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AI history video maker

History videos, made from the archive.

Scenyn turns a moment in history into a narrated documentary: it reads up on the names, dates and places, then shows the newsreels, photographs, maps and timelines on the words that name them.

Real history, not stock footage

History is where the real picture matters most. When the narrator says “May 1927”, the viewer should see the 1927 newsreel, not a sepia filter over a modern clip. Scenyn searches public collections whose work may be reused before anything else: Internet Archive newsreels, the Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons, NASA and others.

Where no camera was there, it doesn’t pretend. It draws a period map that flies the route, a timeline of the dates the script names, or an AI animation in the video’s look, and real people are never given invented faces.

Researched before it’s written

Given a topic, Scenyn reads up first, so the narration stands on names, dates and places, and each step is there to look at before the next. Already written the story? Script to video voices it as written.

Where the footage comes from, and what its licences ask of you, is in our article on public domain archive footage.

How it works

  1. Pick a moment. Type a topic: an event, a battle, a disaster, a machine, a person's day. Pick the length, a voice, a look and the music.
  2. Research. It reads up first, so the narration stands on names, dates and places, then writes the script from what it found.
  3. Narration. Recorded in the voice you picked, on one track that knows the time of every word.
  4. Archive pictures. Newsreels and photographs first, then maps, timelines and AI animation, each pick checked against the words it sits under.
  5. Render. A 720p draft to check, then the final 1080p MP4 with captions, a licence report and a YouTube title, description and tags.

  • Archive first

    Real film and photographs of the event come before anything drawn or generated, from collections whose work may be reused.

  • Maps and timelines

    Period maps that fly the route and timelines drawn from the script's own dates, animated on the narration.

  • Faceless reconstructions

    For the moments no camera caught: 3D scenes and AI animation in your video's look, never a faked real person.

  • Every picture credited

    Source, author, licence and link for every photo and clip, in a licence report and a credits block.

Made with Scenyn, start to finish.

Whole videos it researched, wrote, narrated, pictured and rendered. Turn the sound on to hear the narration.

  • The Night Boston's Downtown Burned

    1872 photographs, lithographs and drawn ledgers

    1:10 film · picture credits

  • The Great Molasses Flood of 1919

    Press photographs and drawn motion graphics

    1:09 film · picture credits

  • The Field Radio Every German Infantry Company Carried in 1944

    Archive film, a paper cut-out look and an X-ray 3D model of the radio

    0:37 film · picture credits

  • The 1715 Treasure Fleet: How a Cannon Worked Before a Hurricane Sank Eleven Ships

    Cinematic CGI, a 3D model of the cannon and period paintings

    0:36 film · picture credits

Questions people ask.

Where does the historical footage come from?
From collections whose work may be reused: Internet Archive newsreels and films, the Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons, NASA and Openverse. Much of it is public domain; some is shared under Creative Commons licences. Stock libraries come last, only when nothing real fits the line.
Are the historical facts checked?
Scenyn researches a topic before it writes, and builds the narration on names, dates and places. Like any research it can get something wrong, so read the script and check the facts that matter before you publish.
Can I make war and military history videos?
Yes. Both world wars and many other conflicts left large public-domain film and photo collections, and Scenyn can add maps, timelines and 3D models of the machines involved. One of our showcase films is about the field radio a German infantry company carried in 1944.
Can I use the archive footage on YouTube?
Scenyn only uses pictures whose licence allows reuse, and every video lists them in a licence report. Some licences ask you to name the author, so paste the credits block into your description and read the credits before you publish. The copyright page has the details.
What does a history video cost?
Each video has one price in credits, by the minute: 10 credits a minute for Real footage or 60 for Mixed. You see the whole price before anything starts, retries are included, and videos shorter than 2 minutes are priced as 2. The pricing page has the plans.

Bring a topic, or your own script.

Scenyn researches, narrates, finds the pictures and renders the film, and you can change any shot before the final render.

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