Talking head video in After Effects with AI
You can edit a talking head video in After Effects with AI: ChatGPT, Claude or any MCP client connected to Prism transcribes the take, then builds captions, icon cards, cuts and punch-ins in your open comp as editable layers.
The YouTube edit is a recipe: cut the pauses, punch in on a new sentence, caption every word, land a graphic on the keyword, add a whoosh. Every tool that does it renders an MP4 you cannot open; here every piece stays a layer.
What lands
Built in After Effects through Prism from real footage, as a sequence of asks, not one prompt:
| Element | What it is in the comp |
|---|---|
| Captions | one text layer per word group, timed to the transcript, at chest level, the keyword in a second colour |
| Icon cards | near-black cards with a white icon, rising to land on the spoken word with motion blur and a shimmer sweep, then floating out |
| Cuts and reframes | the footage split at the pauses, punch-ins as scale and position keyframes, a snap on each new sentence |
| Sound | sound effects on cue markers, one per card and cut |
What you say, and what lands
| You type | What appears in your comp |
|---|---|
| "Captions at chest level, three words at a time, Inter-Bold, white with a dark stroke, the keyword in orange." | One text layer per group, in and out on the words, a text animator on the keyword |
| "On 'audience', 'budget' and 'seven', land a black card with a white icon on the word: rise in over 9 frames with an 8% overshoot, motion blur on, a shimmer sweep, hold, then drop." | Three shape-layer cards with icon precomps, position keyframes, comp motion blur, a Merge Paths shimmer |
| "Cut every pause longer than 0.4 s and punch in 12% at the start of each sentence." | The footage split on the gaps between words, scale and position keyframes on each punch-in |
| "A whoosh on every card and a click on every cut." | Audio layers placed at the cue markers |
Test it on your own project. A Free account is enough to start: Sign up, then connect your AI and ask for this.
How to do it
[Transcript] guide layer with a marker per word appears above it.YouTube, Shorts and LinkedIn
| Style | Frame | Captions | Graphics | Cutting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 16:9 | chest level, three or four words | cards in the empty third | pauses cut, a punch-in per sentence |
| Shorts | 9:16, face lower so the top third is clear | bigger, one to three words | cards above the head, never over the face | tighter, every gap over 0.2 s |
| 1:1 or 4:5 | full sentences, calmer | a title card and a logo | fewer cuts, no snaps |
What it needs
| After Effects | 2024, 2025 or 2026, macOS or Windows |
| AI client | any MCP client: ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and others |
| Plan | Pro with a Prism AI balance for the transcription; captions, cards and cuts use MCP actions |
What it does not do
It does not remove silences on its own: a pause is cut where you ask, using the gaps between words in the transcript. Nothing tracks the face; a punch-in is scale and position keyframes around a point you name.
Common questions
Related
Recreate a reference
Recreate an animation in After Effects with AI: show ChatGPT or Claude the reference, a video, GIF or Dribbble shot, and it lands in your comp as editable layers.
Explainer video
Explainer video in After Effects with AI: paste the script and each sentence becomes a scene of shape-layer icons and text in your comp, timed to your voiceover.