🎬 AutoShorts AI: The Automated Faceless Video Generator

AutoShorts AI is a fully automated Python pipeline that creates viral-style "Faceless" YouTube Shorts and TikToks from a single topic. It handles the entire production chain: researching, scriptwriting, voiceover generation, stock footage sourcing, and advanced video editing with transitions and avatar injection.

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✨ Key Features

• 🧠 Intelligent Scriptwriting: Uses Google Gemini 2.0 Flash to write engaging, "Edutainment" style scripts (Vox/Kurzgesagt style) with strict storytelling structures (Hook → Context → Mechanism → Twist).

• 🗣️ Human-Like Voiceovers: Integrated with Suno Bark (via Google Colab/Ngrok) for high-quality, expressive AI narration. Includes "Influencer Mode" for dynamic intonation.

• 🎞️ Dual-Visual System: Automatically searches and downloads two distinct stock videos per scene from Pexels, creating a dynamic "A/B Split" visual style to maximize viewer retention.

• ✂️ Advanced FFmpeg Editing:

• Smart Trimming: Syncs video perfectly to audio duration.

• A/B Splitting: Cuts every scene in half, switching visuals mid-sentence.

• Pro Transitions: Randomly applies xfade (fade, slide, wipes) between scenes.

• Silence Removal: Automatically trims dead air from AI voice generation.

• 🤖 Random Avatar Injection: Automatically inserts a custom "Avatar/Mascot" video into a random middle scene to build channel brand identity.

• 🪟 Windows Ready: Includes specific FFmpeg flags (yuv420p, faststart) to prevent corruption errors (0x80004005) on Windows Media Player.

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📂 Project Structure

Automated-YT-Shorts-AI/
│
├── assets/                  # Stores all media files
│   ├── audio_clips/         # Generated voiceovers (.wav)
│   ├── video_clips/         # Downloaded stock footage (.mp4)
│   ├── temp/                # Intermediate processing files
│   ├── final/               # 🏆 The Final Output Video lives here
│   └── avatar/              # ⚠️ PUT YOUR AVATAR VIDEO HERE
│       └── Professional_Girl_Animation_Video_Generation.mp4
│
├── modules/                 # Core Logic Modules
│   ├── brain.py             # AI Scriptwriter (Gemini)
│   ├── audio.py             # Voice Generator (Bark Client)
│   ├── asset_manager.py     # Pexels Downloader (Dual-Visual logic)
│   └── composer.py          # FFmpeg Video Editor (Stitching & Transitions)
│
├── main.py                  # Entry point (Orchestrator)
├── test_audio.py            # Diagnostic tool for Bark connection
└── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies

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🛠️ Prerequisites

1. Python 3.10+ installed.
2. FFmpeg installed and added to your system PATH.

• Windows: winget install ffmpeg (or download from ffmpeg.org).
• Verify: Type ffmpeg -version in your terminal.

3. API Keys:

• Google Gemini API Key (Free tier available).
• Pexels API Key (Free).
• Ngrok Auth Token (If running Bark on Colab).

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🚀 Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/AutoShorts-AI.git
cd AutoShorts-AI

2. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

(If requirements.txt is missing, install manually: pip install google-generativeai requests ffmpeg-python mutagen colorama)

3. Environment Setup

Create the required folders and add your avatar:

1. Create folder: assets/avatar
2. Place your avatar video inside and name it: Professional_Girl_Animation_Video_Generation.mp4

4. Configure API Keys

You can set them in your environment variables or hardcode them (temporarily) in the modules:

• modules/brain.py → genai.configure(api_key="YOUR_GEMINI_KEY")
• modules/asset_manager.py → self.api_key = "YOUR_PEXELS_KEY"
• modules/audio.py → Update raw_url with your active Ngrok/Colab link.

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🎮 How to Run

Step 1: Start the Audio Server (Bark)

Since Bark requires a GPU, we run it on Google Colab.

1. Open the Colab Notebook provided for this project.
2. Paste your Ngrok Token.
3. Run the cell.
4. Copy the https://xxxx.ngrok-free.app URL.
5. Paste this URL into modules/audio.py inside the AudioEngine class.

Step 2: Test Connection (Optional)

Run the test script to ensure your local machine can talk to the Cloud GPU.

python test_audio.py

If you see ✅ SUCCESS, you are ready.

Step 3: Generate Video

Run the main script:

python main.py

1. Enter a topic (e.g., "The Mystery of the Pyramids").
2. Wait for the AI to write the script, generate audio, download stock footage, and edit the video.
3. The final video will be saved in assets/final/final_short.mp4.

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🧩 Module Breakdown

brain.py ( The Writer)

• Input: Topic string.
• Logic: Prompts Gemini to create an 8-9 scene JSON script. It asks for two visual keywords per scene (visual_1, visual_2) to enable the A/B split effect.

audio.py (The Voice)

• Input: Text script.
• Logic: Sends text to the Colab server. Includes a "Confidence" setting (text_temp=0.7) to make the voice sound like an influencer.
• Post-Processing: Uses FFmpeg to trim silence and boost volume (2x).

asset_manager.py (The Librarian)

• Input: Visual keywords.
• Logic: Searches Pexels for Portrait (9:16) videos. Downloads pairs of videos for every scene. Handles fallbacks (if Video B is missing, reuse Video A).

composer.py (The Editor)

• Input: Audio files + Video files.
• Logic:
• Scene Processing: Cuts the scene duration in half. Plays Video A for the first half, Video B for the second half.
• Avatar Injection: Identifies a random "middle" scene (not hook/outro) and replaces the stock footage with your Avatar loop.
• Stitching: Merges all scenes using xfade transitions (wipes, slides).
• Rendering: Exports as yuv420p H.264 MP4 with faststart flags for maximum compatibility.

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⚠️ Troubleshooting

Q: The video is black or corrupt (0x80004005 error).

• Fix: This is usually a Windows codec issue. The updated composer.py forces pix_fmt='yuv420p'. Try opening the file with VLC Media Player.

Q: "Avatar file missing" error.

• Fix: Altough not needed, Ensure your folder structure is exactly assets/avatar/avatar.mp4.

Q: The audio is silent or fails.

• Fix: Your Ngrok tunnel likely expired. Restart the Colab cell and update the URL in audio.py.

Q: FFmpeg error "Exec format error" or "not found".

• Fix: Ensure FFmpeg is installed and accessible from your command line.

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📜 License

This project is open-source. Feel free to modify and build your own automation empire!