Questions about making chess videos
Short answers to what people ask before they try the studio.
- Is there a free chess video maker?
- Yes. ChessDrama Studio runs in your browser and the whole editor is free: every effect, Game Review, saved projects and presets. Press Record, and the game plays back at video pace for you to capture with OBS, QuickTime or any screen recorder. A free recording carries a small "Made with ChessDrama.studio" line beside the board.
- How do I turn a PGN into a video?
- Paste the PGN into the studio, or import the game by typing a Chess.com or Lichess username and picking it from the list. Add the effects you want on each move, then either record the playback yourself or render an MP4 in the cloud. Variations in the PGN stay as branches you can switch between.
- Can I make a video from a Chess.com or Lichess game?
- Yes. The import dialog takes a username on either site and lists that player's recent games, newest first, fetched straight from the sites' public APIs. Tick Auto Recap and the game arrives already titled, with every move badged by the engine and the result shown at the end.
- How do I make chess videos for TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels?
- Render in 9:16 vertical for Shorts, Reels and TikTok, 1:1 square or 4:5 portrait for feeds, or 16:9 landscape for YouTube. Renders go up to 4K at 30 or 60 frames a second and up to ten minutes long, and the title card, captions and eval bar lay themselves out around the board in every shape.
- Can I add narration or a voice-over?
- Three ways. Talk over the moves while you record the playback, which is free. Record or upload a clip against any move and the render mixes it in at the right moment. Or let a robot voice, bundled or a natural AI voice, read your flags, titles and subtitles aloud. The last two are part of Pro.
- What does ChessDrama Studio cost?
- Making videos is free. Pro is 5 US dollars a month and adds cloud rendering to MP4 with sound, voice-over clips, the robot voice and no watermark. Cancel any time from your account page and keep Pro to the end of the month you paid for.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. The studio, the Stockfish engine and the playback all run in the browser on a laptop or desktop. You can install it as an app from the browser menu if you like, and your projects save to your account as ordinary PGN files.
Something not answered here? The guides go deeper, and the studio opens without an account.GuidesOpen the studio