Animation Machine / MCP server / Make videos with Claude
GUIDE · CLAUDE.AI · CLAUDE CODE

How to make videos
with Claude

Claude can design a slick animated intro, explainer or social clip in seconds, as code. This guide shows how to turn that into a finished MP4 with music, voiceover and captions, right inside the chat.

Start the 5-minute setupPrompts that work

Why Claude needs a little help with video

Ask Claude for "an animated intro for my podcast" and you'll get beautiful HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Claude writes animation code very well, with GSAP timelines, CSS keyframes and canvas effects. What it can't do on its own is play that animation back, record it frame by frame, mix in a music track, add a narrator, burn in captions and hand you an MP4 sized for TikTok.

That last mile is what the Animation Machine MCP server does. Once connected, Claude gets a set of tools: preview a frame, render, search music, add a voiceover, check the job. You stay in the conversation, and Claude does the clicking.

Step by step

Make your first video with Claude

Connect Animation Machine

claude.ai → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector. Paste https://animation-machine.com/mcp, click Connect, sign in, Allow. (Claude Code: see below.)

Describe the video

Say what it's for, how long, the style, any text, and where it will be posted. "9:16 for TikTok and 16:9 for YouTube" is all it takes.

Get your MP4

Claude previews a frame, fixes anything off, renders with music or voiceover, and gives you a download link, a share page and an "edit in Studio" link.

Claude Code

Making videos from Claude Code

Claude Code is perfect for videos that live next to your code: product demos, README GIFs, release announcements, data recaps generated from a script. Add the server once:

claude mcp add --transport http animation-machine https://animation-machine.com/mcp

Run /mcp, choose Authenticate and sign in. Then ask things like:

  • "Read CHANGELOG.md and make a 12-second release-notes video for v2.4, 16:9 and 1:1."
  • "Turn ./animations/hero into an MP4 with the lofi track you like."
  • "Upload demo.mov, add captions and my logo from assets/logo.png, and give me a 9:16 version."

Local files go up through a one-time upload link the tool creates, so nothing needs to be public.

Prompts

Prompts that make great videos

Specific beats clever. Give Claude the purpose, length, look and platform.

Podcast introMake a 6-second intro for my podcast "Small Bets": warm cream background, the title types on, a waveform pulses under it. Add a short upbeat sting and render 16:9.
Launch teaserCreate an 8-second teaser for our app launch on Nov 3: dark, bold, three quick text beats ("Faster." "Simpler." "Nov 3."), then the logo. Render 9:16 and 1:1 with energetic music.
Explainer with voiceWrite a 30-second animated explainer of compound interest using a growing bar chart. Add a calm voiceover reading the script and captions. Render 16:9.
Weekly numbersHere are this week's stats: signups 1,240 (+18%), churn 2.1%, MRR $48k. Make a 12-second animated recap card for LinkedIn, 1:1.
Quote for socialUse the quote template with: "The best way to predict the future is to build it." Gold accent, 7 seconds, 9:16, soft piano music.
Finish my clipI'm uploading interview.mp4. Burn in bold captions, add "@buildnotes" in the corner and an end card "New episodes every Tuesday".
Tips

Tips for animations that render perfectly

Ask Claude to preview first

A still frame from the middle and end of the animation catches overlapping text, cut-off titles and wrong colors before you spend a render.

Let it declare the length

Animations driven by a GSAP timeline or CSS animations are measured automatically. For canvas or custom loops, Claude can add const TOTAL = 10 or pass a duration.

Design for the shape

Tell Claude the aspect ratios up front. It can size text with viewport units so one animation looks right in 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1.

Keep it self-contained

Inline CSS and JS, libraries from a CDN, fonts from Google Fonts. Multi-file projects work too, sent as files or a zip.

Options

Ways to get video out of Claude

Export from ClaudeClaude Code + RemotionClaude + Animation Machine
SetupNoneNode, React, a Remotion projectPaste one URL
Music & voiceoverNoYou wire it upBuilt in
Captions (16 languages)NoYou wire it upBuilt in
16:9 + 9:16 + 1:1 at onceNoManualOne request
Finish an existing videoNoManualYes
Works in claude.ai, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursorclaude.aiClaude CodeAll of them

Already have an animation exported from Claude Design or saved as HTML? Drop it in the converter, no chat needed.

FAQ

Questions

Can Claude make videos?
Claude writes animation code very well. Connected to a renderer like Animation Machine, it can turn that code into a real MP4 or GIF with music, voiceover and captions, without you leaving the chat.
Is this AI-generated footage?
No. Claude writes the animation as code and we render it exactly, so your text, colors and timing are precise and on-brand. It's motion graphics, not a text-to-video model inventing pixels.
Which Claude plan do I need?
Custom connectors are available on Claude's paid plans and in Claude Code. Animation Machine is $5/month, with 200 renders a month shared between the website and your AI apps.
How long can the videos be?
Animations rendered from Claude can be up to 60 seconds, GIFs up to 15 seconds, and videos you upload to finish up to 3 minutes, at up to 1080p. For longer or 4K work, open the render in Studio or use the web app.
Can I edit the video after Claude renders it?
Yes. Every render comes with an "open in Studio" link that loads it into our in-browser editor for trims, extra text, music changes and more.

Turn Claude into your video studio

$5/month · connect from your account menu → AI agents (MCP)

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