🎬 Video Creation — Quick Start
Video generation is won on sequence, not on model choice: lock the first frame, then set it in motion. This guide covers the formula, the four generation modes and what each model is for.
1. Your first video in five steps
- Open the Studio and switch to Video.
- Pick a mode (details below): nothing prepared → text-to-video; a still you're happy with → image-to-video.
- Choose a model, a duration (5–30s), a resolution (480P / 720P / 1080P) and an aspect ratio.
- Write the prompt around how it moves. The price shows before you confirm.
- Videos render in the background — close the page or lock your phone, it keeps going and lands in My Works when done.
For the steadiest results: generate a portrait still first, then animate it with image-to-video. Face, outfit and setting are pinned by the first frame; the video only has to perform. That is exactly how short-drama creators keep a character identical from episode to episode.
2. The video prompt formula
Subject + Continuous action + Scene change + Camera move + Shot size + Light / Mood + Style + Pacing
Example: On a mountain road at dawn, a rider leans in and accelerates through a bend, pine trees streaking past. Low-angle tracking shot with a slight handheld shake, medium framing, golden backlight rimming the silhouette, realistic cinematic look, tight pacing.
- Only visible actions. Looks up, turns around, walks to camera, waves — the more concrete, the steadier. Abstract words like “full of feeling” give the model nothing to hold.
- One main action per short shot. Cram in too much and the picture jumps and melts.
- Call the camera move. Static, push-in, pull-out, pan, orbit, tracking, handheld — unwritten, the model drifts slowly by default. For fast pacing, say so: fast tracking, snap zooms, and name the rhythm.
- In image-to-video, don't re-describe the look. Face, outfit and setting are already in the first frame; the prompt only says what happens next.
- Sound: every video has a sound toggle — on for dialogue and effects, off if you'd rather score it yourself later.
3. Choosing between the four modes
| Mode | Best for | Prompt focus |
|---|---|---|
| Text-to-video | Exploring picture and motion from zero | Subject, setting, action, camera and style — everything |
| Image-to-video | A first frame (person / product / scene) already decided | Action, camera moves and environmental change only |
| Reference-to-video | Locking several people or objects at once | Give every reference a job — who is the character, what is the scene; in shot prompts, point with @Character / @Scene anchors, not image numbers |
| Video Edit (Wan 2.7) | Changing content or style of an existing clip | What to keep, what to change; billed by source length |
One more hidden gem: chaining — in the Canvas and Director Studio you can take the previous shot's last frame as the next shot's first frame, so cuts join seamlessly and a long story is built one shot at a time.
4. The video model lineup
| Model | Position | Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|
| Seedance 2.5 (default flagship) | Top-tier motion and texture, up to 9 reference images | Hero shots, character performance, multi-asset scenes — the default for a reason |
| Wan 3.0 | Up to 1080P, supports reference video | HD finals, or redrawing along a reference clip |
| Kling 3.0 | Refined camera work and performance, 720P / 1080P | Passages where camera language matters |
| Wan 2.7 Video Edit | Edits the source clip itself | Restyles and element swaps (vid2vid) |
| Grok Imagine 1.5 | Cheap and cheerful, from 15 pts/sec | Drafts, mood shots, bulk experiments |
5. Four habits for stable footage
- Clean first frame. Complete subject, little occlusion, uncluttered background — the first frame caps the quality of everything after it.
- Grow the motion. Get small movements working on character shots first, then scale up. Big moves from a cold start are where things break.
- Add constraint words when it shakes: “steady camera, continuous motion, stable subject structure” — it works immediately.
- Split long stories into single shots. One run caps at 30 seconds; generate shot by shot, then assemble in One-Click Film or the Director Studio — which is exactly the next guide.