Your first movie
This is the shortest possible Popcorn walkthrough. About five minutes from “I’m new here” to “I have a finished video”.
Step 1 — Sign in
Section titled “Step 1 — Sign in”Open popcorn.co and sign in with Google. New accounts are created automatically and start with free trial credits.
Step 2 — Pick a starting point (or type your own)
Section titled “Step 2 — Pick a starting point (or type your own)”On the home screen you’ll see a row of starting points: Clip a Viral Video, Social Media Short, Product Promo, Music Video, URL to Movie, Reaction Video, Podcast to Video, Influencer Marketing Ad, Educational Video.
Click one and the chat input prefills with a strong prompt template you can edit. Or just type your own:
A 15-second cinematic shot of a fox running through a misty forest at sunrise.
Step 3 — Set the format (optional)
Section titled “Step 3 — Set the format (optional)”Below the input you’ll see controls for:
- Orientation — vertical, horizontal, or square.
- Duration — 6, 15, 30, 60 seconds, or auto.
- Style — visual style preset.
- Quality — Budget, Standard, Pro, Master, Experimental, Highest.
Defaults are good. Tweak only if you have a specific need.
Step 4 — Send it
Section titled “Step 4 — Send it”Press Enter (or click the send arrow). Popcorn creates a project, takes you to the Movie Chat, and Popp starts working.
Step 5 — Watch it come together
Section titled “Step 5 — Watch it come together”The right-hand panel updates live as Popp produces each piece:
- Storyboard — key frames for each shot
- Production — generated video clips
- Narration — generated voice
- Music — background score
- Output — the final composited video
The whole thing usually takes 2–10 minutes for a short.
Step 6 — React, refine, finalize
Section titled “Step 6 — React, refine, finalize”When the first cut is ready, watch it. If something’s off, tell Popp:
- “Make the lighting warmer.”
- “Re-do the last shot.”
- “Swap the music for something more upbeat.”
Each request becomes a new turn. See Iterating on your movie.
Step 7 — Download or publish
Section titled “Step 7 — Download or publish”Once you’re happy, hit the ⬇ Download button in the header to grab the file, or 📤 Publish to push it to:
- Popcorn (a public page on popcorn.co)
- YouTube (if you’ve connected a YouTube account to a channel)
- A channel as the next episode
That’s it. You made a movie.
Where to go next
Section titled “Where to go next”- Movie types — what else Popcorn can produce.
- @-mentions — reuse characters and sets across movies.
- Channels — automate publishing.