Folha de S.Paulo creates Mosaico, a system that automates the generation of informational videos
Tool developed with the support of Codesinfo uses artificial intelligence to transform news articles into audiovisual content, expanding the reach of quality journalism
Folha de S.Paulo has been applying Mosaico, a digital solution for the programmatic creation and management of video compositions, designed for use in the newspaper’s newsroom. Its code is available for adaptation and use by other news organizations.
The project was funded by Codesinfo, an initiative by Projor with sponsorship from the Google News Initiative. Access to the solution is available on the Codesinfo website, with an open repository on GitHub, allowing other media outlets to use and adapt the tool.
Mosaico was developed to address the growing challenge of disinformation in a landscape where the consumption of short videos on social media has increased significantly. The tool enables journalists to quickly convert textual narratives into short videos, using artificial intelligence as an aid in the process.
Daniela Braga, the project manager, explains:
“Automation allows Folha to publish more videos and reach a larger number of internet users, especially those who prioritize videos over texts for consuming news.”
The system consists of a library developed in Python and offers a high-level interface, allowing journalists to work with media files (referred to as assets in this library), position elements, apply effects, and generate video scripts. Its key features include:
- AI-based script generation
- Media asset management
- Precise positioning system
- Effects and animations engine
- Text-to-speech synthesis
- Integrations with popular machine learning frameworks
“The tool enables journalists to provide article links so that the AI-based solution can summarize the texts, retrieve photographs from them and, soon, from more options within the newspaper’s database, and finally, combine images and captions,” Braga details.
The video creation process with Mosaico is supervised by Folha journalists, who review and approve the final output. This ensures the accuracy and quality of the produced content, ensuring journalistic integrity.
During development, the team faced technical challenges, mainly related to scalability and integration with the newspaper’s image database. However, these difficulties did not hinder the project’s progress.
As an open-source software, Mosaico has significant potential for evolution. The developer community can contribute by implementing new features, fixing bugs, improving performance, and expanding integrations with other content management platforms.
Daniela Braga speaks positively about participating in Codesinfo:
“The program allowed us to take the first step in developing this tool and others that will stem from it. Its structure is organized without being restrictive, giving the development team the freedom to work.”
