How to create your first TimaLens video: every option explained

This walkthrough follows the live TimaLens creation screen. Each screenshot was taken in the real app on October 1, 2026. The short video above introduces the workflow; the steps below explain every control and when to use it. Some controls depend on your account access, so a lower plan may show fewer choices or a lock.

1. Choose how TimaLens receives your lesson

Open New Video in your dashboard. AI Topic is best when you have an idea, a lesson plan, or source material but want TimaLens to write the narration. Describe the audience, learning goal, ideas that must survive, and any example that must appear. A useful brief is: “Explain how bees turn nectar into honey for 12-year-olds. Show the flower, bee, hive, and transformation in that order. Keep labels short.” You do not need to describe every drawing stroke.

Choose Exact Script when every spoken word matters: approved lessons, legal wording, a prepared voiceover, or a script you already love. Paste the full narration. TimaLens plans drawings around your words instead of rewriting them. Proofread first: an unclear script usually produces an unclear visual explanation. In Exact Script, the estimated runtime follows the words rather than a duration button.

Import file accepts lesson material through the same starting point. A PDF, PowerPoint deck, or text document can provide the teaching brief. Review the extracted content and add a prompt explaining what to emphasize or leave out. File import itself is free; creating the finished video uses credits. An audio recording is different: it supplies the actual narration, and the scenes follow the recording’s timing and spoken language. A visual direction field lets you tell the AI what should appear without changing the recording.

2. Add your own images, diagrams, GIFs, or clips

The attachment control also accepts visual material. Give each item a factual description and decide how it should behave. Auto lets TimaLens decide. Still keeps a photo, logo, or screenshot intact. Gentle motion adds a restrained pan or zoom without redrawing the original. Draw progressively works best for a clean diagram whose construction is part of the lesson. Guide the visual style uses a reference for generated scenes; that reference is not itself displayed. Plays in place keeps a short clip or GIF moving on the board. Reorder or remove an attachment before generation if it no longer belongs in the lesson.

Use Still for any visual whose exact pixels matter, such as a logo or a real photograph. Use Guide the visual style when the asset is an inspiration, such as a character design, and the AI may draw new scenes based on it. An imported image is your source material and is not silently translated into a new-language image.

3. Select narration language and voice

Language controls the generated narration and the planned on-screen words. With an uploaded recording, choose the language actually spoken in that recording. The available voice cards update for the selected language. Click the play icon to hear a sample before choosing. Voice Clone is available only where the chosen language and account support it; a Coming Soon state means it is not currently available for that selection. An imported narration recording uses your own voice instead of a generated preset.

4. Set the length and verify the credit estimate

In AI Topic, Target Duration asks TimaLens to plan the explanation for a length such as 30 seconds, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, or 15 minutes, or Auto. The maximum displayed depends on your access. A shorter lesson should keep fewer ideas and focus on one learning outcome; do not rely on truncating a longer script. In Exact Script or with recorded narration, the natural speech or recording length determines the runtime. The form estimates the cost in credits before creation; check this final figure rather than guessing from the duration buttons.

5. Decide on subtitles and music

Burn in subtitles puts captions into the exported MP4. New videos normally start with subtitles on, and the subtitle style can be changed or subtitles removed from the finished video without paying for new drawings or narration. If a board is busy, try a clearer style, another position, or turn captions off. Your video’s subtitle controls and preview are on its video page.

Background music is optional and starts at No music. Studio access exposes a library of ten documentary-style tracks with short descriptions and audio previews. Pick music only if it helps the lesson; keep the voice as the focus. A quiet lesson, technical explanation, or long list of new terms can work better without music.

6. Choose the visual format and drawing feel

Landscape (16:9) suits a course lesson, presentation, or standard YouTube video. Portrait (9:16) suits mobile-first vertical viewing when available to your account. Colour the drawings in adds flat colour inside the same black outlines; the scene is still drawn stroke by stroke. Drawing Hand Style offers Direct Ink, Cartoon Hand, Realistic Hand, and Stylus Hand where available. Direct Ink shows the line arriving without a hand in the frame; the other styles show the selected hand doing the drawing.

Camera between scenes controls the transition applied across scenes: Automatic, directional pans, zoom in or out, fade, eraser wipe, or no move. Automatic is a sensible first choice. You can adjust individual scenes later where the editor offers camera controls. The camera choice here is separate from the Produced “Camera inside a scene” option below.

7. Direct the Produced whiteboard video

How your video is directed is available on eligible accounts in the live creator. Its Beta badge refers to the direction controls, even though Produced is available to eligible customers. Each control offers Auto, On, and Off. Auto asks the AI to use an effect only where it clarifies the lesson. On requests it where the content supports it. Off keeps that optional effect out. These are creative directions, not a guarantee that an unsuitable scene will be forced into an effect.

Animated diagrams moves shapes to explain a process, comparison, or proof. Continuous board lets a connected diagram grow beyond one screen while the camera follows it; it matters mainly when an animated diagram is used. Camera inside a scene moves toward a spoken detail and can return to the whole board. Titles and chapters can add an opening title, section markers, and a recap where the narration has room for them.

For a straightforward whiteboard lesson, set these four controls to Off, choose No move between scenes, and decide separately whether captions, colour, music, and a visible hand help. This reduces the additional presentation and keeps attention on drawing plus narration. It does not change the project’s overall Produced mode to Classic: a Produced video may still use a brief white fade between scenes. For a longer lesson with sections or a process to explain, start with Auto and review the result.

8. Create, review, correct, and share

The Summary & Launch panel repeats the available balance, target or estimated runtime, estimated credit cost, format, and voice. Read it before selecting Create video. The numbers in the screenshot are an example from one account; your own balance, length cap, and estimate may differ. Creation then moves through planning, visuals, narration, animation, and final rendering. Wait for the video page to show a playable result.

Watch the finished video from start to end. If a visual is wrong, open Edit and correct that scene or replace its board with your own artwork. If the voice says the wrong thing, revise the narration where editing is available and rebuild. You can adjust subtitles, choose a different finished version in the video history, download the MP4, share it, or make a translation. A translated or rebuilt video belongs to the same video page as another version, so you can compare versions without searching for a separate project.

A useful first experiment

Bring one short lesson, one exact visual such as a photo or logo, and one concept that would benefit from a drawn explanation. Make a 1–2 minute AI Topic version first. Keep the format landscape, Produced controls on Auto, music off, and a voice you have previewed. Review what the AI chose. Then try Exact Script when you want precise wording, or set the Produced controls Off when you prefer a quieter board. The best choice is the one that makes the lesson easier to understand.