Your first reel
Turn a topic into a short-form video, edit it, and render it — start to finish.
Reels are short-form vertical videos. Ikrames offers several formats; the fastest one for your first reel needs nothing but a topic.
Pick a format
Open Compose from the sidebar. The Compose studio has a command bar (type your brief) and a set of format cards:
| Format | You provide | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Scripted B-roll | A topic | The fastest start — auto script + auto B-roll, no avatar needed. |
| Talking-head | A short clip of you talking | A face-to-camera reel with auto captions. |
| Persona reel | A topic | An avatar speaks your script in your voice (needs a persona set up first). |
| Viral rebuild | A transcript of a viral video | Rebuilds its structure in your brand voice. |
Two more options sit as chips below the cards: Idea (plan a reel from an idea) and Clips (cut viral moments out of a long video you upload).
Reels come with the Pro plan. Creating, rendering, and dubbing a reel are unlocked from Pro upwards — below that the formats are visible but won't start, and the render minutes they'd count against are zero. Carousels and images are on every plan. See plans & credits.
Recommended first reel: Scripted B-roll. It works with zero setup — just a topic. Persona reels are more impressive but require a default avatar and voice first (Brand Settings ▸ Persona, and the Voices library). Ikrames will point you there if you pick Persona before you're ready.
Generate it
- On Compose, choose Scripted B-roll.
- Type your topic into the brief (for example, "3 mistakes first-time founders make with pricing").
- Submit. Ikrames writes a script in your brand voice, selects B-roll, and starts assembling the reel.
Your reel appears right away in your Reels library with a generating status while it's built — you don't have to wait on a blank screen. Generating a reel spends credits; the estimate is shown before you commit.
Edit before you render
Open the reel from Library ▸ Reels. It opens in the reel editor — one fullscreen surface with panels down the side:
- Transcript — fix a mis-transcribed word, or strike words to cut time out of the reel (a shorter reel also counts fewer render minutes).
- Captions — pick one of the burned-in caption styles, with a live mini-preview.
- Footage — swap the B-roll behind each line.
- Music — choose a track and volume, and set the sound-design level (off / subtle / full).
- Story — tag each scene (hook / build / payoff) to drive pacing and sound effects.
Use the preview player in the editor to watch the current version — this is free and doesn't count render minutes.
Render and finish
Reels stop at a ready-to-render checkpoint so you never start a render you didn't mean to. When you're happy with the preview:
- Click Release / Render in the editor's Export panel.
- Rendering costs no credits and produces the final MP4. It counts the reel's length against your plan's monthly render minutes; the button shows that length, for example "Render (0:18 min)". Render minutes are included from the Pro plan — see plans & credits.
- From the Export panel you can download the MP4, force a re-render, or send it toward publishing.
Want it in another language? Once a reel is rendered you can dub it into several languages from the Export panel. Dubbing spends credits and needs your own ElevenLabs key — on Ikrames' shared voice account it's still marked coming soon. See the reel editor.
Next: make your first carousel →, or jump to publishing & scheduling →.