anything2explainer

Anything2Explainer

Transform any topic into animated explainer videos with TTS voiceover, subtitles, and chapter progress bars. Bilingual support (Chinese/English).

Source

• GitHub: https://github.com/Vincentwei1021/anything2explainer
• Stars: ~711 (2026-09)
• License: PolyForm Noncommercial (commercial use requires license)

Trigger Conditions

• Need to convert technical concepts into visual videos
• Need to generate educational/science popularization explainer videos
• Need batch generation of topic introduction videos
• Process both Chinese and English content

Core Features

Full Pipeline Automation

1. Research — scrape and synthesize information from web sources
2. Script — generate structured script with chapters
3. Storyboard — create visual descriptions for each scene
4. Render — generate frames using Remotion
5. QC — quality check and refine output

Bilingual Support

• Chinese and English prompts and output
• TTS voiceover in both languages (edge-tts / kokoro)
• Subtitle generation for both languages

Technical Stack

• Framework: Remotion (React + TypeScript)
• Rendering: Frame-by-frame code-drawn animations
• Voice: edge-tts or kokoro for TTS
• Output: 1-3 minute videos, 1-3 hours generation time

Installation

# Prerequisites
npm install -g remotion
npm install

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/Vincentwei1021/anything2explainer.git
cd anything2explainer
npm install

Usage

# Generate video from topic
npx remotion render src/index.ts AnyTopic --props '{"topic":"Quantum Computing"}'

# With Chinese content
npx remotion render src/index.ts AnyTopic --props '{"topic":"量子计算简介"}'

# Batch generation
node scripts/batch-generate.js topics.json

Project Structure

anything2explainer/
├── src/
│   ├── components/     # Remotion components
│   ├── steps/          # Pipeline steps (research, script, storyboard)
│   └── index.ts        # Entry point
├── scripts/
│   ├── batch-generate.js
│   └── qc-check.js
└── package.json

Pitfalls

• License restriction — PolyForm Noncommercial; contact author for commercial use
• Generation time — 1-3 minutes video takes 1-3 hours to render
• Node.js required — must have Node.js 18+ and FFmpeg installed
• TTS quality — edge-tts free tier has limits; consider paid TTS for production
• Memory usage — rendering large projects may require 8GB+ RAM

Verification

# Quick test with simple topic
npx remotion render src/index.ts Test --props '{"topic":"Hello World"}' --length 1

# Check output
ls output/

References

• GitHub: https://github.com/Vincentwei1021/anything2explainer
• Remotion Docs: https://docs.remotion.dev/