Understanding Animation and Advanced Settings in Long Stories

Overview

Long Stories offers multiple animation modes and a set of advanced controls that affect how your video moves, sounds, and renders. You don't need to touch most of these on day one — but understanding what they do helps you make smarter choices as your projects get more serious.

Animation Modes

Animation mode controls the quality and depth of motion applied to your visuals. There are typically three levels:

Storyboard Only

• Generates static frames — no animation or movement
• Fastest output, lowest credit cost
• Use this to check shot compositions, character placements, and visual flow before committing to full animation
• Think of it as a low-cost preview pass

When to use: Any time you want to validate an idea before rendering a full video.

Fast

• Applies basic animation and motion to your visuals
• Faster to generate than Pro, good for iterating quickly
• Quality is solid for drafts, social content, and frequent posting workflows
• A good default for most everyday content

When to use: Regular content, drafts, or any time speed matters more than premium quality.

Pro (High Quality)

• Applies detailed motion, smoother transitions, and higher consistency
• Takes longer to generate and uses more credits
• Best for final versions of episodes, trailers, or any content you're proud to publish

When to use: Final renders only — when you've validated the storyboard and are confident in the script, characters, and style.

Recommended Workflow

1. Storyboard — validate compositions and visual feel
2. Fast — check how the story flows with animation
3. Pro — final render when you're satisfied

This three-step approach saves credits and time. Don't go straight to Pro on untested scripts.

Advanced Settings

These options give finer control over specific behaviors. They're optional and you can leave them at defaults for your first several videos.

Animation Model

• Different models handle motion and style differently
• Some are better suited to 3D content, others to flat animation
• If the default model isn't producing the motion style you want, try an alternative

Lip Sync

• Controls how closely character mouth movements match the narration
• Tighter lip sync = more realistic but sometimes harder to achieve on stylized characters
• If lip sync looks off, this is the setting to adjust

Sound Effects (SFX)

• Toggles automatic sound effects layered over the video (footsteps, ambient noise, action sounds)
• Can add life to scenes or feel distracting depending on content type
• For clean explainers or quiet storytelling, consider reducing or disabling SFX

Other Controls Worth Knowing

Aspect Ratio

• 16:9 (horizontal) — YouTube, widescreen, desktop
• 9:16 (vertical) — TikTok, Reels, Shorts, mobile-first content
• Set this before generating — changing it after means re-rendering

Auto-Walk / Character Movement

• Automatically animates characters walking or moving through scenes
• Useful for dynamic storytelling
• Disable if you want composed, still shots or more cinematic framing

Captions

• Covered in the voice and captions article, but available in the same settings panel
• Keep on for any public-facing content

When to Touch Advanced Settings

Leave at defaults when:

• You're on your first few videos
• You haven't validated your script and storyboard yet
• You're testing a new universe or character

Adjust when:

• Lip sync looks noticeably wrong on a specific character
• The motion style doesn't match your universe's feel
• You're finalizing a polished episode and want maximum quality

Change one advanced setting at a time. That way you know what actually made a difference.

Quick Reference

Updated on: 16/03/2026