Using Claude for videos
Sunshine Coast 2025 rainfall¶
In this attempt an an Explainer video, I went very hands-on, detailing the visual aspects (view from sea looking west, the initial land grid size (initially 10Km, Claude suggested 5Km), the animation phases (topography rising and color coding, towns to show, waterways to show). I asked for a rain-falling sound track - not totally happy with it, a bit too windy. I think I pause too long on the still frames between each animation phase.
from IPython.display import Video
Video("images/SunshineCoast_Rainfall_2025-v2.mp4", width=600)
Claude's version: Sunshine Coast 2025 rainfall¶
In this version, I left it all the Claude, after asking for an animation explaining 2025 rainfall on the Sunshine Coast. I did insist on an Australian voice-over (I used Microsoft Edge Text-to-Speech). One technique I should have used in my own video was use of different animation speed, to show key events.
The rain track is better too: overall, a much more impressive video. Note that left to its own choices, Claude went for a classic North-at-the-Top style map, and didn't emphasise the topography, although that was one of the parts of the story it told.
from IPython.display import Video
Video("images/SunshineCoast_Rainfall_2025_Alfred.mp4", width=600)
Spreadsheet into video¶
Being a farmers son, I have been collecting rainfall data from my rain gauge in Coolum for a while now. I process the data in an iPad, but have used the data to learn more about plotnine
Plotnine rainfall graphs (Part 2)
Plotnine rainfall graphs (Part1 )
see also: Getting Historical Monthly Rainfall Data
I ask Claude to create a video that explained Coolum's rainfall to a newcomer, giving it the iPad spreadsheet to read. I think it did a good job. It did reuse some of my iPad graphics, but then again, using a bar chart or a line chart isn't really stealing my ideas. The style and color choices were all its own. I had a few charts showing rain by quarter, which Claude ignored.
from IPython.display import Video
Video("images/Coolum_Rainfall_Explainer.mp4", width=600)
Eco-video¶
I once did a blog post on the eco-history of my coastal dune weeding patch
Then I asked Claude to rework the analysis with as much image enhancement as it could use
The final result is An eco-history in images, revisited
Finally, I asked Claude to create a video based on the blog post it created.
from IPython.display import Video
Video("images/StumersCreek_explainer.mp4", width=600)
Water probe guide¶
I created a explainer video to do a deep dive on how water quality physical parameters are defined, measured, and their significance
Go to Water Monitoring for background, and click on "Reading the Water", or go to
For the latter video, I gave Claude the probe manual, the Ecollaboration website, and the various Queensland government sites that held standards information. Again, I think it did a good job. Although I always ask for a script, and key stills in a storyboard to approve, I rarely change these
Conclusions¶
I enjoyed making these videos, although it took a little while to learn to specify what I wanted, not how to create what I wanted.