Dreaming of YouTube: HeyGen, ElevenLabs, and Finding My Format
Blog post #32
The YouTube dream is back. Not for the first time, and probably not the last — but this time it feels more concrete.
It started with a blog post I came across about using HeyGen, ElevenLabs, Claude Code, and a video editor together. I’ve always liked both HeyGen and ElevenLabs a lot, but never really used them that much. Partly because the use cases haven’t quite fit, and partly because they sit on the more expensive side of the AI stack. And honestly, it’s not been the area I’ve been focused on.
That’s starting to change.
Two ideas
The long-term one: Build genuinely useful content for parents of young kids who want to get better with AI. Think simple guides for how to get started with interactive bedtime stories — where the kids choose how the story goes, and get custom images generated along the way. That’s the kind of content I’d actually want to watch. Practical, warm, and a little magical.
The format experiment: Take my favorite YouTube format — Three Minute Board Games — and apply it to AI tools. Short, standardized walkthroughs. Today, out on a walk, I sketched out a solid format together with Gemini. I want to test it on a few different tools or sites. It just needs licenses and the willingness to actually start.
The thing that’s holding me back
The visual side. Getting the look right.
My gut says the answer isn’t to automate it or let AI handle it. It’s to make material I’m genuinely proud of — roll up my sleeves and do it myself. That’s the only way to build something that feels like me.
Time to stop theorizing and start creating.
— Stefan