Workshop
Anyone can make a videobook: a public-domain book, a voice, and paper pictures, page by page. Learn how it works and explore the Skill for Claude. Submissions are currently closed.
How to make a videobook
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Choose a public-domain book
In the EU, a text enters the public domain when its author died more than 70 years ago, meaning 1955 or earlier as of 2026. Translations, modern editions, and music have their own rights. More on that below.
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Prepare the text
Old printed editions, Wikisource, Projekt Gutenberg, or the Deutsches Textarchiv are good starting points. Divide the text into book pages, with page breaks at the ends of sentences or paragraphs.
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Find a voice
Use a natural-sounding AI voice, such as ElevenLabs Eleven v4, or your own. Add performance directions sparingly, only where the tone shifts. You need a timestamp for every spoken word.
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Pages and ink
Landscape, 16:9, like a film. The book rests on a table that suits the work, and the text appears like ink as the voice reads. The camera follows the writing, pulls back as the page turns, and moves in again on the next page.
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Paper pictures
On every page, at least one small window opens, with a paper collage showing the story as it unfolds. It then stays on the page as an illustration.
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Sound and film
Add the rustle of pages, with music only at moving moments. Render in 4K and record the start time of each page. Submissions are currently closed.
The Videobook Production Toolkit
A portable skill with production guidance, 29 scripts and production tools, the metadata schema, and a ready-made 7.5-second intro. The included documentation is in German.
A videobook is an ordered episode series: one actual book chapter per episode, or a single episode for a short story. Pages remain timestamp markers within each episode. The German guide explains stable book and episode identities and separate approval for public release. Multi-episode orchestration is not automated; render individual episodes with the existing pipeline.
Additional render assets required. This is a production toolkit, not a standalone book-rendering project. Supply a compatible Remotion book-rendering project, fonts, paper textures, and film sound effects separately. Layout and scene-toolkit sources are included for integration into that project. Read buchfilm/references/anforderungen.md before use. No credentials are included.
Install
- Claude app
- Enable code execution in settings, then upload a Skill under “Skills” and select the ZIP file.
- Claude Code
- Extract the ZIP so that the file is at
~/.claude/skills/buchfilm/SKILL.md. - Get started
- Start by checking the included requirements against your own rendering project, assets, and authorized service connections. Then choose a public-domain work and begin with one chapter.
Submit a videobook
Submissions are currently closed. This read-only preview does not accept text, contact details, or file uploads.
The format: videobook.json
This file describes the videobook: the work, rights, voice, and the time in seconds at which each book page begins in each chapter video. It provides the player’s page bar and the chapters on YouTube.
View example
{
"format": "videobook/1",
"title": "Vor dem Gesetz",
"author": { "name": "Franz Kafka", "born": 1883, "died": 1924 },
"language": "de",
"translation": null,
"text_source": { "label": "Ein Landarzt (1920)", "url": "https://…" },
"rights": { "basis": "Public domain in the EU: Franz Kafka died in 1924." },
"narration": { "voice": "Daniel", "engine": "ElevenLabs Eleven v4" },
"chapters": [
{
"n": 1,
"title": "Vor dem Gesetz",
"video": { "duration": 312.4 },
"pages": [
{ "n": 1, "start": 14.2, "incipit": "Vor dem Gesetz steht ein Türhüter." },
{ "n": 2, "start": 71.8, "incipit": "Als der Türhüter das merkt, lacht er …" }
]
}
]
}Rights at a glance
- The text: In the EU, copyright lasts for the author’s life plus 70 years, counted from the end of the year of death. In 2026, works by authors who died in 1955 or earlier are in the public domain. From January 1, 2027, this also applies to authors who died in 1956, such as Bertolt Brecht.
- Translations are separate works with their own copyright terms. Dostojewski is in the public domain, but many German translations of his work are not. Use a public-domain translation or translate the work yourself.
- Modern editions: Prefaces and annotations are protected, and scholarly editions are often protected for another 25 years. Old printed editions are the safest option.
- Recordings, music, and images have their own rights. Do not use someone else’s audiobook recording; for music, the composition and recording have separate rights.
- AI tools: Check whether your tools’ terms of use allow publication.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. In borderline cases, ask someone with the relevant expertise to check.