Video Modes

A Video Mode decides how your AI Video Lecture teaches. The same PDF, the same topic, the same notes — re-taught six different ways. Where the length tier controls how long the lecture runs, the mode controls how it looks, feels, and sounds.

You pick a mode in the customize step of the video lecture creator, right after you choose your source material. The picker is a 2×3 grid with Auto as the default. Your last choice is remembered for next time.

Why Modes Exist

Different material — and different moments — call for different teaching. A dense proof is best on a whiteboard. A historical event sticks better as a story. A topic you're explaining to a younger learner wants simple words and a gentle pace. Instead of one fixed lecture style, you choose the teacher that fits the subject, the student, and the moment.

If a lecture doesn't land the way you hoped, switching the mode and regenerating is often a bigger improvement than tweaking the prompt.

The Six Modes

Auto (default)

Let Scholarly choose. Auto reads your source material and picks the mode that fits it best — switching to Math for a calculus chapter, Storybook for a history reading, Kids for a children's book, Doodle for a big-picture overview, or Standard when it's a general topic. Pick this when you're not sure which mode to use, and you'll usually get a great-looking video without having to think about it.

Standard

A calm, editorial lecture. Clean diagram-style scenes, a warm paper background, serif headlines, and steady narration. Standard is the best all-rounder when you want a topic explained properly and you don't want any stylistic surprises.

Math

Animated whiteboard derivations. Math mode works each step in front of you — equations build up line by line with proper mathematical typography, and derivations, plots, and geometric figures animate as the narrator reasons through them. Best for calculus, physics, statistics, and any STEM topic where the working matters as much as the answer.

Storybook

Narrative and illustrated. Storybook mode turns your material into a story — characters, a setting, a beginning-middle-end — with warm illustrations carrying each scene. Especially good for history, literature, biology processes, and any topic that's easier to remember as a sequence of events than a list of facts.

Kids

Bright, playful, and built for ages 5–12. Kids mode uses simple words, cheerful visuals, and a gentle pace. Reach for it when you're explaining something to a younger sibling or learner — or when you just want a topic stripped all the way down to its simplest form.

Doodle

Hand-drawn sketch-notes that build up on screen as the narrator explains. Doodle mode feels like watching a teacher fill a notebook page in real time — clean line art, arrows connecting ideas, and concept maps that grow with the explanation. Great for big-picture topics, processes, trade-offs, and any time you want the "shape" of an idea to land visually rather than as dense text.

Mode Availability

Every Video Mode is available on every plan. Modes are separate from the length tier you choose: free accounts can use any mode at the Quick Recap length, while paid plans unlock longer Standard and Deep Dive videos. See Plans and Limits for the full breakdown of daily AI creation limits and which video lengths each plan can generate.

Picking the Right Mode

• Not sure where to start? Leave it on Auto — it picks the mode that fits your material.
• Learning a general topic for the first time? Standard.
• Working through proofs, equations, or derivations? Math.
• Studying history, literature, or a process you can tell as a story? Storybook.
• Explaining a topic to a child — or want it as simple as possible? Kids.
• Want the big-picture shape of an idea — relationships, trade-offs, a concept map? Doodle.

Not sure? Generate the same topic in two modes and compare — short lectures are quick to re-run, and the difference between modes is dramatic.

Modes and the Rest of the Lecture

Choosing a mode doesn't change anything else about your video. Every mode still ships with chapter navigation, a searchable transcript, synced captions, interactive question checkpoints, AI chat about the video, and one-click flashcard generation. The mode only shapes the teaching style and visuals — all the study tools come with every lecture.

For everything else about creating and watching video lectures, see the full AI Video Lectures guide.