Make.com Whiteboard Video Automation: 5 Scenarios

Automate narrated whiteboard videos in Make: install the KolaVid app, connect an API key, and copy five scenarios for feeds, sheets, Slack, Drive and email.

To make whiteboard videos automatically in Make, install the KolaVid app in your Make organization, connect it with a KolaVid API key, and add the Make a Whiteboard Video module after any trigger: a new RSS item, a WordPress post, a new spreadsheet row. A second scenario that starts with Watch Finished Videos collects each video when it is ready and passes it on to Slack, Gmail or Google Drive.

The KolaVid app is installed through an invitation link for now, not from Make's public app list. Below: setup, the four modules, five scenarios to copy, and fixes for the errors you are most likely to see.

The four KolaVid modules

The point that shapes every scenario: a video takes a few minutes to make, and Make a Whiteboard Video does not wait. It returns the Video ID, a Status, Created at, an Open in KolaVid link and a Status URL (API). You pick the finished video up later, either with a second scenario or with Get a Video.

Set it up

1. Install the app. Open the KolaVid invitation link for Make while signed in to Make, and install it in your organization.
2. Create an API key. In KolaVid, go to Account, API keys, and make a key. It starts with `kv_live_` and is shown only once, so copy it.
3. Create the connection. In a scenario, add any KolaVid module, click to add a connection, and paste the key into API Key.
4. Fill in the module and run once. A test run makes a real video and uses real credits, so choose a 1-minute Length while testing.

Make a Whiteboard Video: the fields

• Topic or instructions: what to explain and for whom, such as `Explain our refund policy to new customers`.
• Text to explain: an article, notes, a lesson or a script.
• Web page URL: a public article, blog post or help page for KolaVid to read.
• Length: 1 to 5 minutes, 2 by default. Free accounts make videos up to 2 minutes.
• Shape: Landscape 16:9 (YouTube, lessons), Vertical 9:16 (Reels, TikTok, Shorts) or Square 1:1.
• Narration language: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swahili and others. Empty means English.

Give at least one of the first three. A topic plus a text, or a topic plus a page, gives the best results, because the topic steers how the material is explained. Use the text or the page in one module, not both.

Five scenarios to copy

1. RSS feed to video

The classic: every new article becomes a short explainer.

• RSS: Watch RSS feed items (your blog's feed)
• KolaVid: Make a Whiteboard Video
• Web page URL: the item's URL
• Topic or instructions: `A short summary of this article for busy readers. Explain the main idea with one example, then say where to read the full piece.`
• Length: 2. Shape: Vertical 9:16 for social, Landscape 16:9 for YouTube.

WordPress works the same way: use WordPress's module that watches new posts and map the post link. If the videos are headed for YouTube, our guide to whiteboard explainers for YouTube covers titles, length and frame.

2. Spreadsheet of procedures to training videos

• Google Sheets: Watch new rows (columns: Title, Steps, Audience, Language)
• KolaVid: Make a Whiteboard Video
• Topic or instructions: `Training video for {{Audience}}: {{Title}}. Why it matters, the steps in order, the most common mistake.`
• Text to explain: the Steps column
• Narration language: the Language column

KolaVid makes one video at a time per account. If a row arrives while another video is still being made, KolaVid answers "too many requests" and Make reports a rate limit error. The simplest fix is to let the trigger take one row per run and schedule the scenario every 15 minutes or so. The training page shows sample videos made from procedures like these.

3. Finished videos to Slack

• KolaVid: Watch Finished Videos (Limit: 10)
• Slack: Create a Message
• Text: `New video: {{Title}} ({{Length (minutes)}} min). Download: {{Video file URL (MP4)}}`

When you first run it, Make asks where to start. Choose to start from now on, or older finished videos will all be posted at once. The trigger fires for every finished video in your account, including ones you make by hand on kolavid.com; add a filter after it if you only want some.

4. Finished videos saved to Google Drive

• KolaVid: Watch Finished Videos
• HTTP: Get a file, URL: Video file URL (MP4)
• Google Drive: Upload a file, using the file from the HTTP module
• Optional: Gmail: Send an email with the Drive link to the person who asked for the video

The MP4 link needs no sign-in but works for 24 hours only. Saving the file gives you a copy that does not expire. Share link is only filled in when you have shared the video in the KolaVid app, so do not rely on it for automatic emails.

5. One scenario that waits for its own video

If you would rather keep everything in one scenario:

• Trigger of your choice
• KolaVid: Make a Whiteboard Video
• Tools: Sleep for a few minutes
• KolaVid: Get a Video, Video ID mapped from the first KolaVid module
• Filter: Status equals `completed`
• The step that sends or stores the video

Get a Video returns Status (queued, making, completed or failed), Progress (%), Title, the MP4, thumbnail and share links, and Error when a video failed. A two-scenario setup is sturdier, since it does not depend on guessing how long a video takes.

Make an API Call: two uses

The universal module takes the part of the address after `https://kolavid.com/api/v1` and adds your key itself.

• Check credits before a batch. URL `/me`, method GET. It returns your email, credits and plan. Add a filter so the rest of the scenario only runs when credits are 120 or more, enough for a 2-minute video.
• Pick a voice. The Make a Whiteboard Video module has no voice field. With URL `/videos`, method POST and a body such as `{"prompt": "How tides work", "length_minutes": 2, "voice": "male"}`, you can choose the male voice or a named one. The developer docs list every field.

Credits, limits and privacy

• A video uses 60 credits per minute, charged when it is finished. A failed video costs nothing.
• A free KolaVid account has 120 credits, one 2-minute video. Paid plans are on the pricing page.
• One video is made at a time per account; one key can send up to 60 requests a minute.
• Videos land in your KolaVid library, the same as the ones you make in the app.
• The API key acts as your account. Make hides it in its logs. If you think a key has leaked, revoke it under Account, API keys; it stops working at once.

Troubleshooting

• "KolaVid didn't accept the API key." Create a new key and update the KolaVid connection in Make.
• "Your KolaVid account doesn't have enough video minutes." Ask for a shorter video, or add minutes on the pricing page.
• "KolaVid couldn't use these settings." The message names the field. Common causes: both Text and Web page URL filled in, or a page KolaVid could not read.
• "KolaVid is getting a lot of requests from this account." Another video is being made. Space the runs out (scenario 2).

FAQ

Do I need a paid Make or KolaVid plan?

You need a KolaVid account and an API key. Free KolaVid accounts can make videos up to 2 minutes with their 120 credits. Which Make plan you need depends on how often your scenarios run.

Can one scenario make videos in several languages?

Yes, by mapping Narration language from your data, one video per row or item. Because videos are made one at a time, run them in turn rather than all at once.

Is there a Zapier version?

Yes, with the same building blocks. Our overview of all the ways to use KolaVid covers Zapier, the API and the chat apps.

Try it with one feed

Start with scenario 1 on your own blog feed and a 1-minute length. When the first video appears in your library, add scenario 3 so your team sees each new one without asking.

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