NotebookLM: Copy the story generated by ChatGPT and paste it into NotebookLM.
- Customize the Tone: Adjust the voice tone depending on the mood of your story. For a crime thriller, go with a serious and intense tone; for horror, a slower, suspenseful delivery works well.
- Download Narration: After refining the tone, download the audio narration to use in your video.
3. Create Visuals with Canva
With the narration in place, you’ll need visuals to support your story. Canva is an excellent tool for adding compelling images and animations.
- Choose Relevant Visuals: Search Canva’s Elements for images and videos related to your theme. For crime stories, look for imagery like dark alleys, police lines, or old-fashioned documents. Horror stories might benefit from foggy forests or shadowy figures.
- Adjust Video Length: To match the audio length, duplicate pages within Canva until the visuals reach the required duration. Canva offers the flexibility to extend scenes, ensuring seamless synchronization with your audio.
4. Optimize Your YouTube Channel for Horror and Crime Stories
Horror and true crime content has high demand on YouTube, with some channels reaching millions of subscribers and generating substantial income.
- Create a Niche Channel Name: Choose a name that reflects your genre, like “Nightmare Narratives” or “True Crime Files.” This builds brand recognition and attracts the right audience.
- Look to Successful Channels for Inspiration: The creator referenced a popular horror channel with over 6 million subscribers, generating up to $50,000 monthly. This showcases the potential for similar channels to monetize effectively.
5. Monetize Your Content
High-quality horror and true crime content can generate impressive revenue.
- Ad Revenue Potential: Channels in these genres often receive high viewership, making them lucrative for ad revenue.
- Social Blade Insights: Using tools like Social Blade, you can estimate potential earnings based on views. Some successful creators earn well above $50K monthly, underscoring the demand for engaging, consistent content in these genres.
6. Overcome NotebookLM’s Voice Limitations
While NotebookLM is a powerful tool, its voices can sound similar across videos, which might limit uniqueness.
- Explore Voice Alternatives: Consider alternative AI voice options or experiment with additional voice modulation tools to enhance the originality of your content.
- Check Out Customization Tutorials: The creator of the video mentioned an additional resource on customizing NotebookLM’s voices. Following these guidelines can help make your storytelling distinct and memorable.
7. Final Touches and Uploading to YouTube
Once your video is ready, it’s time to upload and share it with the world.
- Export as MP4: Ensure that you export the final product in an MP4 format suitable for YouTube and other platforms.
- Optimize Titles and Descriptions for SEO: Use genre-related keywords like “horror story,” “true crime,” or “documentary mystery.” Well-optimized metadata boosts your video’s visibility.
- Consistent Publishing: To maximize audience retention, consider posting multiple videos weekly or daily if possible. Horror and true crime audiences crave new content frequently.
Conclusion
Using tools like NotebookLM, ChatGPT, and Canva, you can simplify video production for horror, true crime, and documentary content. The combination of AI-powered story generation, customizable narration, and visually compelling graphics offers a streamlined path to captivating content creation. With the right setup, this process can turn a few minutes of setup into an ongoing, monetizable content stream. Follow these steps to build a niche channel that captures viewers’ attention and keeps them coming back for more.
