Video generation
Creating short video clips from a text prompt or a still image.
What is it?
Video generators make short clips from a written description, or bring a still image to life. Many use ideas similar to image diffusion, but they must also keep things consistent from frame to frame so that people, objects and lighting move in a believable way.
This is harder than making a single image, so clips are usually short and can take longer to produce. You describe the scene, the action and the camera movement, and the model generates the frames. Some tools also add sound or let you extend a clip.
Which models use it?
- Sora models from OpenAI generate video from text and images.
- Veo models from Google generate video and are offered in Google products.
- Runway offers video generation and editing tools for creators.
- Other services such as Pika and Luma also provide text-to-video and image-to-video tools.
How to use it
- Start with one simple scene: who or what is in it, where, and what happens.
- Describe camera movement (static, slow pan, zoom in) and the shot type.
- State the style and lighting: realistic, animated, cinematic, daylight, night.
- Keep actions simple; one clear movement works better than many events.
- If the tool supports it, start from a reference image to control the look.
- Review the clip for glitches, such as warped faces or objects that appear and disappear.
Benefits
- Quick visual ideas, storyboards and short social clips.
- Lowers the cost of simple animations and B-roll footage.
- Helps you test a concept before filming for real.
Limits and risks
- Clips are usually short, and long stories are hard to keep consistent.
- Physics, hands, text and fast motion often look wrong.
- Generating video uses much more computing power than images, so it is slower and often costs more.
- Realistic videos of real people or events can be used to deceive; label AI video clearly and never impersonate anyone.
Prompt template
Copy it, replace the parts in [brackets] and paste it into any AI chat.
A [length]-second video of [subject] [doing a simple action] in [location]. Camera: [static / slow pan left / slow zoom in], [wide / medium / close-up] shot. Style: [realistic / animated / cinematic], lighting: [morning light / neon night / soft studio]. Mood: [calm / exciting]. Keep the [subject] consistent throughout and avoid on-screen text.
More in Images, video, voice and more
- Multimodal AI and visionAI that can read images, screenshots and documents as well as text, and answer questions about them.
- Image generation (diffusion)Creating new pictures from a text description, usually with diffusion models.
- Speech-to-text and text-to-speechAI that turns speech into written text and reads text aloud in natural-sounding voices.
- Music and audio generationAI that creates music, sound effects and audio from text descriptions.
- 3D generationCreating 3D models and scenes from text prompts or photos.